One of the greatest risks many developed countries face today is that of a financial crash. When many talk about this eventuality, they point to various indicators in today’s economy and global markets. Based on those indicators, some say society is well on its way to a complete fiscal breakdown.

There are certain telltale signs of these financial crises, as we can see by looking at others around the globe. Amongst them is runaway inflation as a nation’s money plummets in value. When that happens, one of the ways that people deal with it is to return to a barter economy, rather than using money as their means of exchange.

While bartering is not as convenient as using cash, you don’t have to worry about the bartered goods losing their value. In fact, some bartered goods will actually gain in value, offering the opportunity to make a profit off the situation. However, in order to take advantage of the situation, you have to have a stock of trade goods available to you that you can trade for other things of value.