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In a post apocalyptic world gold won't be worth squat....with starving people, disease and sickness & those doing whatever they can to take from others the real valuables will be food/water stores, medicine and guns/ammo.
Don't know about you or others but if those times ever come and someone offers me a few gold coins for food/ammo/medicine I'd laugh at them and force them to leave my property at gunpoint. You can't eat/drink gold, fashion it into an antibiotic or use it to defend your love ones, your home or your supplies.
Now, if they wanted to trade me some ammo for food or whatever I'd be all ears and work a fair deal assuming I could balance out what I had to my advantage. People with shiny gold coins, etc. can sit there starving and stare at it, dreaming of the days when it meant riches and of the day when it will be prized again (which may never come).
What about booze?
One of the local liquor store just went teats up and I bought all kinds of off brand booze. Crap I'll never drink but maybe it'll be trade stock? Whisky last forever right?
What about booze?
One of the local liquor store just went teats up and I bought all kinds of off brand booze. Crap I'll never drink but maybe it'll be trade stock? Whisky last forever right?
I was going to also include alcohol which would be in extreme demand and a great bartering supply but it is really secondary to the ones I listed. Food/water, medications & guns/ammo would be the "1st tier" of wants & needs. Booze, while very desired, is not a life sustaining/prolonging supply (well...sometimes it feels like it is, lol) and is more of a luxury item like toilet paper - which also would be in high demand but it would be foolish to trade food, water, etc for it and deplete those items when it could be dealt with in other (although not as convenient) ways.
What about booze?
One of the local liquor store just went teats up and I bought all kinds of off brand booze. Crap I'll never drink but maybe it'll be trade stock? Whisky last forever right?
Ten percent of Americans are alcoholics. They'll want alcohol more than anything else. However, it's better to learn how to correctly distill it and be able to set up a still when necessary. An alcoholic and his money will be easy to separate.
Just keep in mind that this sort of event has never happened so concentrate on your investment portfolio; that's where the action has always been and always will be.
In a post apocalyptic world gold won't be worth squat....with starving people, disease and sickness & those doing whatever they can to take from others the real valuables will be food/water stores, medicine and guns/ammo.
It's always possible to imagine a world in total chaos where gold and money is meaningless, but that probably means billions of people are dead.
But, Self-Sufficiency and Preparedness has to consider lesser disasters. The one where the electric grid shuts down for a week, and you lose cell phone and possibly land line services at the same time is more likely to happen in our lifetime. The solar storms scenario is a real possibility, and one the Earth missed by only 6 days in 2012.
I was caught in the US Virgin islands when Hurricane Hugo struck in 1989. The level of mayhem that was reached in only 30 hours was shocking. Machete wielding gangs roaming the street, sporadic gunfire, unrestrained looting, etc. People weren''t even close to hungry since the stores were setting out tons of food that was going to go bad without refrigeration. The store owners wisely realized that it was better to set the frozen food outside for the taking , than to have gangs vandalize everything in the store trying to loot for edibles. We actually defrosted and ate filet mignon and lobster tail the first two nights.
But you also quickly realize that the habit of going to the ATM every time you need $100 is a real problem with no power. Especially when a sandwich with two pieces of bread and a slice of cheese costs $10.
The current Swedish cash circulation of seven ~$50 banknotes per capita seems woefully inadequate if the power is gone for a week and the cell phone money transfer system or the credit card system doesn't work. The USA has thirty $20 banknotes per capita in circulation, but at least some of the $100 banknotes will come out of home safes.
Ten percent of Americans are alcoholics. They'll want alcohol more than anything else. However, it's better to learn how to correctly distill it and be able to set up a still when necessary. An alcoholic and his money will be easy to separate.
Just keep in mind that this sort of event has never happened so concentrate on your investment portfolio; that's where the action has always been and always will be.
I actually used SHTF as an excuse to stock up...old granddad, Bombay gin, Tijuana tequila..... something to serve to the un-careing when they come visit!!!!saving the Grey Goose for myself!
