This article was written and originally published by Activist Post.
Editor’s Comment: These are the basics you should have covered. Many of the widespread, system wide scenarios involve a financial system that is crippled or inoperable for a period of time (as seen in Greece). There, cash is much better than non-working digital payments and assets locked behind institutions you can’t access.
But money won’t buy things if there is no commerce, no stores and no one to do business with. On the other hand, these supplies will not only keep you and yours going for quite a while when the SHTF, they will also make good barter items in the underground economy.
These 7 Things Are Better Than Paper Money in the Bank When the Economy Collapses
by Activist Post
So you’ve done the hard work of getting your finances in order and now you’re looking to invest your hard-earned surplus into things that will protect or grow it.
Keeping your savings as fiat currency in the the banks may not be the safest way to store your wealth. Banks are beginning to give concrete evidence of actually penalizing you for keeping your money with them … and that’s if they don’t outright confiscate it via bank bail-in.
It would be prudent to look at investments that offer the dual purpose of getting around the banking system, while also offering ways to stockpile the tangible items that should fare much better in any economic collapse situation.
Here are seven investments that will hold value far better than cash if the current trends continue.
How To Survive & Thrive During Economic Collapse
Food
We are beginning to see in real-real time what a collapse in the food supply could mean. One look at Venezuela should prove that even though most people believe “it could never happen here” or even that they have enough money to get what they need no matter what, this is not the case. Even the supposedly wealthy in Venezuela are waiting in long lines with everyone else.
While things are still relatively stable, it makes sense to build a food stockpile slowly but surely. You can pick up a few key food items each week at the supermarket to build up your food bank without having to spend thousands in bulk food acquisitions. It’s best to keep your storable food bank list simple and concentrate on common foods that you already consume regularly. We wrote an article geared toward foods that have long shelf lives but are also practical for most diets, so please read “10 Best Survival Foods At Your Local Supermarket.”
Become a smarter shopper. “A penny saved is a penny earned,” wrote Poor Richard (aka Ben Franklin). Check out these “10 Hacks to Save Money at the Grocery Store.” You can also utilize tools like VoucherBin to find hidden savings that you didn’t know existed.
Precious Metals
If you are fortunate enough to have several thousand dollars in savings above your emergency reserves of a few months of expenses, you may want to consider turning those devaluing dollars into physical metals to keep in your possession. Again, during times of economic uncertainty, it’s best to keep your wealth where you can directly control it – as local as possible.
There are three practical metals to consider.
As fiat currency wars rage on between central banks, silver and gold will likely hold their value or even increase in value relative to paper currencies. If things go apocalyptic, gold and silver may become money again.
For Americans, ammunition will also be extremely valuable, possibly even as a currency as well if the economic collapse gets ugly. The cost (value) of ammunition has skyrocketed, especially as further governmental restrictions loom.
Gold and silver have also gone up in value over the years, especially in foreign countries whose currencies are unstable. Yet, at the time of this writing in early 2016, silver and gold remain way undervalued particularly when priced in US Dollars.
To summarize, it’s probably a good idea to convert some of your extra cash into gold, silver or lead (ammunition). These metals will likely hold their value better than fiat money and they’re easily tradable with your immediate neighbors or someone thousands of miles away.
Land
As soon as you can afford to do so, move out of your apartment and find a home with a little more land. If you’re in a place of abundance, buying productive land will be significantly more valuable than most paper assets when the economic reset hits. Putting a fence and cattle on that land makes it even more valuable. Ultimately, it’s even better to be able to produce your own food than to stockpile it in bulk. Even a small piece of land will be worth its monetary investment as it will pay you much larger dividends year over year than cash at the bank ever could. Look what this family produced with just 1/10th of an acre!
Off-grid Power
One of the best investments you can make is to produce your own electricity with solar panels or wind mills, or a combination of both. Having a grid-tied system is better than nothing, but having a battery bank is where the true value is.
In fact, it may be wise to start by investing in a battery bank first, charge them at night when grid rates are much cheaper, and then use that power during the day. The batteries will pay for themselves quickly and you can add solar panels as you can afford them.
Water Purification
Do not depend on one water source. At the very least have a good water filter that can clean water brought in from untrusted sources. Some of us happen to think that municipalities are untrusted sources (ahem, fluoride and chlorine).
If you’re not lucky enough to live in a rural area near rivers and lakes, you can get a good-sized rainwater collection system for less than $1500. Also, you can get a few dehumidifiers which can pull gallons of water out the air in areas with over 30% humidity.
Hand Tools
You’ll want to accumulate basic survival tools like weapons, garden tools, food preservation supplies, and any tools and supplies that you need to sustain your specialty skills for at least a year. Making the commitment to acquiring these items also tends to renew your interest in improving the necessary skills that will ensure you become as independent as possible no matter how long term a future emergency is.
Bitcoin
True, this one might not be considered a tangible asset, but its usability without incurring the massive fees of traditional banking makes it a worthwhile hedge at the very least. Barring an EMP/CME attack or a meteor strike that would take out the Internet, Bitcoin very well could also become a de facto international reserve currency. It’s simply better money, and efficiency will always win. In the meantime, why not learn how to use Bitcoin as a means of protecting your privacy, opting out of traditional banking, and using it to pay for those tangible items mentioned above? We want our readers to be on the winning side of the coming collapse; adopting Bitcoin now means you’ll have an alternative already in place. Get started with Bitcoin and get your first $10 free HERE.
These are some of the key ways that we at Activist Post have taken charge and have become more independent in our own lives. We expand upon the other methods that can help you thrive during what is shaping up to be a very turbulent 2016 in our free 21-page report for email subscribers. This report focuses on the full range of strategies to achieve self-sufficiency and sound financial and physical health.
This article was written and originally published by Activist Post.
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Bitcoin??? Even if an emp or a meteor doesn’t strike and I’m having to live off my preps there is a good chance I’m not going to be able to afford interenet…yeah an advertisement just what I thought….cmon Mac
You are questioning Bitcoin?
Seriously, your family is hungry… You see a guy in the street with farm fresh eggs… And you don’t believe he will trade for Bitcoin?
🙂
OK, I am starting to see your point…
Mac, this article immediately lost its luster at the mention of Bitcoin.
