Question

Judi's avatar

What will be good currency?

Asked by Judi (4176 points) | asked 1 month ago | 24 responses | “Great Question” (1 points) | Flag as…

My husband has been bugging me for months to go through the boxes of stuff we have accumulated and sell it on eBay. I have been to lazy really (out of sight out of mind.) The other day I told him that if the financial markets continue in this direction and we end up in another great depression our “stuff” could be our currency. We then went on to discuss what would be good currency to have in a collapsed economy. He says whiskey and guns. What other things would be good currency?

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

Answers

chris6137's avatar

Skilled labor. I am an electrician and want to use my skill to help people understand the importance of energy independence before things get too bad. I want to make sure people have electricity before shit hits the fan. I do not want money for my labor. I want people to make sure we take care of each other. Luckily I live in an area with an abundance of natural resources.

Screw wind and solar farms. We have the capability to produce our own electricity with will be a very important necessity should things get real bad.

gailcalled's avatar

Have a garden. Get involved in the barter economy. Learn simple skills like haircutting, sewing, driving less. If we really hit a serious depression, no one will be buying your “boxes of stuff,” I can assure you.

chris6137's avatar

@gail

I couldnt agree more with the garden. I have one in my yard and am starting one inside now. The key to where I live is electricity. It gets too cold to grow food outside, but I will be experimenting with a homemade greenhouse I made.

gailcalled's avatar

If we lose electricity, we are all lumbered, I fear. I have wood and a wood-burning stove but as I age, I find using it daily is exhausting and certainly horrible for the environment. My sis and I would probably end up huddling in a one-room shack eating her canned tomato sauce with a spoon and frozen berries with our fingers.

I have a wonderful passive solar house, but on cloudy or snowy days, it is tough.

I love the idea of a homemade greenhouse. (Where is home? Clearly not near the equator.)

gailcalled's avatar

My power and gas company are getting some of their electricity from wind power. I pay a little extra a month for the research.

chris6137's avatar

I live in northern NJ, very close to the NY border. I am on a mountain that is close to 1000ft above sea level so it is at least 10 degrees cooler than the rest of NJ, but I have well water and a wood burning stove, so electricity is clutch. I finish my solar course next Tuesday and immediately plan on addressing the issue in my community.

Judi's avatar

@chris
How do you produce your own electricity? My husband is interested in some sort of personal wind or solor generator. Is that what you’re talking about? It would be interesting to hear your take.

chris6137's avatar

@gail

My definition of energy independence is that we now have the ability to create our own energy. Not as a country, but as an individual. Denmark has solar and wind all over and use electric cars as storage devices. You get home, plug in your car, you go to work, you plug in your car. I am looking foward to this depression, as Americans will hopefully move toward self sustainability, not riots and “terrorism.”
We need to use technology to our advantage and implement it in our local communities to make our lives easier, not letting corporations control the technology, which makes our lives harder.
Bring on the depression. No currency is good currency. Value is manipulated. Prices are manipulated. The skills that people learn are manipulated. I look foward to using my knowledge of electricity to make sure people understand the freedom we actually have when we use ourselves, not the government to give our life and items value.

gailcalled's avatar

I have a well also, but without the electric pump, I am toast, or cold bread.

Chris; you are a wonderful resource. I only wish that I were younger and stronger. Even my pathetic attempts, except for clothsline, ultimately need some power source, other tha n Milo on his treadmill.

chris6137's avatar

@judi

The first key to doing any change over to a resource like wind, solar, and hydro, is to first become familiar with conserving electricity. Change bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs(CFL), install wood burning stove, and ceiling fans. After you bring down your energy bill. You then do figure out how much energy you will use each month. There are energy availability charts. Google can provide certain charts depending on where you live. They will show you the amount of solar energy available throughout the year.

So depending on what natural resources and how much determines on what and how much of an energy producer you will need. This is where local communities and neighbors come in. Your house might not be an optimal place for solar panels. Maybe a couple of trees shade a good portion of your roof for 6 months out of the year. Maybe your neighbor has a clear shot of the sun for 12 months out of the year. It is time we get together with our neighbors and work together. It might not be affordable for one person, due to lack of available resources, natural and man made(cash). But if your neighbor has the natural resources, but not enough of the man made(cash), if you chipped in, you both could afford it. I think communities need to focus on producing their own electricity, start building warehouses to process silicon, to make solar cells.

I know this is going to sound like extreme advice, but our financial system is crumbling. I know that people say,“but it always comes back.” But I got news for you. The system doesnt want people to retire. All of this retirement money that is invested in the market, is toast. When all the baby boomers retire, the bill will be $55 trillion. What better way to not pay that debt, then by not letting people retire. If you could understand this and the way our money system (watch at least the first 20 mintues to see, after the first five, you’ll be hooked anyway) it is going to collapse regardless. My advice, take all of the currency you possibly could right now(retirement, stock,etc.) and invest in producing your own electricity. I believe it will make the coming “depression” much easier to handle.

augustlan's avatar

Sex will always be good currency.

Judi's avatar

@ chris;
I’m still watching it. Pretty depressing.

chris6137's avatar

At the end though, it all comes together, and as long as we all play our role, it will all pay off. Its not about our government or other governments, its about us as humans.
I felt such a sense of relief after watching it. It sends a great message by watching it and I would recommend saving it to your computer before it gets erased from the internet.

chris6137's avatar

Glenn Beck said the one world currency will be the only currency very soon.

mea05key's avatar

Food and water i believe. Those are the 2 most crucial things for a human being.

chris6137's avatar

Monsanto is locking up the food industry.

augustlan's avatar

Glenn Beck is not someone whose opinion I listen to.

chris6137's avatar

Thats very open minded of you. Ive learned to not stop listening to people just because they say some things I disagree with. But I expect that from the close minded 2 party system. Everything that is against the “right’’ or “left” is irrelevant to you.

Judi's avatar

@ Chris. Should I try to buy one of these?
http://www.mobilesolarpower.net/pdf/MS300.pdf

augustlan's avatar

I don’t have an opinion on Glenn Beck’s politics, I just think he’s obnoxious and contributes to fear mongering.

chris6137's avatar

I agree that he promotes fear mongering when it comes to foreign policy. He might even be fear mongering the economic problem. There is nothing to be scared of, except letting the government take control of everything.

buster's avatar

Grow weed, cook meth, and distill moonshine. People love that stuff and you can trade it off for goods, services, and what not.

maybe_KB's avatar

Wow, this is scary

IchtheosaurusRex's avatar

Go rent a copy of The Road Warrior. Gasoline, nonperishable food, ammunition, and basic materials like thread and baling wire. And, of course, all the duct tape you can store.

Answer this question

Login

or

Join

to answer.
Your answer will be saved while you login or join.