December 20, 2018
How to Barter for Survival (not just a list): 100+ Items to Barter in a Post-Collapse World (2018 Edition)
By SurvivalWoman
BackdoorSurvival.com
Do you know how to barter? In preparedness circles, the term barter is used a lot when describing a post SHTF situation when goods and services may no longer be available through normal channels. According to Wikipedia, ”barter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money”.
A lot of people think of bartering as something to do when they are down an out, perhaps unemployed, or low on cash. But nothing could be further from the truth. Bartering has been around for eons and is simply a smart way to acquire goods and services under the radar screen.
Today I would like to share some very simple tips for bartering as well as my own suggested list of items and skills that may be useful for barter in a post-collapse economy.
Types of Socio-Economic Collapse Worth Prepping For
Cyber Terrorism
Unfortunately we live in a world where the banking system is very susceptible to cyber attacks. It has been proven all too many times that our computer systems are not safe. There are so many ways to glean information and those that want to cause trouble or extort money from others.
Fiat Currency Crisis
In the United States, the only thing backing our money, in reality, is the confidence of people and business. There is no gold or silver to back it up whatsoever. Government spending is high and the US Treasury keeps printing more money. The more money that is in circulation, the less your dollar is worth. If money is worth less, then it may stop being accepted for goods, services, and more.
Further Resource: You may be interested in learning more about alternative currencies as well. This article compares Bitcoin to Gold (there are pros and cons to each).
Natural Disasters
No country is immune to natural disasters and they cannot be predicted. Some areas are more prone to natural disasters than others. For example, if you live in an area with an active volcano, seismic activity, hurricanes (see recent lessons learned from Hurricane Maria , flooding, etc.), then you are at a higher risk for a crisis that has a major impact on the economy.
Man Made Disasters
Just look what happened at Chernobyl and Fukushima. There are a lot of nuclear power plants that are running on outdated technologies. In fact, some of these nuclear power plants are well past the lifespan they were designed for. What happens if we have a meltdown? One thing a lot of people do not realize is that nuclear power plants have very little power back up.
If the electrical grid goes down for an extended time period, a meltdown can be inevitable because most nuclear facilities have a maximum of 1 month of diesel power back up on hand. After that, all bets are off. Any nuclear event can have a major impact on the Gross Domestic Product and consumer confidence, which can lead to a currency crisis.
There is also the scenario that some areas become completely uninhabitable and not possible to use for any type of production. Farmland that feeds a lot of people could be useless for many, many generations to come.
How does simple barter work?
In simple barter, you look for someone who is looking for particular kinds of goods or services in exchange for goods or services that you may want. For example, let’s say you do plumbing work but you need some gardening equipment. A simple barter would be exchanging some plumbing repairs for a used plow or rototiller.
Getting started is easy. One of the simplest things to do is to put up a small ad on the local community bulletin board, perhaps at the grocery store or bowling alley. (And by the way, I don’t know why but bowling alley’s are particularly good for this sort of thing.) You can also peruse Craigslist or the Little Nickel want ads for people trying to sell the item you need. The next step is to simply phone them ask and suggest a trade.
One of the very best ways to barter, though, is to put the word out among like-minded friends, relatives, and neighbors. Let them know what you have for trade and see what they offer in return. What I am describing here is bartering in its most simplistic form but I think you get the gist.
Beyond simple bartering, there are more complicated and dare I say sophisticated scenarios such as three-way barters and barter clubs. But that gets beyond the scope of this article which is merely to get you into the bartering mindset
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Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months
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