Inspirational Donald Trump paintings that speak for themselves (by Illma Gore):
“Because you can be a big prick despite what’s in your pants”
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CcrbwUIUEAA5ce7.jpg
“NOPE”
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CcruilUUkAABEtw.jpg
I agree, bitcoin is a total joke. I am not even going to waste any time trying to get the free $10.
One good thing about this article is the mention of hand tools. Most eveybody has power tools in thier home workshops now. But what if you had no power and you had to drill a hole in a board?
I recommend hitting the garage sales and estate sales. Tons of great hand tools there. I recently got a bit and brace drill for $8 in perfect condition. I find the bit and brace drill bits all over for practically nothing.
I also find lots of hammers and hatches with broken handles. I pick them up for $0.50 cents. IT takes me about 8 minutes on the wood lathe to turn a new handle.
You can also get many power tools for cheap. I recently got a radial arm saw for $65 and a ryobi wood planer for $50. The planer along with my jointer means I can manufacture my own lumber for small projects.
My neighbor threw out 20 1×4 pieces of lumber he had on a deck. they were painted grey. I ran them through the planer and had 20 pieces of new condition treated 1x4s.
I have NEVER seen a person say they accept bitcoin.
I think bitcoin is a bit-con.
CANADA GETS ITS ASS REAMED!
http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/from-a-billion-dollars-to-zero-canada-empties-its-coffers-of-gold
Yeah….you’d think that reloading equipment would somehow make it into the list too. If there really ever was a “barter economy” in place, or even just something on the order of the Great Depression, you’d think that the ability to manufacture ammunition would be a serious advantage.
Can you manufacture primers? Nitrocellulose is actually pretty simple, and most of the components can be leached from the soil, but primers are the pinch point. Sure, you can buy 20,000 of them, but if SHTF, you’re not gonna find a resupply, and the actual manufacture of them is dangerous as hell…
Cabelas sells Sellier and Bellot primers in the four variations for $20 a brick on sale. I’ve tested these and they’re as good as any other brand and half the cost to boot. Putting away 20,000 isn’t that much of a burden.
Learn to cast your own bullets too, that’s another huge cost savings.
I read this article on the last silent movie star still alive. It talked about how she made the equivalent of $14 million in the 1920s, then her family squandered all immediately.
In the article she says about the Great Depression, “The last seriously silly thing her father did was buy a ranch in Wyoming, where he moved the family in 1929 — right before the Great Depression. “He thought it was a solid investment, but it was six months before the stock market crash, and we lost everything,” she remembers. “The only place we could go was back to Hollywood. It was the only place that was still functioning.”
It was the line ,”It was the only place that was still functioning” that caught my attention. Interesting.
Here is the link if you want to read it in whole:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/last-living-silent-star-child-871602
One good prep, even if you don’t reload, certainly someone near you does. Pick up a few pounds of the right powder for caliber, and a brick of primers. You can fit 10,000 primers into a shoebox. Get some brass, and bullets, and tuck it all away. Could even get a set of dies, that reloader near you may not have .233 or .308 or 9mm, whatever.
You should definitely be saving all your brass.
And don’t buy much more cheap surplus ammo. Most is Berdan primed, or steel case, and not reloadable. Once you shoot it, it’s gone and you can’t make more with the brass.
Good tip! Reloading supplies has gone up a bit since 2012.
As gold was at a good selling price, we saw the switch from gold jewelry to gold reloading supplies as an improvement for long term investing.
Gold and silver may prove to be valuable at some point, but reloading supplies….powder,primers,bullets,brass is valuable right friggin now.
With all the reloading equipment in place, it is security at ground zero, if … an EMP type event happens. No electricity needed for reloading ammo nor none needed to fire it either.
When the city dwellers start their treks to the rural areas and mtns., there could be anti thug wars in every community.
For the handful of farming types that have cattle and horses, they will become targets…big targets of the thug gangs.
Those that are well prepared with ammo and guns, can be a lifesaver if they are willing to kill for the preservation of those animals. In essence, a prepper helping preserve those cattle and horse resources for a farmer family, will have bartered his/her time and weaponry for badly needed meat/milk, and beast of burden taxi service for a long time to come.
Just my point of view by looking at the bigger picture that is possibly on the horizon.
All the land in the county, will “not” be worth the tax money that is owed to maintain ownership, if all the resources on it cannot be protected against thugs and thieves.
Thugs and thieves will not care about preserving a milk cow for future resources. All they see is a steak over a fire pit, and will not hesitate to dispatch said cow, butcher out as much meat as they can carry, and head for the deep woods.
Twenty four hour surveillance, will be a must. Weapons, with plenty of ammo will be a must. Strong minded, ( ability to shoot and kill), and brave security teams will be a must.
You will not find much about this look at hard core survival requirements on the artsy fartsy sites like Daisies pantry and many others, but you will find some good common sense info for the average low key preppers there.
Problem is; in a total collapse, EMP, grid down scenario; it will be dog eat dog in most areas, especially near big cities.
I don’t mean just 10 to 20 miles out “areas” either. In less than three months, the hundreds of thousands, to millions in bigger cities, will need to venture away from those metropolitan areas in order to survive. When hunger sets in from traveling, most will kill to eat and survive. In most cases with most people, hunger will blurr the lines of ethics and morals. When gangs go full on adrenaline scavenging, they will go at it like a shark feeding frenzy when food is located. Be it standing in a pasture or stock piled in a basement/closet.
Hard core preppers account for the contingency of such situations, and have the necessary tools for just such an onslaught. Two of those types, from all I have gathered from my years here, is slingshot and braveheart. Ready, willing, and able; faithful and loyal to protect, even if it requires killing. That is my definition
of….
Semper Fidelis!
Cheap, steel cased berdan primed ammo has its uses. I keep it in my detachable mags. If I have to use those mags, I won’t be stopping to pick up the cases. For the range and hunting, I use brass boxer primed ammo.
Bitcoin is worse than fiat currency. Enough said.
-WWTI…
Prepper tip…
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KY Mom,
I always appreciate all of your hard work and knowledge you provide.
Thanks again.
Thanks for the info.
We have to assume there will be electricity to use bitcoin.
If things get that bad, the expectation is the internet will be taken off line to control the people. No internet = no bitcoin.
“The most important minority is the individual.”
Rampant sexuality has brought massive destruction upon our society.
That’s why I’m boycotting sex in 2016.
Even the handheld kind?
There are three kinds of Masturbators:
those that admit they do it
those that lie about not doing it
and those that wish they could do it.
