Barter – American Conservative Movement

Bullets, Batteries and More: 13 Bartering Items to Stock up on While Preparing for the Financial Crash

Zoey Sky, Natural News — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 13:38:41 +0000

(Natural News)—Even though financial systems seem stable at the moment, there’s no telling when the next financial crash might happen.

Sometimes, a financial crash can cause short-term suffering. However, there have also been times throughout history when financial collapse had worse outcomes. (h/t to AskAPrepper.com)

While humanity has yet to witness a crash that was serious enough to destabilize the government and society in North America, with the fragile nature of financial systems, it is something that may happen soon.

If you ever experience a financial crash that is severe enough to cause country-wide hyperinflation, unemployment and the collapse of the banking sector, you may have to resort to the barter system to acquire the goods and services that your family needs to survive.

If you’re worried about a scenario like this, start preparing and stock up on items that you can use for bartering after a financial crash.

Alcohol

There are almost 15 million people who suffer from alcohol use disorder in the United States. And even those who do not have a compulsion to drink alcohol will be likely to trade goods for a bottle of spirits to calm their nerves in times of hardship.

If you don’t drink alcohol, having a few bottles of liquor and wine for bartering may still offer some benefits after SHTF.

Ammo

After a severe financial crisis, law enforcement could be overwhelmed and even ineffective. This would cause a true survival situation where crime becomes rampant.

In a wide-scale disaster scenario where the rule of law becomes non-existent, ammo will be as good as, or even more valuable, than money.

Stock up on a surplus of common calibers specifically for bartering. If you’re not sure what to get, stock up on ammo for handguns and small game calibers. You might also want to stockpile air gun ammo.

Antibiotics

When you’re trying to resume normal life after a severe economic downturn, access to medical care will become limited. Unfortunately, common infections could also pose serious threats.

Having a supply of antibiotics can be a lifesaver for those facing bacterial illnesses and are without access to healthcare services.

Try to stockpile commonly used antibiotics, such as amoxicillin or ciprofloxacin, to meet the needs of your neighbors after SHTF.

Batteries

Once the supply of batteries on store shelves is depleted, non-preppers will be desperate to acquire all the standard sizes of alkaline batteries and power banks to charge their smartphones and other small devices that charge via USB.

If you have a reliable source of off-grid power on your homestead, you can offer to charge devices and battery banks in exchange for other items that you need.

Bottled water

All humans need clean drinking water to survive, but you don’t want to risk your safety and stockpile by giving other people access to your stored water supply after a disaster.

Get two or three cases of bottled water so you have items specifically for bartering purposes.

Chocolate and candy

Many people have a sweet tooth. And while sweets aren’t an immediate need during an emergency, once the financial system has collapsed, there will still be many people who crave chocolate and candy.

Feminine hygiene products

Women will still need feminine hygiene products after a financial crash.

And even if there is no serious grid-down situation, the cost of feminine hygiene products may still increase, so people will be willing to barter with you.

Flashlights

If a financial crisis is severe enough that people need to resort to the barter system, there’s a chance that people will not be able to pay the electric bill or that power will be shut off.

When this happens, people will want to trade with you if you have flashlights.

Try buying packages of several flashlights for less than the price of the included batteries. Products like these are great for bartering because they are cheap and disposable.

Over-the-counter medication

If manufacturing issues can cause supply issues for several months, things might be worse after a financial crisis.

Like antibiotics, many people will need over-the-counter (OTC) medication after a financial crisis or collapse after supply chain disruptions and price increases affect the local supply.

Stock up on these OTC meds so you have a variety of items to trade with:

Cold and flu medicines
Diarrhea and constipation medicines and laxatives
Headache and nausea medicines
Pain and fever medicines
Saline solutions
Skin and allergy medicines
Sleeping pills
Wound care medications, like burn cream or antibacterial ointments

Protein bars

Rising food costs may leave non-preppers scrambling for calorie-dense food sources.

Stock up on several cases of protein bars, cereal bars and fruit bars for bartering during a financial crisis. (Related: Emergency food prep: Stock up on manuka honey, a must-have survival food and barter item.)

Radios

After a large-scale financial crash threatens to destabilize the communications grid or forces people to scale back their spending on phone and internet services, you still need to stay in touch with friends and family.

Stock up on radios that operate on the two-meter and 70-centimeter amateur bands. You can also get cheaper shortwave receivers for use as barter items. These items will be popular among those who are desperate for reliable comms.

Tobacco/vape

Like alcohol, there are a lot of people who smoke or vape. After the SHTF and the country dealing with a financial crash, these people will eagerly be trading to get cigarettes or e-cigs.

Stock up on cigarettes and some vape juice so you can trade with them.

Toilet paper and paper towels

During the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the country witnessed demand for one surprising product: Toilet paper.

At the height of the pandemic, toilet paper and other paper products flew off of store shelves. Even if you don’t experience a financial crash, you should always have a good supply of these products, with an additional supply for bartering.

The current monetary system started as the barter systems that humans used for the years that pre-dated the invention of the modern currency that humans use today.

And while humans have been trading goods and services for money, if the currency collapses, society will go back to bartering. As a prepper, it’s best to stock up on bartering supplies like food, medication and ammo so you can trade for supplies after SHTF.

Go to Health Ranger Store to find more prepping products that can be used for bartering. Watch this video to learn more about organic black beans, and why you should have them in your prepper stockpile.

Survival 101: What to Expect When Bartering After SHTF

Zoey Sky, Natural News — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 11:23:18 +0000

(Natural News)—Some people are curious about prepping because they want to be more self-sufficient, while others may be considering this lifestyle to ensure their survival during more difficult times.

