That whole "switching to barter" thing in 2020 was way more real than I thought

I used to roll my eyes at people saying we were heading back to trading eggs for fixing a car. But last summer in my small town in Missouri, my neighbor's tractor broke down and the only guy who could fix it wanted 3 cases of canned green beans and a rebuilt alternator. I literally watched that exchange happen in his driveway. My own plumber buddy told me he did 4 jobs last month for cash AND fresh produce because people were straight up rationing their money. Has anyone else actually seen this happen in their town or did I just fall into some weird local trend?

2 comments

2 Comments

viola_cooper621mo ago

That line about "rationing their money" really hit me because I think there's a hidden layer to this that nobody talks about. When barter starts happening, it's not just about saving cash, it's about rebuilding trust networks that got destroyed over the last 20 years. My neighbor spent two weeks learning who in our area actually had useful skills before that tractor deal went down, and now he brings that guy deer meat every fall just to stay on his good side. It's like people are quietly creating their own local economies that run on relationships instead of credit scores.

wyatt_chen861mo ago

Deer meat every fall? That is wild commitment, @viola_cooper62!