There is not, nor ever has been, any sin involved with marital copulation between a man and a woman…unless rape is involved.
Societies can place a marriage certificate on homosexuals from now until the end of this flesh age, but all their sexual copulation will always be viewed as sin and abominations by their Creator.
I will say this, homosexual sin is not the unforgivable sin, either. But, refusing to accept that it is still sin, eliminates the self-proclaimed christian homosexual argument, from the equation…
I guess one could call this “christian homosexual mindset” as straddling each other, while straddling the biblical fence, at the same time.
Yeah, I don’t get how someone can purposely live a lifestyle that is forbidden in Scripture and still think they are a Christian. I mean, it is possible for someone to have been legitimately saved and then fall into sexual sin, but it can’t be justified Biblically. If someone really has that proclivity, then the only choice for them is a lifetime of celibacy, if they want to remain within the will of God. I would also say that the Church sometimes focuses too much on homosexuality and not enough on heterosexual sin, like premarital sex. It too is sin, no matter what the sexual morals of society are at the present time.
@Crash and burn…..
I totally agree. What is bitcoin actually, if not simply another fiat currency?
Any kind of SHTF scenario that involves a total disruption of society is going to eventually end up with disruption to the power grid. Once electrical power is gone, your digital currency is nothing but history.
It’s pretty simple really…..if you don’t have something in your physical possession, you don’t own it…..period. And a promise (which is what any fiat currency actually is) is the last thing you want to depend on.
What a waste of an article.
You don’t have to subscribe to nothing to get the info to be self sufficient. Just go and read the achieves here at SHTF. Asked a question and you get lots of ideas.
I like Survival Blog.
Searchable archives,, tons of info.
Ready Nutrition too and Organic Prepper, love Daisys articles, just down to earth.
Most of this stuff is just plain old good common sense.
When TSHTF i dont really think money will matter, not in any form, useable goods and services will be the currency for most. But thats just my opinion
I think your right on the money.
X2, kula….priceless!….maybe worth even MORE than that!
I download a backup copy of Survivalblog occasionally. If you have your own personal copy of websites, you’re covered if the internet goes down.
I use a free software called “HTTrack Website Copier.”
I have printed out websites and online documents in the past, and those websites and documents no longer exist except in my notebooks. I have been doing that since the early 1990s, just as the internet became available.
That is one thing that i really like about the internet, the availability of information,
For finding specialized tools and hardware or materials it is indidpensible, its too bad that humans are so lame, they can ruin anything
I believe that IF the dollar crashes, there will still be a short period of denial and strategically stashed FRNs will still work for last ditch needs.
The guy that’s been asking 4 grand TOO much for his 65 VW Beetle will bite.
I can think of 100 different things I would rather have than BitCoin.
Howdedoody sling.
Got a ten thousand ways to eat the worm recipe book.
No1… Getchaself a growler.
Guess you was right all along ‘eh!
William Worm.
The worm Grunter or Growler is one of the most cool tools for survival I ever got. I have to say you get to feel what the worm feels and making the grunts is just plain fun in the dirt. Good exercise too. A simple toy that captivates an old man. ;0)
Have to get me a worm cook book.
Learn how to make wine and or shine! Guaranteed people will trade you all kinds of good stuff! So easy a caveman can do it. Also a disinfectant and lamp fuel and cooking fuel and motor fuel. Sugar, yeast and water (and a still made out of an old pressure canner) is all you need. Tobacco and papers are cheap (buy them from a reservation store and get pipe tobacco) a pound of tobacco makes 2 cartons. With all the sugar you stocked up on even if you don’t make hooch it will make eating shit a lot sweeter 😛
I spent alot of time in crappy little countries in the past. When the economy collapses so does the alcohol consumption. Humans have value . If you get stinko drunk, you will probably find yourself as someones slave or just dismembered for your body parts. The products to make alcohol are also much more valuable as food than as alcohol.
A little wine for the stomachs (nerves aka nervous stomach ) sake, but only for those that have excess grapes,fruit, and sugar/honey.
Wine is of course, just a means of purification of fruit/juice, that was used when there was no means of purification and refrigeration.
In arid regions, the storage of wine could be a life saver when water supplies are unavailable.
Hooch, on the other hand, will deplete the body of needed hydration even more quickly and therefore lead to numbness and fuzziness of quick thinking.
There will always be a demand for hooch for those that have all their other needs covered. It is a luxury item like tobacco products and chocolate. Nothing more.
Ed, My M-I-L’s grandfather was a bootlegger and farmer during the depression. He had area lawyers, sheriffs, and judges informing him when Feds would be in the area. He had many fruit trees and berry bushes on the property and they/officials, kept him in sugar by the barrel to keep it flowing. The money was always placed/kept under the floorboards in the kitchen.
You do realize that these days your judge, Sheriff, Lawyers and all the other “Officials” work for the Feds these days. They really dont care about your hooch. They will just charge you with a laundry list of crimes for making it, then seize all your property, sell it and buy the good stuff for themselves.
Agree completely- in fact, there are a few ingenious things to do with sealed wine bottles if trading with a potential enemy. You will have to watch a particular Columbo episode to see it tho’.
I thought about stocking up on hooch until I realized there are hundreds of warehouses around here full of barrels of the stuff.
I’m in Boubon country.
Electronic money is worthless in a real SHTF. Bitcoin is predicated upon the bigger fool theory: that there is someone else willing to accept digital money (and that you are able to transfer digital money) after an “event” that throws the nation into chaos.
Bit coin is absolutely RIDICULOUS as a medium of exchange or a store of wealth through chaos. 🙂
X2, DK.
New beautiful $10 fed reserve notes in sealed #10 cans + a bunch of shiny US silver coins.
Has anybody else noticed that the money is in terrible condition?
I got cash from the bank drive through the other day and they gave me a $10 bill with the corner torn off. I sent it back in and told them to give me a bill that was not damaged. They sent out another crappy looking, but whole, $10 bill.
The cash is just so weak, easily torn, and wears out quickly.
Just goes along with how worthless the money is becoming. The FEDS don;t even bother to make it well anymore.
The small bills around here seem to be pretty ratty this year.
God Bless Mushroom….
Video was horrible. Just an advertisement to get you to give away your e-mail address. I already get too much junk e-mail, I don’t need more.
Click bait. Lame.
