So, the banks have all closed, the ATMs aren't working, and neither is your credit card.
Every prepper knows the scenario. But, how did we get here? Well, they printed too much money!
Of course, but that doesn't answer any real questions. Like, how am i going to buy some food so that i don't starve tonight?
All that money in the bank won't help you eat tonight.
Your stack of gold probably won't help you either.
The things that will help you is paper dollars (as long as we aren't in a hyperinflation scenario) because, until there is another currency presented with authority from the govern-cement, it will be a while until the people decide what is a store of wealth. So, even though you can't get money out of the ATM, it will spend just fine.
And, the thing that will be of the most benefit, is food. If you have food you can eat.
What you should do, depends on whats happening…
Actually, this is a bit of a misnomer, because we have seen currency collapses and govern-cement collapses before. And the collapse is near, and what you should do, is pretty much the same in each case.
Does it matter if the food shipments have stopped because there is no agreed upon money, so that the person sending it feels like they will get paid if they send it? And, is this different to the govern-cement putting up a roadblock denying shipments to get to your grocery store?
The food delivery system is huge and intricate. If there is no fuel for trucks, it breaks. If there is no open banks to clear monetary transfer, it breaks. If the roads are blocked, or broken, it breaks. If freezers aren't working, it breaks.
So, in most situations, it is food that you are going to need first. How much food depends on how long the breakage lasts.
In Venezuela, in Zimbabwe, in Cuba, in Hurricane Katriana's wake, it was food that disappeared first.
Stock up on food.
Gold and silver are not valuable.
This probably goes against what most gold-bugs say, "Gold has been money for 5000 years". Well, actually it hasn't been money for about the last 100 years. After Roosevelt told Americans to turn in their gold, it hasn't been used as money at all.
In order to use gold (or silver) as money, a group of assayers need to be trained. Currently our coin shops do this, but a coin shop only has so much money, the smelters only have so much throughput. Their clients are only a small subset. They are not set up to handle all the people.
If the grocery stores quickly get assayer desks set up, who trade grocery store-script for gold, at the front of the store, than gold may quickly gain "money" status again. And, if that doesn't happen, the gold will only be valuable once some sorta of normallacy returns. Until then, it is not easily traded. And most trades would seriously undervalue the gold.
I must state that in Zimbabwe many people went to pan gold out of the rivers. And people appeared to assay that gold, so that people would trade food for it. We will see people panning for gold to pay for food here in America.
It is just that in between time. People in Cuba thought they had it made with their small stash of gold. What happened was they gave a lot of gold away for (what used to be) much less value in food.
Barter, what trades?
Of course food is easy to trade. So many people want it, and will trade almost anything to get it.
Medicines are easy to trade. When you your daughter is sick and you need penicillin, you will trade almost anything for it.
Bullets are easy to trade, as long as you have a caliber they can use.
But, what is more easy to trade is cigarettes and alcohol. These trade well in prison, today.
When things have broken down, a lot of people will be hurting, and getting their drug of choice is very important to them.
So, buy these things, store them well. Keep them in small caches.
The only difference in most "end of the world as we know it" situations is timing. How long will the adverse conditions last? How fast is help coming?
Of course, there are situations where you must learn to grow your own food, and fast, because that's all there will be, but usually situations aren't that bad. Having a month worth of food will get you across most food outages.
When you are in a situation, real goods, that are necessary, are things you can barter with. Sell any of your unused toys now, and buy something that will save your life. No one buys jet skis during a crisis. But, food, medicine, alcohol and cigs will be in high demand.
The biggest problem is are brains which are programmed to deal with the usual. We think a lot about the usual, and what to do while living in it. 401ka, IRAs, stocks, these are the things you puzzle over now. And, if the financial system does not come apart, they are the most important thing for your future. However, if the banks close, all these things are meaningless. And suddenly food becomes a lot more important.
It is these flips in the script that are the most important thing to have a plan for. But, right now, while grocery stores have mostly full shelves, it is the furthest thing from most people's minds.
Get a month worth of food, canned or freeze dried. We will need it.
And put some thought into what you will do when the sheep hits the rotating air moving device.