Time and time again, I hear preppers advising people to stock up on gold and silver, but not many of them seem to understand the importance of cash. I know it’s almost Taboo to say anything bad about gold, but in my opinion, during a complete meltdown scenario gold is going to be the last thing most people are worried about.
Yes, I do realize the same can be said about paper currency. During an extreme collapse situation, your cash is going to quickly become useless, but that’s not really what we’re talking about here.
What about during other disaster scenarios? Do you really think the local grocery store is going to take your gold or silver as payment for your goods? I doubt it; a lot of these people have a hard time counting back the change they owe you, so I’m pretty sure you’re going to get some weird looks when you try handing over a chunk of silver.
Natural Disasters: They’re not going to take your gold as Payment
All joking aside, I think we need to look at what happens during most natural disasters. One look at an event like Hurricane Sandy or Katrina will immediately show you the importance of always having cash on hand. During both of these disasters, millions of people found themselves unable to pay for things like food, water, and even gas for their vehicles.
The minute the power grid went down, credit and debit cards became completely useless. As our culture increasingly speeds towards a digital cashless society, people often forget how easily those digital items can be rendered useless. I recommend always having enough cash on hand to be able to make it safely through one of these types of disasters. From paying for gas during an evacuation to paying for hotels, extra food, or last minute supplies, cash will be one of the most important survival items that you can carry.
TOTAL COLLAPSE: Cash Will Still Be King during the initial Phase of the Collapse
Even during a total financial collapse, cash will still play a major role in how people buy and sell during the initial stages of the crisis. Should there be a run on the banks, people will be desperate for cash and will be willing to sell just about anything to get it.
Most people simply don’t understand how quickly a currency can become devalued, and most people will be clamoring for cash in the early stages of an economic collapse. People have been brainwashed into thinking this paper actually has some sort of value; so in the short-term, 99% of the country will still see paper currency as something that still has value.
WHAT TO CARRY: Small Bills are Best
When it comes to carrying cash for a survival situation, make sure you carry smaller bills — nothing larger than a 20. Even during the good times, a lot of stores are reluctant to take larger bills, so carrying smaller bills makes it easier to pay for what you need without worrying whether the business can break the bill. During a survival situation, you want to make things as simple and easy as possible. If you need to stock up on any last-minute supplies, you need to be able to quickly get in and out of the store.
remember germany during and after WW1?….cash is not king….that katrina and sandy incident is just a part of the country is affected and most of the industries are left intact….that is why the paper currency held its value….if it was a total collapse of the system then it would be foolish for you to say the cash is still king…the velocity of money simply is not there…in post collapse shtf…gold and silver will have value…HOWEVER…the exact worth will still not be standardized….barter of essential items and comfort items will be the norm…remember BOSNIA?…nobody would give a rat’s ass on silver and gold…over a canned food….lighters are more valuable than precious metals…ammos…are worth more.
I’m surprised bitcoin hasn’t been mentioned. There are many disaster scenarios, which is why I strongly agree with the “cover your bases” strategy–keep a balance of cash, junk silver, and tradable commodities that have inherent value, like ammo and seeds (and booze. I don’t even drink anymore, but a bottle of whisky will trade for a *lot* not long after even a localized breakdown).
One scenario is a collapse of the US economy, but not the worldwide economy. In which case you want to be holding non-US currencies. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies aren’t tied to any nation-state, which is very attractive when nation-states are failing. And it isn’t necessarily a bad investment in any case, so you’re not missing out on gains the way you are with cash.
Investing in your post-shtf future is similar to regular investing–evaluate probabilities and risks, balance your portfolio. I live in San Francisco, and the biggest risk here, by far, is an earthquake. So our top two prep senarios are a pretty bad earthquake, where water and electricity are interrupted for weeks (think Sandy/Katrinia), and a truly massive quake, where the city burns and the bridges collapse. In our plans for both, cash is part.
I’m catchin’ up & I think agreed; smaller denominations of dollars the first week or so, but that’s going to get old real fast! As for the “metals”? During this uncertain yet not more than likely decade long mid-period (SHTF) economic collapse, what mechanism(s), standard(s) will place given value on gold or silver? Banks are gone! There’s no structure to valuate how much of said weight (ounces) of given “metals” are to be worth? That ounce of silver at one scenario may just get you 1 loaf of bread & maybe a gallon of water; where as, that same ounce may need 2 more for the same.
Better to have, a small number of prepackaged mentioned useful barter items, a craft or skill of trade(s) to swap & move on. Have at your disposal, (but hidden out of sight) small sized, slightly weighty combo packages of practicable essential items to trade, barter. Remember, “cost of goods gouging” will be like brush fire.
In areas WROL. The mob mentally will dominate most areas & you’ll want to if you can BO. There’s a bully (alpha dog) & followers in those scenarios! They’ll want what you have and take it! If they’re stupid enough? Take my gold, take my silver and just take off!
Be well, be safe and be forever vigilant!
I think the author is right on this article. I think gold and silver is a fine investment for this minute because everyone knows the “monitory value” of each. If life went south, nobody is gonna know or even care how much your gold or silver is worth. But everyone will know what 20 bucks is worth! It’s a simple way to put a numerical value on anything. Definitely something to think about.
Funny all these comments were made before anyone really realized what a Chinese virus and inflation could do to a country!!!! The real value of having gold and silver is these metals tell you what the dollar is “really worth”. in 2021 an Ounce of gold is worth $1800!! in 1971 it was only worth $42 Gold has gone up 97% or the dollars value had dropped 97%? which do you think it is? Its the dollar. Gold always tells you what a dollar is really worth. This is why you buy gold and silver!