As the list clearly shows, the top economies have the most cash. Inasmuch as people all over the world hold dollars, we may hope that our amount of currency will increase.
I think the "banking economies" naturally will have large amounts of cash. Per capita @ end of 2016:
$5,242 Singapore
$7,341 Hong Kong SAR
$9,516 Switzerland
The four most commonly traded currencies are more complex. A big part is the number of people outside the country who hold banknotes. The Japanese are holding currency at home because they don't trust banks. They also like the privacy of cash transactions. Their banknotes are largely circulating inside Japan, while US $100 bills are mostly circulating outside of the country. Per capita @ end of 2016:
4) $1,429 United Kingdom
3) $7,214 Japan
2) $3,579 Euro area
1) $4,671 United States
The UK has traditionally eschewed large bills because of the Nazi counterfeiting operation in WWII.
After the emp or nuc strike, 90% of the population will have died because of cold and starvation. I am reminded of the message of the GA guidestones
A message consisting of a set of ten guidelines or principles is engraved in eight different languages, one language on each face of the four large upright stones. Moving clockwise around the structure from due north, these languages are: English, Spanish, Swahili, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese and Russian. English, Spanish, Swahili, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.
Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.
Unite humanity with a living new language.
Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.
Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
Balance personal rights with social duties.
Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.
Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.
They are there for the present population but for who is left.
You can give me one of those $50 gold coins for a bucket of my water. Commodities will be the only thing of value when this occurs. Like I wrote earlier I'd want to trade corn for diesel. Fiat currency means nothing if it's not backed by hard coins.
I'm not aware of a historical SHTF scenario wherein silver and gold had no negotiating power. Many countries have experienced a collapse and cigarettes and booze apparently became the king negotiating currency. Could be an anecdotal story though it seems entirely possible.
Nobody knows what will happen and what the best commodity to have invested in will prove to be. We are all merely speculators with a few of us somehow endowed with absolute confidence that they, and they alone, have the real answers.
Currencies crashing and hyper inflation are historically somewhat common. Therefore I find prepper disdain for precious metals to be ludicrous. Especially when we have followed the historical recipe for ultimate financial chaos.
On the other hand, our record of statesmanship and diplomacy have earned us global love and respect. Therefor it is reasonable to expect global leadership to step forward and help us out should we ever find ourselves in dire need.
Ten percent of Americans are alcoholics. They'll want alcohol more than anything else. However, it's better to learn how to correctly distill it and be able to set up a still when necessary. An alcoholic and his money will be easy to separate.
Just keep in mind that this sort of event has never happened so concentrate on your investment portfolio; that's where the action has always been and always will be.
Well, yes it happened....just not modern day. Should another Carrington Event like the one that occurred in 1859 happen it will create a SHTF scenario....one in which your investment portfolio won't mean s*&t. On the bright side, if you have hard copies of all your portfolio statements you will have them to read to remind you that you once had some paper profits and you can you can use the statements to burn and keep warm.
I'm not aware of a historical SHTF scenario wherein silver and gold had no negotiating power. Many countries have experienced a collapse and cigarettes and booze apparently became the king negotiating currency. Could be an anecdotal story though it seems entirely possible.
Nobody knows what will happen and what the best commodity to have invested in will prove to be. We are all merely speculators with a few of us somehow endowed with absolute confidence that they, and they alone, have the real answers.
Currencies crashing and hyper inflation are historically somewhat common. Therefore I find prepper disdain for precious metals to be ludicrous. Especially when we have followed the historical recipe for ultimate financial chaos.
On the other hand, our record of statesmanship and diplomacy have earned us global love and respect. Therefor it is reasonable to expect global leadership to step forward and help us out should we ever find ourselves in dire need.
Me: opens mouth in amazement, plans on responding to bolded part, realizes said bolded part must be the thought of an insane person, chooses not to address it.
Now, quite possibly the poster is being entirely sarcastic in which case, I salute them.
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