I clicked on Voucher Bin. Stupid. It is in the UK. Also on the 10 Grocery Store Hacks. Stupid.
I did notice in the video that the site is in Costa Rica. How nice.
I agree with the first six, but not with Bitcoin. When it hits the fan, I doubt that there will be much commerce via the internet. I see barter as the commerce of choice and lead as the metal of choice for that commerce, especially in the area where I live.
Something else to think about:
Why not “Forever” postage stamps?
Walmart bought $2 million worth just before the last stamp increase so when they sell them at the Walmart Stores they were making even more profit on the stamps.
We have all read articles with the small topic over and over. I keep reading them to find the nugget that will further my preps. Yet you have to ask yourself being a reader of SHTF.
Has it made difference in the way you prep?
How you view the world. Choice’s you have made that might not have been made beforehand.
Was it all worth the trouble, time and expense.
Ah slingshot that is the big question. The proof will indeed be in the (shit) pudding.
I don;t learn anything from this site. However, it is fun to read other comments and some people post links to other prepper sites that are worthy.
This site is more of a news commentary site.
I’m definitely not prepared for a collapse and the possibility of what might develop afterward. I live in a very small place smack dab in the middle of what passes as humanity. I have little of what various articles suggest is needed to survive even a short term collapse. I have the resources to obtain some of this, but moving away from the potential ravaging hordes is problematic at best. At least I’ll be close to grocery stores and I plan to get there first to buy what I can. Not ideal I agree.
Gotta do the best we can with what we got,,,
Sorta like bracket racing, you run what ya brung!,,,
I read some of these articles and realize i am not really ready either, at least not ready by some pie in the sky unrealistic standards, better than most though, just by the nature of where i live.
The reality is that could all change in an instant for any of us.
Amen Kula, do what you can when you can. Was it Ben F. That said, “not to prepare is to accept defeat!”. Or something of the sort. But Aljamo, you’ll be surprised how little bits add up, I like to say work like an ant: because after a time, you’ll succeed! Keep your chin up, eyes open, spirit high and shotgun loaded (because otherwise it’s just a stick).
@ Kula..The battery bank cost would kill some of us finically. Average bank for a 1200sf home would be about 8 grand. The average life expectancy for a batt bank 7 years. You May get up to 10 years, then inflation will raise the cost to replace them. Divide the battery bank cost into the life expectancy per year.(about 1100$) I doubt you would save 1100$ per year in reduced electrical bill. This is assuming you already have a inverter/charger capable of running said house at a average cost of 3500$ for a 48v input 240v 4000watts. (you need 240v to run the average well)
Dave, yep batteries are the biggest cost by far. I have gotten very good life out of them by using a good desulphator (batterylifesaverdotcom). As far as a well goes a direct solar pump doesn’t need batteries but only works during the day. My neighbor pumps 700 feet with a 2KW array. Gets about 3 gallons a minute. Maybe try storing some batteries dry (special order) and enough acid to fill them. Learn to eliminate power waste and use the most efficient appliances to keep the size of your system down.
And use GOOD batteries! A Crown forklift battery is said to last 20 years (huge and pricey). US Battery makes excellent batteries for the money. Every Trojan brand battery bank I have ever seen has failed prematurely (I used to do solar for a living) The company I used to work for sold them and they were absolute shit. Every solar job I have done on my own for people is still cranking along great, a 100% satisfaction rate.
Brands to AVOID are: Trojan, Magnasine, Xantrex charge controllers, any transformerless pure sine inverter.
Brands that work great (for me and my customers):
Outback, Midnight Solar, Trina, unirac, US Battery, Kyocera, Crown, Grundfos, Surette.
LOL another thing is good battery maintenence! After you add water be sure to rock your batteries back and forth to mix the electrolyte well. DO NOT ever put your batteries up against eachother, leave space between for air flow and cooling and room to rock them once in a while to prevent stratification. Use a desulphator (which reduces the amount of times you need to equalize them and extends life greatly). I only equalize 2 times a year. Distilled water ONLY!
Notice that now that the large panels are down to about 95 cents a watt if you buy a pallet of panels, the charge controllers prices have skyrocketed along with the technology. Xantrex is made in china. They changed names I think twice as they were originally Heart Interface, and made in the USA…Am I showing my old age? Im not a fan of dc pumps because of costs and accessories, I would rather build a elevated water tank house and gravity feed into the house. You could even hand pump up to the tank…but thats just my preference as I rather keep it simple and not rely solely on power and technology.
Dave, I buy panels new unused for around 60 cents a watt and resell them for about 88 cents a watt. There is a large city that isn’t to far (over 100 miles) from me that I find deals in. I have bought and still can pallets of new for 70 cents a watt. Check craigslist for deals. Xantrex used to be Trace engineering then xantrex and now schnieder electric. Fuckin over complicated junk they are! Charge controllers are down from 10 years ago for an outback or midnight solar. You can get a new outback 80 amp flexmax for 600 bux. You must have a low water table or a spring because gravity fed aint happening where Im at. You cant hand pump 700 feet lol.
Ill show my age. I designed the first modified sine wave inverters for Hart. 🙁
About batteries. Six volt golf cart batteries will work fine for most people.
Whatever system you design using an inverter should use the highest voltage possible. For example, if you have a 120 volt output you should strive for a 180 volt input inverter/ battery bank or for a 220 volt service a 312 volt inverter/battery bank. This will give you your best efficiency and longest life time.
You can also make your own batteries and if you have a few smarts, Sulfuric acid from drywall.
@ Genius.. I think Trace bought out Heart. I had a Heart Interface, then a trace engineering. Then some tweeters caught the whole area on fire and then I had none. I haven’t bought panels in a few (5) years. Don’t really want to spend the money on a system now. I am trying to get a hobby farm going for self sufficiency and am investing in a lot of equipment. I would like to eventually build a small still to run my old tractor and gas equipment. My intention is to go back in time. not forward. I don’t look down on people who would like to take their technology into the next rebuild.
I went with Midnite Solar chargers, and US Battery, also. However, I went with Apollo pure sine wave inverters(4000W each). Pretty happy with them.
“A”
Try this again. The site keep locking up and going down.
I have read a lot of what you have written. You sound like a smart cookie. You need to find a group to join up with. Like I said you are no dummy and you would be an asset to a group. Just remember in every group there will be some different ideas, and you will have your own. You will just have to work with them.