If you are worried about where to get supplies after your stockpile runs out when SHTF, you can try to learn more about bartering and the basics of trading in a post-collapse world. (h/t to TheOrganicPrepper.com)

The tips and information below come from Selco Begovic, a man who survived one year in Bosnia when his city was blockaded.

Begovic hails from the Balkan region, where residents struggled with harsh living conditions from 1992 to 1995. He lived there and survived for a year in a city without running water, food distribution, electricity, fuel or supply of any goods.

The area also did not have any organized law or government.

While the information below is from an interview conducted in 2018, the topics discussed are still relevant for preppers or those who want to start prepping in 2023.

Bartering after city lockdowns

According to Begovic, people started bartering weeks after the city was locked down. He added that ordinary folks only started bartering after several weeks went by because they did not immediately realize the severity of their situation.

As he tried to remember more about that time in his life, Begovic added that there were people who did not want to take money for goods. Instead, they asked for valuables like gold, jewelry or weapons for the items that they had wanted to trade with.

Some of these people were smart enough to realize that money was going to become worthless soon.

Even valuables, such as gold and jewelry, were only good in the first period, and you would only benefit from them if you had a connection to the outside world to exchange them for something useful.

Ordinary people needed several weeks to get used to their situation, said Begovic. The process went from buying goods with money to buying goods from people who still accepted money but at outrageous prices, to the moment when money was worthless and people only accepted goods for other items.

While rare, Begovic said you could sometimes find someone who would sell you something for foreign money, but with at least 20 to 50 times higher prices. To illustrate, if a pack of cigarettes costs around 1.50 German Marks outside the war region, Begovic could buy that pack for 40 German Marks.

US dollars and Canadian dollars had even worse value. The people who would accept that money had connections to the outside world, and some of them became millionaires because of that, said Begovic.

The same ratio was for precious metals and jewelry. For small and quick trades, the usual currency people used was cigarettes because of the large percentage of smokers in the area.

Sometimes, people would trade bullets. (Related: SHTF bartering must-haves: 13 Things that will be in demand after an EMP attack.)

How to determine the value of trade items and setting terms

Begovic said nothing was fixed. During the lockdown, the value of goods went up and down based on different factors.

If a United Nations (UN) food convoy was able to enter the city and a local warlord took it all, which Begovic said happened often, and the majority of the food was canned fish, within that month those types of canned food would be cheaper than the month before.

In other cases, if U.S. airplanes managed to “hit” with airdrops in their area, then meals, ready-to-eat (MREs) were going to be cheaper.

Begovic also said once a rumor was planted by rival groups, such as rumors about “poisoned” cans of cookies, people did not value such items highly anymore.

However, some things did not change value too much during the whole period, such as alcohol, because it was available. The value of other things was a matter of the situation.

If your child was sick and you needed antibiotics, once you spread the word, you can expect high prices because you gave out that information. Begovic added that usually, people knew the value of goods for that week, at least approximately.

The value of things and trading rules “on the ground” were similar to trade rules at normal life flea markets, said Begovic.

Some of those rules on the ground during trading were:

If you need something, the price is going to increase. Begovic advised that it’s best not to look like you desperately need something to avoid this.
You shouldn’t offer everything you have in “one hand” or on one try. Don’t go to trade with your best items altogether because you will seem desperate, and you are losing the advantage.
Don’t give someone a reason to take the risk of attacking you because you have too many desirable items or too many things with you. Before meeting up with someone, Begovic advised that you should only bring a set amount of food or ammo. If you need more items, do another trade at another time with more of your items. Always remember that people will take chances if they calculate it is a risk worth taking.
Do not volunteer information about how much of the goods you actually have at home to avoid any incidents.
Do not trade at home, unless you trust the other person completely. This is important, especially if you are trading with someone you don’t know that well.
Agreeing to trade at another person’s home might mean that you are at his “playground,” or he is stupid, and you are losing the advantage. Do not take the risk of trading on unknown terrain. Try to choose neutral ground where you can control the situation and give the other person the chance to feel safe, but not safer than you.

Begovic said the most important thing to do is to understand that when SHTF, the only thing that protects you from losing everything is you.

Trade will require careful planning. Start with information about a person who has something you need, then check and double-check that information.

Communicate with him, then send information to let him know that you want to trade. Clearly set the terms about the place and number of people where you’re going to do the trade.

Usually, there would be rumors or information about who was safe to trade with. Begovic said there was also information about people who like to scam others during a trade.

If you completed a beneficial and fair trade with someone, remember him as a safe trader for future trade. The rest is a matter of trust and your skills.

If you live in a nice town, Begovic said you might have access to a market where people can freely exchange their goods.

However, he never witnessed anything like that in Bosnia because a market like that requires an efficient system to back it. Bartering when SHTF is a high-risk situation because it is about resources, and there is no law or system in place to protect you and others.

Skills vs. items

In the long run, Begovic said skills were more valuable because you can not “spend” your skills.

If you had medical skills, you could expect that over time, people would know about them through the word on the street. After SHTF, you will have different opportunities to get something for that skill.

After an SHTF event, skills for repairing would be valuable, along with technical skills. Begovic added that skills were safer to trade because if someone attacks or kills you, they still can’t take away your skills.

If you raise animals on your homestead, you can trade eggs, dairy or meat for other items that you need. With a home garden, you can trade fruits and vegetables for other pantry staples like flour or cooking oil.

Sound off about this story on the Late Prepper Substack.

Before SHTF, learn the basics of bartering so you can find more supplies before your stockpile runs out. Watch the video below for tips on how to color-coordinate your pantry.

This video is from The Urban Prepper channel on Brighteon.com.