James:
Great letters on thinking about skills as the ultimate portable “barter goods”. If you have a specialty skill, just make sure that you have enough tools and supplies to be a post-TEOTWAWKI supplier. It’s a big time commitment to become qualified in a specialty outside of your current work, but if you can leverage your current expertise with some more training and/or tools and/or supplies that would be ideal.
I would add that much the same criteria apply for skills as for goods. The best skills would be the ones that are mission-critical for survival in a horrific TEOTWAWKI situation – medical, security, food production, water supply come to mind. Just like goods, unless it is really, really needed at the survival level, I don’t think there will be much demand for it.
Re: “After reading the various articles on barter goods, I am still confused as to why one would keep goods for barter.”
As stated, “barter goods will give you purchasing power to buy consumables you run out of, stuff that breaks or wears out, items you didn’t think ahead to store – or unforeseen needs, e.g., medical, new baby, new people at the farm, etc., etc. “
Predicting all future needs is impossible – barter goods give you one more option to trade with neighbors for the unforeseen, in the time between functioning economies. You may be an ER physician – but if your neighbors don’t happen to need medical care right then you still want something of value to trade. Or you may be ill or injured, or you can’t be spared from your retreat for security, etc., etc. Just like investing, diversification of your options to get what you need from your stores, barter goods and barter services is the way to go (or of course gold and silver when a rudimentary economy reemerges)
Re: “Supposedly you are at a rural retreat … surrounded by a horde of people who are ill-equipped to cope.”
If so you are in a very bad location for survival, and no amount of stuff or skills is likely to save you! If you are in lightly populated, good farm country you should have good neighbors to trade both skills and stuff.
Re: “Being a survivor isn’t just about having stuff, it’s about having skills.”
I would bet the survivors will be those that have a good supply of both skills and stuff (and the right location). One can compensate for the other to some extent, but if you are too low on either you’re in bad shape.
How about some suggestions for goods and skills that fulfill post-TEOTWAWKI criteria?
Regards, – OSOM “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”
Letter Re: Another Perspective on Selecting Barter Goods
