I just bought my first quarter ounce of Silver

...Haze.

And I feel good. This is just me essentially sticking the smoke in my mouth before I jump in, but I plan to buy an ounce once a month when I start working at my new job. Now, I don't consider the weed an "investment", as it's price isn't really going up, the dollar is just going down. Aside from the occasional bubble hash here and there, precious cannabis stays at relatively the same price. Therefore, this is really just a way of preserving value in the fruit of my labors.

The funny thing is it will be 6-8 weeks before the bag arrives, so I'll be curious to see if it's worth more when it arrives than when I paid for it.

This is in accordance with my new plan for economic independence and stability. Simply put, I plan to have one foot in the system, and one foot out. Completely preparing for an apocalypse is well and good, unless the apocalypse never happens. The same could be said for putting all your eggs in the basket of society and it's fiat currency. Thus, by dividing my energy across the two parallels, legal and illegal, I will be one step ahead should I need to stick both feet in the water.

But anyway, on to the details!

I will be working a part time, partly commission based, legitimate taxable job, you know got to keep the feds of my back. The money earned will be put firstly to bills, rent, and drugs as well as anything that must be paid for with the fiat currency of our beloved system. A portion of that, approximately $250 a month will be dedicated to purchasing that ounce monthly.

Though only 20-25 hours of my week will be dedicated to my part time job, I plan to work a full 40-50 hours a week.

The other half of my time will be used to possibly do odd jobs in return for barter, such as canned foods, clothing, or whatever tangible commodity could be agreed upon, and or, producing some sort of tangible product that I will only exchange for barter, and not currency (I make you a tie dye shirt, you give me 5 hits of acid), and or something else entirely, that I have yet to contrive.

I will also be looking at ways to minimize my dependency on "the system". While it would be quite the investment to completely remove oneself from the power grid, it would be relatively easy to install a wind turbine on your roof that powers a single outlet. A free power source for at least some of your needs.

Probing out a barter network with my community will put me one step ahead should say, one day, we wake up and find that the dollar is worthless. I'll already have business partners and customers lined up for the soon to blossom bartering economy. Plus having a small stash of 'bis will be like having a few hundred in the bank after your house burnt down, due to you falling asleep after smoking half of it.

And if the world as we know it doesn't end? Well, the haze will be a nice way to associate with the kids at college, or if at worst, give it as part of my vaporizer to pass on until the next budder. And all that barter networking? well now I know a guy who will give me an eighth of pot for mowing his lawn, a guy who's wife makes knitted blankets in exchange for babysitting, and who to talk to when I need ammunition.

There's no loss of value really... it's just until these things get smoked, the areas you can do business are limited. And up until then I'll be leading a relatively "normal" life.