I don’t know where you live, but if you gave us a general idea I believe someone here could help you out.
I will hope for you Good luck and keep you in my prayers.
Sgt.
aljamo.
What works for you is what you need.
Some is better than none.
Don’t sell yourself short.
Make a plan.
I am not going anywhere either. Let them come. I will give them a warm welcome.
what passes as humanity?
Detroit?
New Jersey?
knives for barter~budK.com has some great prices on full tang.
bitcoin is a non-item.
I added a yamaha to my truck ;^)
If you haven’t seen a film called THE ROAD, it’s a must see.
Other good affordable preps are wool blankets, tarps, rope/tape.
Wine only gets better…
Ya I have seen it and it is bullshit, The government is nowhere to be found? Trust me, the govt. will ALWAYS be around to tell you what to do. Those fuckers are like herpes, gone one day but always return lol.
Read the book. It is better.
The road made me go out and buy a truckload of canned food…..
I’m skeptical of Bitcoin…if its not in your hands you don’t own it. Gold is too much for me,silver is ok as is ammo. Stock up on popular calibers for barter and try reloading gear. Batteries,alcohol,cigaretts, anything for trade.
Mac: Thanks for bringing up this article. It is nice to get back into PREPPING
Bitcoin?????
Would someone please tell me. Why Bitcoin? When TSHTF you are not going to buying and trading on the internet. The only real way to get something is with Gold, Silver, and bartering.
This was a pretty good article other than the Bitcoin, and there is no mention what to use to protect in a melt down.
Mac: what is up with the site? I keeps freezing up and not responding.
Sgt.
You need to stop looking at those gun porn sites Sarge. Truth be known I guess I should too.
PO
I love my GUN PORN sites!!!!!!
They get me throw the day.
Sgt.
Me too!
Sgt. Pale.
You dirty old man.
The only cock you can manage is the cocking of your guns!
I pity your poor wife Mr limpdick… BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
at least he’s GOT a dick, girlieman.
i bet if you ask nicely, sarge would toss you a beer….of course AFTER he gets to use it ….and it will be at room temperature….and you don’t get the bottle.
I strongly disagree about trading food with unprepared people. That just lets them know you have food. That makes you a target. I don’t plan on trading with anyone after the collapse. The biggest threats can be people who know you and think you owe them something.
If the power goes out you have no Bitcoin. The government could outlaw it at any time.
I agree on not trading or bartering, however, that has a place too.
Right now my chickens produce WAY too many eggs. I give them away to fellow member of my church.
I have experimented with barter. I had two trees cut down and hauled away. I traded a Mosin-Nagant rifle for one. The person was a prison guard who say the post an was interested in the gun enough to do the job.
The second tree I traded 3 silver rounds.
Money wise I came out WAY ahead. I did not have any trouble getting someone to take the trade either.
With FACEBOOK banning gun trades and gun sales, guns may not be a good barter item.
face what ?
I can’t believe how many dopes in my area use FaceBook. I tell them you mean FBI facial recognition database dosier, dangle all your personal info, ripe for thieves, hacks and exploitation, and for for anybody to Rob you blind and steal your identity website? They look at me with a blank stare like their 2 brain cells have no synapsis conectivity of a finite quark or spark to produce reason. Anybody using FB is a dumbfuck. Then try to delete your info or pics you posted. You are screwed, cause what you post is now property of FB. Sadly Ancestry websites are another and sending your blood sample in to DNA tracing and tracking is another. May as well bend over for the FEMA CAMP Fusion Center to drive an MRAP up your asshole on any given day cause you are good as dead when they go after the lowest hanging fruitcakes first. Being off the Grid means your personal info remains discrete as well. Are you also on your Church Member Roster complete with Photo and personal info?? Stupid is.
-WWTI…
http://www.armslist.com
http://www.ripenear.me
Best websites I have discovered in the last six months. Period.
I’m hoping/assuming Bitcoin was autocorrected from Bullets??? Haha. Because I’m thinking the Internet is one of the first things we’d lose.
I rather have a 20 oz. porterhouse steak than a bit coin.
Nothing about communions. Ham, Shortwave ? These are vital.
yes, communion will be important.
Agreed. So much so that My whole family and I got our tech licenses.
During Hurricane Rita, east texas was without cell service for about 10 days. Regular phone lines went down for about 7 days because the power was out so the phone lines died not to long after.
I talked to a phone teck who said that he placed a generator at one of the phone line power stations and it was stolen in less than 45 minutes.
That was my motivator to get everybody on the HAM radios.
They are really cheap too. you can buy a Boafeng for about $30 and they work pretty well.
john, yep, get the extra capacity batteries and high gain antennas too! A couple of scanners are great to have as well as a good shortwave reciever with SSB. Radioreferencedotcom has the local frequencies for police and fire etc. Just out of curiosity john, do you have the baofeng programming software? I can’t get mine to work and I need to program (unlock) a couple of pofung 8 watt radios.
No software, just manual programming.
Genius, download CHIRP software for your computer it’s free ! Then you can program local frequencies to your boafeng radios or other models
http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home
Prepper, Thanks but the instructions for the radio say in big letters DO NOT use chirp software for programming. I just need to unlock the frequency range limiter so I can get the full range out of it.
Not a big believer in Bitcoin. One thing about physical cash: no matter what happens, if you are trying to reconstitute something that resembles a country or society, there’s going to be a place for physical cash. It’s the quickest and easiest way to get things up and running.
As for the things mentioned, not sure if this falls into the grocery column, but I always have a substantial stockpile of matches, book or wooden. Plenty of places to get them, and the cost is minimal. In terms of having the ability to start a fire when they need one real bad, I’d say at least 80% of Americans would be completely useless without matches or a cigarette lighter. Many of them, if they need to barter for those matches, are going to be willing to trade some of the high-value stuff in this article for them. That’s why I always have fire steels and magnesium bars for me.
Matches are so 1960’s. There are these new devices called lighters. 50 for $10 on Amazon. Stock up 400 to 500 of them. Priceless come SHTF.
-WWTI…
Problem with those cheap lighters is that you can count on them to fail; you don’t know if it’s going to fail the first time you use it, the tenth time or the fiftieth. From a barter perspective, you’ve got a problem on your hands if that lighter or lighters fail on the guy you’ve done a trade with. You’re also talking small parts that require refined motor skills; bad combination in wet, cold conditions.
