Although there's nothing wrong with that if it's what you prefer.
I'm no expert, but I'm willing to share what I know and hope you'll do the same.
For most people, "precious metals" are gold, silver, platinum, and (sometimes) palladium, and even copper.
For preppers, the list is incomplete without lead.
Lead, as in ammunition.
All government-issued money has a real value of 0. It's only worth anything as long as people believe it is worth something. While people will still take it in trade, you might as well use it, but as soon as people stop accepting it, you also need to stop accepting it in trade for labor or products. You'd be working for free in that case. I've found that this is a hard concept for some people to understand, but it's true.
In this case, you can trade for food, toilet paper, water, firewood, or anything else you want. The problem comes when what you need isn't what someone else has to trade. If you don't want a goat, but goats are all they have to trade, what do you do? How can you trade with that person then?
This is why you need pocketable money. If government money is no longer accepted as money, you'll need some other kind of pocketable money. It will be easier if you already have some metals to trade.
(what is money? http://blog.kentforliberty.com/2009/11/requires-no-government.html )
Just as you don't only carry $100 bills or only carry pennies, you need different "denominations" of money depending on what you're trading for.
Gold is good for big items. Silver is better for most everyday trades. Silver is more manageable. Copper, too. And ammunition is sometimes even better.
If you're a gun person you have probably noticed how hard it has become to get ammo. Wouldn't you accept ammo in exchange for work or stuff? I would. Even ammo for guns I don't have, just because I know it still has value as a trade medium. Someone wants it, even if I don't.
To prepare for the possibility of government money becoming worthless, I'd recommend getting precious metals of any type whenever you can. Beware of "gold" and "silver" that originates in China; they are a hotbed of fake coins. I know-- I got a fake Morgan "silver dollar" off of eBay that seems to link back to China. Get ammunition for the guns you have first, but if you see a good deal for some ammo that someone else might need, don't automatically reject it.
And once the value of federal reserve notes falls below what you're willing to accept, stop accepting them. Insist on real money instead. "I'll trade you two 'junk silver' dimes for a sandwich"-- and if you're up to date on what things are worth, you'd probably accept the trade.
Situational awareness is something we could all do better.
The sooner you are aware of the situations unfolding around you, the more time you have to decide whether to intervene or escape.
I say "situations", plural, because there's never only one situation happening near you.
Even if a person comes into a place where you are, intending to be a mass shooter, there are other situations going on. You should be aware of them, too.
Other people may be noticing. Some people may be oblivious and heading into extreme danger. Others may be preparing to address the danger. Would it be better for you to intervene or does someone else already have a handle on it? Would you be helpful or get in their way? Would it be better for you to slip out the side door, or to be the one to take on the responsibility? Every situation is going to be different.
You need to be aware of all these situations, even though it is probably not humanly possible. Tunnel vision will be working against you.
The more ...
The "officials" kept spinning dire warnings about the water situation, so I took it upon myself to do a daily visual check of the water levels in the water tanks I could check. Three out of four have a gauge on the outside. The fourth is a water sphere that, as far as I can tell, has no way for a member of the public to check the water levels. This is disturbing.
What my visual check showed me was that we're in better shape than the "officials" wanted us to believe.
I've been posting photos of the gauges every day on social media, and suddenly, at least the newspaper editor, who is very much in the pockets of the local politicians, admitted that the tanks are nearly full.
I'm not sure he would have admitted this without my intervention, but perhaps.
I also wrote a letter to the editor, which got a lot of pre-publication pushback from the editor. He has his preferred solution, which just so happens to align with the local politicians. He didn't like what I said and tried to make me feel ...
My local town (population ~1400) is in a water crisis. It's always having a low-grade water crisis, but this time, government incompetence brought it to a head.
The guy who visually checks the water levels daily was on vacation. The sensor that keeps the water towers full stopped working. One tower was empty, and the other was half empty before anyone noticed. Now it's everyone's problem.
Consequently, we're under some pretty harsh water restrictions- and they've been getting more severe each day for the past 3 days.
Fortunately, I have quite a bit of water stored. As much as I can fit in the nooks and crannies of my house, anyway. Just last week I got fussed at for doing this. That tune changed quickly.
I've also stocked up on bottled water.
I would catch rainwater, but a lack thereof is the root of the problem.
I wish I lived near a water source, but there are none in this region. I wish I had a well, but of course that would be "illegal" in town. I wish I had a long-term ...
