$$-Something of Value-SHTF??

[westcoastfrog]

i carry $500 cash as my SHTF plan... overseas. does that count?

[Mac5.56]

Medications and Antibiotics are a big one that will be hard to come by. I was reading somewhere that feed stores sell most antibiotics over the counter for live stock. These are essentially the same thing as pharmaceutical grade. I have been meaning to check into this once I return to CONUS as a possible route for a SHTF stash. Anyone hear about that one?

That is a yes and a no on your question. You need to speak with someone in the know as the dosages are different based on the size of the animal (you are an animal), and there are different chemicals occasionally as a result of differing allergies/reactions on the parts of animals in question. My fiance is a vet tech, with a biology under grad, and vet certification. Large, and small animal trained, and she spent two years in Oregon working at a farm supply store. This isn't as cut and dry as you would think, but you are basically right. There are a lot of factors though to take into consideration, the primary one being that dosage is determined by a ratio that includes the weight of the animal among other factors. Last thing you want is to OD someone, or something simply because the label said it was the same med.

On that note though there are so very many things that carry over from animal to human medicine. Medical supplies are the biggest!!! For example suture. If you add the word "human" to something it increases the market value exponentially, but often times they are the same exact product just under a different name.

(p.s. please read that I am a jack of many trades, but medicine is not mine, it is hers. I speak only with the knowledge that comes from our conversations, and nothing more.)

[Mac5.56]

Seems kinda silly, if you are going to prepare for SHTF why stockpile stuff to trade? If you use the same money and space why not just prepare for yourself so you do not have to trade?

Last situation I want to be in is needing to trade for stuff. I do not want anyone know I have anything they want, or be in a situation where they might try to take my stuff from me.

ANd kryptonite is the only thing that can kill Perna, so let's all keep that in mind...

Buddy, you can't prepare for every actuality, and I think that it is with this in mind that this thread serves a purpose. Can you stitch a wound? Pull a tooth? Are your seeds for your garden heirloom? Shoe a horse? Dovetail a join without power tools? Act as a midwife/husband for a birth?

Humans are social beings, and will eventually congregate into groups based off of mutual need.

You can only sit alone in your little bomb shelter for so long before your supplies run out, or you go absolutely insane as a result of having no exposure to the outside world. I honestly can't picture any individual of upper middle class or lower being physically capable of gathering enough supplies to support a family for longer then two to three years without access to either plentiful land, or an outside source of food. Therefore if you venture out into the world, what are you going to do when you come into contact with other humans? Will your tactic be to just kill them all??? If that's so you wont last long, because according to anthropological research the primary reason for murder in "primitive" tribal societies is revenge killings.

[trunkmonkey]

guns and ammo.

I can get everything and anything else if I have those two. By bartering and trading......or doing it the hard way.

[perna]

ANd kryptonite is the only thing that can kill Perna, so let's all keep that in mind...

Buddy, you can't prepare for every actuality, and I think that it is with this in mind that this thread serves a purpose. Can you stitch a wound? Pull a tooth? Are your seeds for your garden heirloom? Shoe a horse? Dovetail a join without power tools? Act as a midwife/husband for a birth?

Humans are social beings, and will eventually congregate into groups based off of mutual need.

You can only sit alone in your little bomb shelter for so long before your supplies run out, or you go absolutely insane as a result of having no exposure to the outside world. I honestly can't picture any individual of upper middle class or lower being physically capable of gathering enough supplies to support a family for longer then two to three years without access to either plentiful land, or an outside source of food. Therefore if you venture out into the world, what are you going to do when you come into contact with other humans? Will your tactic be to just kill them all??? If that's so you wont last long, because according to anthropological research the primary reason for murder in "primitive" tribal societies is revenge killings.

Im not implying that you will not need something you do not have. But stocking up on random stuff that you will never need in the hopes that you can trade it makes no sense. You really want to waste money on stuff like large quantities of sewing needles, or rolling tobacco?

I think preparing yourself with say extra food, or other essentials makes more sense to me, and still leaves you with trade-able items. I believe that the most valuable things would be the things that you NEED to support life. Food, water, fire and shelter.

[Chris19delta]

If you can distill alcohol you'll be set. Alcohol was so important that there was a rebellion over it (shays rebellion) and its not overly hard to do.

[K.L. Davis]

Something to be said for the Three B's

Wholesale prices rise in March as food costs jump
Wholesale prices rise by 0.7 percent in March due to sharp jump in food costs

Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer, On Thursday April 22, 2010, 8:57 am EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wholesale prices rose more than expected last month as food prices surged by the most in 26 years.

The Labor Department said the Producer Price Index rose by 0.7 percent in March, compared to analysts' forecasts of a 0.4 percent rise. A rise in gas prices also helped push up the index.

Still, there was little sign of budding inflation in the report, which measures price changes before they reach the consumer. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, wholesale prices rose by 0.1 percent, matching analysts' expectations.

Food prices jumped by 2.4 percent in March, the most since January 1984. Vegetable prices soared by more than 49 percent, the most in 15 years. A cold snap wiped out much of Florida's tomato and other vegetable crops at the beginning of this year.

Gasoline prices rose 2.1 percent, the department said, the fifth rise in six months.

In the past year, wholesale prices are up 6 percent, with much of that increase driven by higher oil prices. But excluding food and energy costs, they have risen only 0.9 percent.

Consumers are facing smaller price increases, as many retailers are reluctant to pass on higher costs. Last week, the Labor Department said the consumer price index rose only 0.1 percent in March. Excluding food and energy, the core consumer index was unchanged.

Core consumer prices rose by just 1.1 percent in the past 12 months, the department said last week, the best showing since January 2004.

Low inflation has enabled the Federal Reserve to keep the short-term interest rate it controls at a record low of near zero in an effort to boost the economy.

The country's worst recession since the 1930s has kept a lid on prices, as high unemployment and tight credit have crimped consumers' spending power. That has made it harder for companies to raise prices.

[Noodle]

I live in Vermont. We have long cold winters, maybe not this year, but typically we do. I bought my home on 13.5 acres of woodland. I've got Birch, Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Beech, etc; and some White Pines and Cedars. I did this because I could not really afford to invest in Preps otherwise,ie; Gold, precious metals etc;. This makes my small forest worth more than Gold in a SHTF situation. Heating your home up here can be the difference between life and death. I also wisely chose a home that lies between a few Farms. Without oil or wood to heat their homes, they go cold. Without food to feed my Dog and Myself, we starve, save for my Garden and Hunting. All of my Neighbors are good folk, and most of them Reload and shoot often, so we should be fat, happy and warm in my neck of the woods.

I live in Vermont also. The good news is that we should be able to take care of ourselves. The bad news is that half of Boston and New York will try to make it north for "safety". Better have lots of arms and ammo to protect the limited resources in our Vermont towns and villages. Setting up appropriate armed road blocks will be key to keep outsiders from raping and pillaging.