Forget Gold, Buy cigaretts and alchohol.

Originally posted by prevenge


did prostitution take a huge leap in sales during that time as well?
as far as you know?

-

well, in certain very compact, urban, run-down areas with many small spaces (down-town newport news, virginia) the answer is yes. but thats the only part of this city where prostitution is at all prominent to the point of having 'street-walkers'. im sure theres some "high-class hoes" up-town but they must be discreet. the reason it went up was because the electricity was out all over town, street lights, stop lights, all lights = gone. and everyone was out on the streets bored. it was so bad that there were a few isolated riot-style break-ins.

They had to put night-time curfews in effect where you arent aloud out of your property or whatever if its dark outside. Since downtown so many people live so compactly, and since this is the center of prostitution and hard-drug related crime in this city, im certain all kinds of drug-addicted women couldnt get their usual funds from their usual sources (banks werent open, ATMs didnt work), so im sure there was alot more of that going on. Smart drug-addicts who had any sort of savings (a smart drug addict with savings? now theres a contradiction in terms!) stored up before hand. This was during and after Hurricane Isabella, more rural counties that use well water had to have communal showers and toilets since none of the plumbing would work, no water pressure for some reason. This was a good few years ago, I had a bit of a 'problem' at that time myself .. but instead of trying to stock up for the impending week of chaos, i took it as an opportunity to stay home and get cleaned up! and thats what i did and by the time things were up and running, I felt light as a whistle.

Gee, I bet you weren't expecting a reply like that. You never know what you're gonna get when you tempt the beast. I just might give you a window into my hell.

[edit on 2/23/2009 by runetang]

reply to post by outatime


don't forget salt. Be sure to get 2 kinds: iodized, and UNREFINED sea salt.

the unrefined, if you buy it wholesale by the 25 lb sack, is a great investment. It will fetch over 5 dollars a pound in TODAY's market. It has all the trace minerals you need.

the iodized will be for those who don't want to pay the extra for the sea salt, and that will be very precious too.

I've been thinking this for a while, partly because I smoke and drink.
Being a drinker, I know that friendships can develop when some inhibitions are numbed.

I suspect that walking up to a camp with a bottle of Jack in hand would make some friends real quick. Might even get a meal out of it. Or maybe get shot, one of the two!

I've recently taken up making wine.

My first batch will be ready to sample in a few months and it's drinkable.

My next go round will be about 15 gallons. That will be interesting.

I think that there will always be a market for red wine.

reply to post by outatime


screw the cigs and beer, i'm gonna buy a low-rider, a purple hat, a fur coat, a cane and start pimping out hoes

This is so funny catching this thread today, as I just went out this weekend and changed some of my cash stash for silver eagles and jack. I like that Jack Daniels comes in glass bottles for long term storage, and well, that it says "Jack Daniels" on the black label...hehe.
Those cases will just sit here for 2009 and maybe in 2010, if everything is not so bad, I'll break them out. I don't think I've ever tried Jack before...I'm a Maker's Mark guy...hehe.

What makes one sound logical for one minute, then turn around sounding like one that has brain damage?? In this road warrior world your speaking of the people in need of smokes, and alcohol would ride up to your little stand along side the road and just take what they want, probably kill you and your family while they're at it.

ForceRecon

I think that it is reasonable to stock small quantities of silver.

Gold is for rich people. One ounce is now $1000. Silver will have a more practice use in the near future. It will be a new medium of exchange that the common person can use.

Paper dollars may become strongly devalued. Think Zimbabwe dollars. Silver will be useful in that you could purchase eggs or corn from a farmer with it.

I've read some survival manuals that said to stockpile all sorts of soaps, that it is one of the things that has, in the past, been widely bartered for and desired in hard times.

if civilization collapses over something as mediocre as the ecoomy, then our species really is pathetic.

eitherway, if a REAL survival situation happens:

need food? kill or grow it, need a cord of firewood, chop it down, there's food and wood all around you.

i'd suggest learning up on electricals, enough to rig up something for power, wind turnbines, waterwheels, solar, etc. MAKE: Magazine actually has some usefull instructions how to build some interesting things, that wih a little modification, could be pretty useful.

far as the current situation goes, worst i see happening is we get back to a DIY culture, alot of people have already been going towards that route long before anyone started panicking over economies.

beleive it or not, survival and a comfortable life are not totally reliant on money, there are actually quite a few people living comfortable lifestyles without really being affected by money, or the economy. and they aren't exactly living like cavemen either.

the economy was the biggest scam anyone fell for,if it goes then we'll all be alot better for it

reply to post by outatime


Hey--outatime, you are exactly right. Value can come from anything people need. A skilled craftsman trades his skill for food, a farmer trades food for something else. The barter system will come again. When I think of the possible coming bad times, I think people need to think"going low tech". Simple things that don't mean much to people now will have great value in the future.
Does anyone really believe that a paper dollar will be worth much in the forseeable future?? Even if people don't believe all of the possible scenerios to come, does it really hurt to think ahead a little , and get a few things that might help you out one day??
I think booze is probably one of the best universal money systems that someone could invest in. Another is 22 cal ammo. Its cheap, and almost universal in its use. A lot of people own 22's. Lastly, save up some can goods , and dry food products. It'll help you sleep at night.
Good luck to all.

I agree on the alcohol and cigs. I actually bought a couple cases of those tiny bottles of liquor a few months ago.

Originally posted by infolurker
I smoke, if I was forced to quit for 2 weeks, I would be over it or at least not crave it enough to pay a dear price for a damned leaf stick.

You might have that kind of willpower, but the majority of people don't. I think you'd want to be focusing on food and other things that are actually useful, but smokes are pretty small and would be easily stored. I don't think booze would be as good an idea due to its bulkier size and the possibility of breaking the bottles. You could fit thousands of cigarettes in a single dresser drawer, for instance, but only a few bottles of alcohol.

The is actually another thread (cant find it right now) that focuses on barter. When TSHTF of course the most common "items" would be the necessities:
Food, water, shelter, clothing, medical, protection...but there will also be a demand (based on limited supply) for items such as...Alcohol, tobacco, and other "luxury items" . All and all not a bad idea to "diversify" your "wealth" in preparation for the new economy that will evolve. A bottle of Jack Daniels could go a long way in negotiating with someone that has something you want or need