I just think wooden matches are an overall better trade item because they guy you trade them to knows exactly what he has, and will still be able to get them to work as long as he doesn’t get the matches wet.
Pete, I bought 400 lighters and have not had a bad one yet after using dozens. With these you can remove the silver shield and adjust the flame wheel from low to a 6 inch torch. Try lighting a match in a windstorm. Matches are also useless if they get wet, lighters keep on clicking. And when the lighter is out of fuel the flint can still be used to create a spark if necessary. Since you don’t know you have an uninformed opinion. Or have no clue on basic mechanics or curiosity, and give up after the first try. 50 lighters for $10 is a No-Brainer.
~WWTI…
I bought some strike anywhere matches at Walmart the other day and they only had three boxes left.
I also invested in Zippo lighters too.
In a SHTF I don;t want to be struggling to light a fire. Chances are if i need to light a fire I will be cold, wet, and worn out. I don’t want to struggle with a fire.
Also,
Look on YouTube for the term “Penny Stove”
It would make a fun 10 minute project. I used “HEET” as the fuel. You can get it at the auto part store for $2 or $3.
Be careful who sees you buying the HEET as it is also a component in meth labs.
Good fire starter : A couple ounces of motor oil or bar oil in a sandwich baggie, maybe add a little wood shavings and crumpled paper. Set under your wood and light it off, it will burn hot and light even fairly wet wood, as long as it’s small.
Self lighting propane torch. 😀
OK Im Lazy. But works great and a single bottle goes a LOOOOONG ways. My current bottle has been at it for the last 2 years an I run 3 stoves all 7 winter months.
I buy two lighters every time I am in the gas station. Also stocked up on different types of matches. I do some sort of prepping, even if it is a small thing, everyday. Everyones comments here are appreciated.
I like wood box matches, seal in vacuum bags with moisture absorbers,
A lot of these articles are about what you need to survive and be independent blah blah. We have beat this horse down so many times. We need to take all this to the next level so we don’t need to live a subsistence life. How about doing something about the problems. How about sharing these ideas. Let’s stop talking about things we need to buy. Water filters guns ammo food gold silver yada yada. All this goes without saying anymore. Share techniques to do things to avoid buying stuff so all people who want to can prepare regardless of their income. Maybe show some emergency medical procedures that can save a life during hard times. Show ways to save calories doing things by making simple tools and using them. Maybe show how to make something usable out of garbage items. It’s not always about buying something to feel more prepared. How about skills being more important than guns.
Asshat
On the medical side.
One should know the various pressure points of the body to stem blood flow to wounds. Grasping the wrist under the arm, inside of the thigh and ankle area can reduce blood flow. Under the nose for a nose bleed.
There is also a procedure call “Go Jo” acupuncture and these are pressure points on the body that relieve pain. This takes some practice to accomplish and some might look funny but they work. I have used the two points on the back of my skull to relieve headaches. And it works for me. Only you know when you hit the right spot and press cause it hurts also.
It is on google.
Asshat, I saw something a while ago about making a thermal imaging proof suit out of radiant heat barrier (2 layers) with polyester batting in between. Put some camo netting on the outside and it sounds pretty good. A good idea for a sniper or security detail. I have a flir unit I will check it out this summer.
No such thing. Heat is heat and you may be able to drop yourself into a thermal proof bag but the heat must come out someplace. Either thru the bag material or thru whatever opening your head or arms come out and it will be more intense than just your plain old body temp.
Ed I don’t know but there was a video proving that it worked. I imagine it would get pretty damn hot in that outfit but the flir vid they showed didn’t show any heat. I will have to play with my flir and different things to see what works for myself I guess.
Bitcoin ??? Prep humor, right ??
About the only thing more phony than the federal reserve note would be some made up electronic currency. Bitcoin is for computer nerds that think they can farm with a keyboard.
I think Bitcoin is the NWO currency. Anything of value held in paper IOS’s is a scam and you don’t control it. No thanks.
-WWTI…
Now that is funny, farming from a keyboard.
Yeah…..I thought so too until this idiot computer guy moved in near me.
Bought 7 cows and put them on 3 acres and assured me it would work when I told him he would have to feed hay year round….” Oh no, I’ve read on it on the net….it will work”
So this graduate of You-Tube University starved them until one laid down and died, another was right at it when another neighbor took it in to nurse back to health (and still has it….computer guy never even asked about it), and he finally sold the rest after they broke out several times and folks finally got animal control involved.
Always full of big bullshit ideas on how to do things, none of which worked of the few he ever got off his lazy ass to even try. I was so glad to see him leave.
I have seen a lot of that from idiot college grads, got their degree in ag something and a head full of theory but cant grow shit third year on,,,
Exactly my point, Farming from a keyboard. I.t. and U-tube university. Not a good combo… Agree completely…
X2.
Lead
Powder
Brass
& Primers
Yeah it’s like that
Is that a new acronym for a minority?
LPB&P
Or is it a fancy new sandwich?
i think that’s the acronym for the fema camp railroad….
I want to know how power is cheaper at night. And water from a dehumidifier? Sounds like a bit of lead ingestion, and the humidity would have to be higher than 40% for most units to extract any appreciable amount of water. I’ll opt for holes in the ground, they’re free to operate.
Some places have off peak power rates that are cheaper.
The water from a de-humidifier certainly is a hair brained idea….probably they saw it on You-Tube University….where ever hair brained plan gets equal treatment.
Water from a dehumidifier is okay, and they do put out enough for drinking. The humidity around here is rarely below 40% for any length of time. It’s 70% right now. So a dehumidifier run by solar power would be a possible alternate source of water in addition to city water, my well, my swamp, the creek down the road, and rainwater.
Smart meters keep up with the time of day you use electricity so they can penalize you for using too much electricity during peak hours. I don’t have a smart meter, so it doesn’t apply to me.
Break on through to the other side…
Fuck capitalism… Embrace Barbarism.
Break on through to the other side.
Yeh, you keep thinking that
Don’t dodge cops.
Take from the establishment.
tptb are weak.
Transgressive culture is now the norm.
FUCK AUTHORITY.
Breitbart is reporting that the Cops caught 3 Jihadists smuggling 50+ grenades and a bunch of AKM’s into Sweden.
