Is Post-Disaster Bartering a Possibility?

By BD

The answer to that question is a wholehearted YES. Whether you know it or not, the barter system you learned about oh so long ago is still up and running. You make use of it every single day to do a whole variety of things! The barter system (which is thought to have ended when we first used currency) is defined as an exchange of goods or services. This applies to just about any type of goods, including money.

A perfect example of this is hiring a plumber. When you hire the services of a plumber to fix the leaky faucet and the pipes in your home, you pay him money in exchange for the services he is offering. We use paper, issued by the state, to barter for services. Of course, when it comes to a world-destroying disaster, paper is going to be absolutely worthless to barter with. Government collapse would lead to a complete devaluation of money. It would be better to just buy gold to last you through the fallout.

No currency means goods need to be traded

Without currency backed by the state to support barter using currency, there is only one option left: to trade goods with actual value for others that you need in return. To survive, this is something that will have to be done in a survival situation. Of course, you could go all Rick Grimes on the people around you and kill them, but you would probably get arrested and sentenced when rescue came along.

A prime example of this type of situation is any natural disaster today where people are trapped for weeks without a rescue. Examples include the 2004 South Asian Tsunami and the more recent Hurricane Katrina. People stuck on the inside would trade food and clothing in exchange for other goods that they had dire need of. Remember that when it comes to a survival situation, your very life hangs in the balance. Barter carefully.

Essentials and material comforts

There are two categories that you need to sort everything into the second a disaster occurs and you get to your stockpile. These are the bare essentials for survival and the objects that are more materialistic, made for comfort rather than survival. The priorities are food and water. You can survive without anything else, but you will die off soon enough without a steady supply of food and water. Make getting these your highest priority.

One tip is that if you need food and water to live, so does everyone else. This can make that sheep you found wandering about after the disaster as valuable as its weight in pure gold. If you trade food items and water, you can be sure that the people you are bartering with will give you just about anything that you need.

Ten useful barter items

In addition to the bare essentials, there are a number of items you should try stockpiling right now, so that you can trade them when the need arises, for the right exchange of course. Here are 10 of them right now:

Lighter fluid

Lighters

Soap/Liquid Soap

Magnifying glasses(fire starting)

Toilet Paper

Water/Water Filters

Knives/Tools

Mousetraps

Flashlights/Batteries

Some of these may seem worthless right now. When the time comes for them to be used, everyone is going to want them. You are going to be the man with a plan.