Editor’s Note: This resource has been updated and revised for 2018.
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.
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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 There are a lot of nuclear power plants that are running on outdated technologies.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
The Best Items to Use For Barter in a Post-Collapse World
There are a lot of different opinions as to what items will be best for barter in a post-collapse world where the underground economy may be the only viable economy for the passing of goods and services. That said, consider this a starting point as you begin to acquire goods for barter.
There are plenty of reasons and economic collapse could happen. A lot of people assume that this is political but there are plenty of other reasons a collapse could occur.
What You Can Do To Be Prepared
There are a lot of items that people are very used to having. What we take for granted, as being the basics can seem like major luxuries during an economic collapse. Here at Backdoor Survival we want you to be educated and prepared for such circumstances so we have compiled this list of supplies that we feel are worth it to have on hand for bartering for the items you don’t have.
Food is important but water is first on the list of concerns during any type of collapse or economic distress. While you can live without food for quite some time, no water for a few days can be the end of anyone.
While it is impractical to expect to be able to put back expensive backpacking water filters, Lifestraws are a remarkably good deal. For $20 you get a filter that fits into your pocket and can give you 1000 liters of clean water. At this price, you could put back 10 of these for $200.
Besides the trade value, these straws could literally save the life of a lot of people. Even if someone is drinking 3 liters of water a day, a Lifestraw would last 330 days.
Some businesses such as Camping Survival offer discounts if you buy more than one Lifestraw at a time so you can cut your costs a bit.
Extra Food and a lot of it
A lot of people have never known what it is like to do without food for more than 12 hours and that is a fact. During an economic collapse, most grocery stores will have bare shelves within 2-3 days with some items being bought up even quicker than that once people have even the slightest clue what is going on.
You need to have your food ahead of time and some extra for barter. If you plan on helping out a family member then you need to tally them in when determining how much food you need.
During an economic collapse, it is crucial to have calorie dense nutritious foods available. Those on special diets can have an especially hard time getting what they need during a crisis so if you are in this position you need to plan your emergency food accordingly.
Ready to eat items are good to have on hand for those times when cooking is not practical or even possible.
Just remember to take care of your own food needs first and then put back extra for trade. Food is the most important thing you need to put back as it will be in the shortest supply.
As stated before, grocery stores only have enough to keep food on shelves for a day or two at most without regular delivery. Panic and crisis can cause shelves to be bare within a few hours.
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Medical Supplies
Antibiotics
As a society, we are very reliant on antibiotics to fight infections. The problem is that not all infections respond to the same antibiotic. Gathering some information about what each type of antibiotic treats is crucial to have during any crisis.
That being said you need to have a variety of antibiotics on hand for you and your family as well as for trade. That $20 bottle of antibiotics is priceless in a real collapse because it can literally be the difference between life and death.
I suggest getting a mixed pack of antibiotics or possibly two mixed packs so you have one for your own self and family and a whole other pack for trade and barter. Camping Survival based in North Carolina offers very good prices, free shipping, and mixed packs that make putting back these essential antibiotics quite easy.
When buying antibiotics they will be labeled for fish or even birds but they are the same drugs given to people. The main thing to pay attention to is the exact milligrams of each pill. A 250-milligram bottle of pills is going to be cheaper than the 500-milligram bottles but you will have to take twice as many to get the same effect.
