[Narz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')As far as a medium of exchange after currency is worthless, I'd say it would be knowledge!

[Serial_Worrier]

But but I can't fashion tools! After TEOTWAWKI happens, will one of you take me in? I can do farm work if someone teaches me!

[rangerone314]

Thought I would cobble together from some of the posts here & organize it a bit:

Food & Drink & Medicine:
salt, pepper, cocoa, Whiskey, Rum, aspirin

Explosives & Ammunition:
Shells & bullets, Black powder, Smokless powder, Primers, percussion caps

Clothing materials:
Bolts of cloth both cotton and wool, felt, leather

Tools & utensils & appliances:
needles and thread, hand saw blades, canning jar lids and rings, hand files, axe heads and hammer heads, hand tools, pocket knives-folders,
Kerosene lamps & wicks & their glass chimneys, bucket full of cheap stainless steel forks/knives/spoons, steel hand tools--hoes, rakes, shovels, spades, and such, minus handles, and learn to make and replace the handles

Metals:
Gold, US junk silver coins & Silver slips/bars, copper electrical wire for general use, brass and bronze for bearing materials, tin, Zinc, pigs of lead, useful shapes and sizes of steel (steel plates and bars) for general repair work, babbit alloy (lead/tin/antimony) for cast bearings, Lead/tin solder, and brazing alloys are worth having, silver solder

Fuels:
barrel of kerosene, Firewood

[sittinguy]

I am stocking up on silver coins, thats my bet. Gold is good to have but not to trade, unless it is for something big.

[Revi]

It is hard to tell what will happen. Deflation? Inflation?

They are predicting some surprises in 2009, though. Here's a guy who still has all his money in cash now, but is thinking it could be dicey in the next year or two for the dollar:

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/ar ... s?tickers=^gspc,^DJI,UDN,UUP,TLT,^DJC,SPY

[rangerone314]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('phaster', '
')I'm glad ya had the common sense to approach the problem by looking at the big picture. Even though we are going thru an economic rough spot, live here in the UAS and the developed world is much better than it is in third world slums.

As far as a medium of exchange after currency is worthless, I'd say it would be knowledge! Think about it for a moment, all the guns and gold are not going to save your ass in jam if suddenly they are gone.

In my book there is no better investment that a sharp mind and a fit body, once ya have that its possible improvise the rest no matter if thats on wall street, main street, in a physics lab, or suddenly stuck somewhere out in the bush.

[rangerone314]

Even though some people here think the dollar won't eventually collapse, ask yourselves: what will happen when both peak oil hits and no one is willing to loan the US more money? We already have like 10 trillion in DEBT.

What happens when the INTEREST takes up MOST of the Federal budget?

What happens when oil is $500 a barrel?

All roads lead to money printing in the US and hyperinflation resulting from money printing and higher energy costs.

We will be just like pre-WWII Germany or Zimbabwe now eventually.