Spanish Authorizes discovered enough new desert camo military uniforms hidden in “surplus cloths” to cloth a “small army”. They were being shipped to ISIS territory.
Saw “London has Fallen” today. Finally a movie where the Jihadists are the bad guys.
I guess Erdogan and Obama weren’t the script doctors then? 🙂
I say what you need in a crisis is a means to replicate wealth. Land is part of it but so is a ‘haram’. Women can be put to work in many ways that generate cash. Be the guy who provides and protects and the women will gather.
If shtf were to happen in today’s society, then we can pretty easily work out what it would be like from past shtf (New Orleans, London 2011, LA riots, Baltimore etc.). The ‘minorities’ will go on a looting, raping and burning spree. This will happen within minutes of order breaking down: it is instinctual.
The solution? Rapid data collection to identify the trajectory of the threat mob; neighborhood cut-offs: seal off streets to block entry. Identify minority groups hostile to blacks and use them against them. This is easier than one imagines. Turks hate them; so do Asians. When mobilized, they quickly start taking revenge. Blacks never fight mano y mano: always in packs. Break them up, and break them down.
In the town I used to live in, whenever the electricity would go out at night, I could listen on the scanner and hear the police within minutes reporting that people from a certain neighborhood were on the march toward the business district to steal what they could while all the burglar alarms downtown had been set off by the power outage.
SW
I too saw London Fallen.
The Jihadists got it in the end. Loved the special effects. The problem is if it can be done with special effects it can be done true to scale. This also just goes to show if you let too many of these turds into your county how they can infiltrate everything.
It also showed a Prez. with some BALLS!!!!
Sgt.
Store bought preps = death in a box. When you get to the bottom of it, you’re dead. Sustainable replenishable survival is the only long term solution. Relying on others to grow your food is irresponsible, untrustworthy, and dead in the water during any infrastructure collapse. Just as those poor folks in Venezuela.
Real Economic Surivival
Relying on others to grow your food, supply your power/water/sewer/heat and defense is a sure fired way to end up dead.
But millions of people take that bet every day !
You can’t grow Cheetos or Doritos.
A must have in a SHTF.
You can grow most, if not all, of the ingredients and make your own.
ht tp://parade.com/329019/parade/why-buy-when-you-can-make-your-own-cheetos/
ht tp://www.momables.com/homemade-dorito-recipe/
Right on agent skin tptb is weak and scared of we the people rising up. Fuck them I’d be scared if I was them. Sick of Jews controlling the game.
——————Scrounging for Living——————
Go to your local butcher and inquire about beef hearts and kidneys. They are not allowed to sell frozen organ meat. My butcher gives me the hearts and kidneys for free since he cannot sell them fresh. Pickle and can them or stuff and roast. My dog eats them too. Free food.
Also, buy halves of hogs and beef and can up the excess for long shelf life food. Look for neighbors that butcher their own and set up a deal to raise hogs for feed buy in and help butchering. Get the lard since most “new age” creeps are scared of it.
Inquire at the local dent and out-of-date store. I get boxes of day old bread to feed my chickens for a couple dollars. The bread is also perfectly fine to eat and some of it is “fancy” bread.
Buy your milk from a local dairy farmer on the cheap. It is healthy and has the probiotics that you need that are “cooked” out when homogenized and pasteurized. Skim off the cream when it separates and make homemade ice cream or your own sour cream. It’s easy and good and cheap to do.
Make your own wine and shine. Wine is fairly easy with minimal practice. You can make it from dang near anything. I even have a few jugs of rhubarb and raisin wine in the cellar. Alcohol in moderation is good to calm the stress and a good barter tool or just to share.
Maple trees? Tap em and make syrup.
Chickens? Let em free range and keep the kids busy lookin for eggs.
Grow some weed and smoke it…
OK…maybe I tipped that jug once too often.
Get crackin’
Watch Elani. The movie on line free with Greek subtitles John Malcovich . It shows you exactly what’s going to happen to your kids.
I like my beef heart cut into strips, floured with seasoned flour and pan fried.
Most people don’t know that you don’t have to have sugar maples. All maples can be tapped, but may not produce quite as much sap.
They still produce lots of sap it is just that it is much more watered down naturally so it needs to be processed for a longer period of time. I have had manitoba maple syrup. It tasted fine.
Kroger sells frozen beef hearts. Just saying.
Dehumidifier for water? Like the power will be on but not the water?
Well, when you write stupid articles for the masses, it doesn’t actually have to make sense.
Yes, this was my idea. I have used a dehumidifier to get water.
Solar power.
Problem is we gave our lives to corporations. Stacking etc. is not taking the basics of water, shelter, and food back into our control. We will not have any freedom until we do that. Commerce should only include the lux items, not survival items.
I wont ever again in my life spend another fucking cent that I don’t have to.
@ Rebecca..the stackers will starve when they run out. You can’t learn survival skills overnight. As on your web site. its trial and error, feast or famine.
Sometimes even when you know what your doing shit happens,,,
Yep… more often than not.
So stackers will starve, because they run out? Well son, they outlawed red dye No 40 over 50 years ago, I still got three unopened bottles and a part. Chlordane ant killer outlawed 40 years ago, still got enough for another 50 years, To keep my stock rotated and new, my next box of CCI primers to use, cost $9.99/1000. The 22 Mag I’m now shooting cost $2.99/100. The 22LR was $5.00 a brick. The TP in the back bathroom I got in 1972. If I live long enough to run out I’ll be the oldest guy in the world. You children should learn how to stack.
Speak for yourself, witch.
good advice-except for Bitcoin-it is no more “real” than paper money-
Bitcoin in a collapse I realise has no value.At the moment with bit coin and a tor ect. connection to the dark and deep web,well,have enuff bitcoin will buy you anything you have enuff,say,eh,tools not at your local store or local shows,bit coin at moment has a place in our economy,collapse,it won’t even be toilet paper.
I may add: toilet paper,booze,cigarettes,candy.
board games and pencils and paper and spices and clothes and cards and underwear and drink mix and batteries and…
A GOOD PAIR OF SHOES..
Thats a big one, your feet can screw you if something is awry with them
The first thought that occurred to me after seeing the opening photo was that it would be a good place to die in an earthquake.
No Nation Has EVER Taxed Itself Into Prosperity
You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating working Americans out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
Government cannot give to anybody anything that government does not first take from somebody else. When half the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to pay for them – and when that paying half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they worked so hard for, then that, my friend, is the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth to help the poor by dividing it.
