Get guns and ammo.
#1 Shotgun and a rifle for self defense and hunting. Also for taking what you need if TSHTF!
#2 Then get food for 3 months. Any more than that and you will be wasting it all, because you will not eat it...unless TSHTF.
#3 Make sure you have the basics to life. Food, clothing, shelter, and the ability to get more of the same. Like fishing gear, hunting gear, books on edible plants, water purification methods. Don't over spend.
#4 Get out of debt. They will come for your stuff...if you owe.
#5 Make your situation better. house with land to grow on and raise animals. Wood pile for years. Cold room. water storage. Ect.
#6 Then think about Silver as a trading item for when TSHTF.
Do each one in that order and no matter what at each level you are increasing your chances of survival if TSHTF. Silver and gold are not that important if no one is using it as trade. They are more likely to trade food for anything you need before they even think about silver. Silver trading is for when things start to get back on track well after TSHTF.
Guns are MOST important. People will take your life for a can of beans. It's other people you will have to be most afraid of first. If you have food, then you can trade for other things and also survive on your own supply for a time.
Having the basics will just make your life easier after TSHTF.
If you owe anything on your home or car....they will come for it....They may come for it even if you do own it. #4 could also be #5 depending on how you see it.
If you have a cold room with a years worth of food, you will sleep better at night, than if you have 1000 ounces of silver in a safe when TSHTF. That silver makes you rely on other people wanting to trade with you. IF you rely on other people then you already lost because chances are the guy who has a years worth of food....doesn't want to trade for something he can't eat.
Quoting: Edmontonian Very good list, to which I would add a few:
- Basic medical supplies, including some basic fish antibiotics, dressings with quick clot already in them, alcohol, ibuprofen, etc. You also want something to treat diarrhea as it is a common 3rd world problem when you lack sanitation. Also, if you are on medication, stock up. High end meds will be worth more than almost anything to those that need it.
- Some sort of shortwave radio that you can recharge via solar. Lack of information is a huge moral issue. A cheap old CB would be nice too. Obviously, ham radios are better, but good ones that can DX (communicate further than line of site) are too expensive for many on a budget and require a lot of skill.
- Skills, skills, and more skills. Your supplies can be looted/confiscated, but your skills cannot. One I would really highlight on your list is foraging, and learn the root plants in your area as they will give you energy year-round. Also, trapping is probably more important than hunting as wide swaths of the country were without deer and large game during the depression (hunted out). Even if its just setting snares for rabbits/squirrels. You can do other stuff all day, then walk your trap line at night and gather what you have caught.
- Some pool shock for water purification and sanitation (just add water and it makes bleach).
- Besides the barter items you listed, sin items work well too as proven in places like Yugoslavia and Argentina. Cigarettes, booze, and coffee work fine. Just because there is a crisis doesn't mean peoples addictions go away.
There are obviously many more, this just finishes off the critical ones.
