If something happens to the world, we're going to need the 5 G's.

God, gold, guns, grains, ground.

To explain further:

God: Being right with God, being in the state of grace, having good religious books, sacramentals, etc. in your possession

Gold: Precious metals and other material things that will be worth their weight in gold after a collapse scenario. This includes practical items like shovels, seeds, lumber, concrete blocks, gasoline, diesel, rope, etc.

Guns: Weapons to defend yourself, your family, and your stuff from the desperate, wild hordes (who will not be bound by any sort of morality) who didn't prepare at all. If you think "I'll just be passive and peaceful", I'll just say one word that will cause you to go out and buy some serious guns: Rape. Would you be able to stand by and helplessly watch while your wife, sister(s), mother, or daughter(s) got raped? Neither would I.

Grains: Food and water, and the means to produce more of these. Gardening equipment would fall in here.

Ground: A piece of land where you can ride out the worst of it -- preferably outside the city. Also a place to grow food, even if it's not huge.

You may have a point with four of them, but I just don't see gold being of much use if there is a true "collapse," at least not as a medium of exchange.  While gold does have some utilitarian uses, the major reason it has the value it does is because people desire it as a store of value.  If there is a true "collapse," people are no longer going to desire a store of value; people are going to desire things that will help them stay alive.

As a medium of exchange after a true "collapse," gold will pretty much be worth the same as dollars.

As soon as things settle down, though, you're still going to have goods that you're willing to part with, and other goods that you'll want to trade for.

A medium of exchange is always more convenient than having to find a dentist that wants 1 year old "Rhode Island Red" chickens. What if he wants ducks, vegetables, or gasoline?

Gold will never be on the same level as worthless paper currency. Gold has a track record as long as mankind's existence. You never find gold thrown on the street with no one bothering to pick it up. That very thing has happened to dozens of paper currencies in the 20th century alone.

I agree that it's more important to have directly useful things (food, water, gardening equipment) but gold & silver will take their place as the new money after the dust settles.

I agree that a person today should prioritize the other items, including equipment and supplies, and only buy gold & silver if you have savings left over. I'm one of those people who doesn't have anything left over, so I understand the necessity of prioritizing.

And as I pointed out in my post, I'm including all "material things" under the heading "Gold". The 5 G's is a sort of hatrack to remember all the categories of preparation.

Quote from: Dolores

You may have a point with four of them, but I just don't see gold being of much use if there is a true "collapse," at least not as a medium of exchange.  While gold does have some utilitarian uses, the major reason it has the value it does is because people desire it as a store of value.  If there is a true "collapse," people are no longer going to desire a store of value; people are going to desire things that will help them stay alive.

As a medium of exchange after a true "collapse," gold will pretty much be worth the same as dollars.

As soon as things settle down, though, you're still going to have goods that you're willing to part with, and other goods that you'll want to trade for.

A medium of exchange is always more convenient than having to find a dentist that wants 1 year old "Rhode Island Red" chickens. What if he wants ducks, vegetables, or gasoline?

Gold will never be on the same level as worthless paper currency. Gold has a track record as long as mankind's existence. You never find gold thrown on the street with no one bothering to pick it up. That very thing has happened to dozens of paper currencies in the 20th century alone.

I agree that it's more important to have directly useful things (food, water, gardening equipment) but gold & silver will take their place as the new money after the dust settles.

I agree that a person today should prioritize the other items, including equipment and supplies, and only buy gold & silver if you have savings left over. I'm one of those people who doesn't have anything left over, so I understand the necessity of prioritizing.

And as I pointed out in my post, I'm including all "material things" under the heading "Gold". The 5 G's is a sort of hatrack to remember all the categories of preparation.

Of course a medium of exchange is easier, but it needs to rise to the level of general acceptability for it to work.  Yes, silver and gold have a track record of holding their value, but the world has not experienced a true global collapse (if I understand correctly what you mean by that) perhaps since the Deluge.  If what you think is going to happen is on the level of the Deluge or Sodom and Gomorrah, people are going to be so worried about survival, no one is going to try and establish a generally accepted medium and exchange, and no one is going to want to accept precious metals in exchange for very limited goods.

I also think people who do store all of these supplies are going to find it doesn't last as long as they think.  Unless you throw Christian charity out the window, you are going to have to share what you have stored up with others, probably many others, and not just hoard it for yourself and your immediate family.

Quote from: Dolores

As a medium of exchange after a true "collapse," gold will pretty much be worth the same as dollars.

Gold has always had its value.  Think Egyptian Empire, Greek Empire, Roman Empire...

True you can't eat it but it has stood the test of time as a medium of exchange.  Silver too, although to a lesser extent.

Would I put all my money into metals?  No, but diversification is the key.  If I had to choose I'd choose the gun over gold but once all the essentials are taken care of I would buy metals.

For me it would be:  1) God, 2) Grains, 3) Guns, 4) Ground, 5) Gold

Unfortunately I don't see "ground" ever being possible for me due to family issues so I have to settle for the other 4.

One piece of advice if you're YOUNG - start saving up for a land purchase as soon as you start earning money so when you are able you already have a nest egg to put towards its purchase.

Marsha

And make sure when you purchase it you actually own the land and not just the right to build and/or profit from it.  Laws vary all over the country.