We work our asses off gardening and canning and caring for animals but all of this talk is making me anxious to plant.
What, no mention of toilet paper?
Granted, you don’t technically need it to survive, but the vast majority of people in the world would rather not have to do without it. Remember, one of the resources for which those poor oppressed Venezuelans are now standing in line for hours every day is toilet paper. It’s durable, and also not the first item to occur to every prepper gathering essentials for survival, so it’s an excellent trade item several years out for any essential goods you might have used up or forgotten to get for yourself. (“Getting a bit uncomfortable wiping with a newspaper, fella? Trade you a palette of toilet paper for that grindstone.” “Deal!”)
As to water purification, don’t worry yourself about that paranoid nonsense concerning fluoride or chlorine being some sinister plot to contaminate the Purity Of Essence of your precious bodily fluids. Think rather of actual proven contaminants like lead in the water of, to provide just one example, Flint, MI. Flint’s not the only blighted urban hellhole in the USA with a decaying water system full of rusty pipes and a thoroughly corrupt government run by a pack of thieving socialist parasites, you know.
Who and what is “Activist Post”? Is that the name of the website that originally posted the article? Bitcoin? Reallyyyyyy? The article has this SHTF fan in a quandary. Someone has some splain’ to do.
No forest just trees- question?
if a tree falls in the forest and no-one is around to hear it, does it still make a noise?
Stay safe everyone.
Mom the Prepr.
Yes. It produces a vibration High frequency noise that you can not hear is still noise. Same as the try only distance from the falling tree is the determining factor.
It’s great to have Stock pile preps.. But also best “Not to say” that you have them.. As you’ll become the free supermarket for those who Didn’t prep.. Guns and ammo won’t stop people with tactical training .. At best – You’ll just make them earn it..
I don’t feel the super elite will let the world economy go down the tubes.. It’s like saying that a billionaire is willing to give all their $ to charity in the hopes that they will make it all over again- it simply won’t happen..
The only cure to what is happening now.. Is simply outlined in our past history .. WAR is always the only solution.. It cleans the slate and is very profitable to the super wealthy..
I don’t support War or economic chaos .. But it really doesn’t matter since these days “We the people” really seem that we don’t really matter..
The series of movies – “The Purge” are the best example of what is going to be happening to most of us.. In the near future .. Hollywood is already placing that
seed onto our brains..
*Just go on and Live your lives to the fullest right now .. As we are all here and gone in a blink of an eye..
You can buy on JM Bullion with Bitcoin.
I can’t see any non-physical ‘asset’ like the bitcoin as a serious prep. We’re concerned about controlling our local food supply from marauders in SHTF, grid down events, no rule of law, and a viable alternative to tangible assets is a bitcoin? Might as well stock up on EBT cards and Zimbabwean Dollars.
The rest of the article I can agree with, especially the hand tools section. Even better is to have enough gardening tools to equip a few folks, it takes a lot of area to grow enough food for a group, and the group needs to have tools.
Land, not really.
There is no need for “more land” if you can say “Look what this family produced with just 1/10th of an acre!”
Food production/gardening on a small/family scale is quite labor intensive. Without equipment and much greater capital costs, larger scale production is impossible. Equipment and other capital investments are expensive. Small farmers do not get rich farming.
If, spring through autumn, much labor and many hours are spent gardening just to provide food for your family (including stored food for winter through summer), what else is getting done effectively? If you produce a surplus for trade, what will you trade for? Everyone else has spent all their time gardening/farming just to produce food for their families. They’re not at their other/former jobs. They’re not producing other things.
The point is not to give up on producing some or much of your own food.
The point is that if you intend to produce food, and especially if you intend to produce a surplus you not only need land, you need equipment, other capital expenses (fences, outbuildings, maintenance garage, tools etc), a boatload of seed, and feed (oh, livestock needs feed?), and water (oh, livestock drinks? tons and tons?) and medicine (oh, livestock gets sick?), and fertilizer, and herbicides (oh, “organic” isn’t the most efficient way to produce?), and pesticides (oh, all my seed & expense & time could be wasted in a matter of weeks?); but also an enormous quantity of stored diesel.
And, right up until the day that the S truly HTF, you’ll be paying taxes on all real property, depreciation & maintenance on all equipment, and insurance on most of it.
My advice is simply not to get too deeply involved in food production. Get an out of the way piece of land of small acreage. Stockpile canned & dehydrated food, and have a small garden. Stock PMs, ammo, cigarettes, booze, toilet paper, toiletries, clothing, shoes and other small tradeables. When SHTF, use those things to pay some other poor unprepared sap to do the near-profitless task of producing your food.
If you’ve done that and have more to invest … Don’t build thousands of feet of fencing for livestock; instead build 20 feet of security fencing around your stores of diesel, kerosene, and propane (and the expenditures to store it safely).
As always, do it discretely — a thing that is impossible if you’re preparing to farm substantial acreage.
Until property taxes are no more, non-producing land is a BAD investment; and if you’re preparing for a SHTF scenario, making the land productive is a BAD investment when compared to other physical (tradeable) things you could invest in.
Time. Whether SHTF or not, time is the most precious commodity, and making land produce, regardless of profit or loss, WILL suck up all of yours.
@ Yuri. respectfully disagree. Someday your stacks(preps) will run out, then you will no longer have anything to trade for food. In the meantime, the farmer has traded extra food produced for firearms and ammo, fuel, etc. I believe I will produce just enough for feeding my friends and family, donate and barter the excess. Store/can a year or two in advance for failed times. You are correct on the expenses.
Some people in other parts of the world wipe their ass with their hand. I would never wait in long lines for tp forget it. I would find something else to wipe with. Look your gonna have to forget about luxuries like tp it’s just how it is. You’ll make it with out.
Bitcoin after it all comes down? obviously not. Bitcoin as an anonymous way to pay for things? Perhaps. Credit cards and such leave a trace. Getting difficult to get cash to buy anything big. i took out $500 to buy something, and they gave me 3 100s 2 50s and 5 20s. what?? can i just get 5 bens? finally got them but they made it seem like it was a big deal. there is a determined push to outlaw cash. (another issue entirely) barter is good up to a certain point. Until the day it all comes down. bitcoin may be worth a bit (hehe) of thought as a way to keep some purchases off the books. just saying.