Skills For Barter In Emergencies

Something that hardcore survivalists blogs often mention is the value of bartering in emergencies. It does make good sense.

No matter how much money you have, will it do you any good during an emergency? Lack of clean water and food are common during many emergencies. How many people would trade the food they have for money if everyone in the area is in the same situation?

Maybe you will be short on fuel for cooking and warmth and boiling water to purify it. Someone will probably have more fuel than they need. What might prompt that person to want to let you have some of it?

That is just to give you an idea to start you thinking about the value of barter during an emergency. Experts on survival bartering usually suggest that people develop one or more skills that might be useful for bartering.

If you think of a TEOTAWKI (The End Of  The World As We Know It) situation, or even a long term emergency, bartering makes even more sense.

It is not a good idea to wait until an emergency develops to have your skill, or skills ready for bartering. It can take a while to become competent in a new skill, or perfect one that you already have.

Bartering itself is a type of skill and few people are born with the ability to do well at it. Bartering, like other skills, can be improved with practice. You can begin your barter practice even before your skill to be bartered is ready.

Craigslist is a way for many people to begin to barter. There is a specific category for people who are interested in bartering. It lists either what someone wishes to trade for or what they have to offer, or both.

I think it is educational just to read the Craigslist barter section. You can get an idea of what kinds of items or skills are more in demand, especially in your local area. 

You can also begin to get a feel for what different skills or items are considered to be worth in comparison to each other. The monetary value does not always match up to the barter value. It is especially important to think about how it might work out in an emergency situation. 

If I was a concert pianist, for example, I might want to develop a more practical every day sort of skill for emergency barter. That does not mean there won't be a call for the skills of a concert pianist. There will still be church services and weddings and funerals, but one might get hungry waiting for one of those jobs.

Practice with barter before an emergency arises, can make your daily life better as well. Some people do as well with what they get from barter as they do in their day job. It even happens that some people change their day job to bartering or to a skill they use for bartering purposes. That could happen to you.