Gas up the Corolla, put any and everything of any possible use in it and get a 20+ hour head start on getting away from the local nexus of craziness.  There are few cities able to support a university of any size that are not within a six hour drive of a comparatively rural area and under that scenario I would definitely want to be away from any large, urban population centers.  Just removing yourself from the "blast radius" of the immediate panic and subsequent anarchy and societal upheaval increases your chances of survival long term. 

Arriving somewhere you choose before the wheels fall completely off allows you to spend your money in a locality that may not succumb to panic and anarchy at the first hint of danger.  If you have been seen around town before the fertilizer hits the ventilator and have secured lodging with a local hotel, motel, home for rent or what have you it will be easier to try and blend in - particularly with a local license plate on the car.  Better still if you are seen as someone looking for work locally and not part of the crazed hordes that may follow the attack(s) on the infrastructure at some point.  Becoming part of the solution instead of part of the problem is going to be critical to being accepted in your new environment.

Tribalism can be dealt with.  Alliances will be formed.  Point is, knowledge and respect will definitely become the coin of the realm among those who survive the initial spasm.   The ability to think clearly, assess a situation quickly and accurately and form a plan to deal with it is going to become a very valuable skill set in fairly short order.  There is no amount of stuff you can carry that will save you if you don't have those skills and people with those skills can, to some degree, adapt to whatever situation they find themselves in. 

At any rate, I think that's how I'd do it.   

Just trying to work within the parameters of the problem as described.   

Well, you start with the premise that what I said in the last paragraph of the earlier post is true - and I believe it is.  Then you combine that with the other thread about being magically transported to some fantasy world that is an analog for the medieval period where you will have to prepare for battle.  Superimpose the two and you end up with something close to what I would try for.  All of the things I referenced in my reply to that other thread would be good things to have in your scenario as well. 

Depending on where you end up and what the local situation is, something or maybe several somethings will become the default currency for at least the time being.  Unless you find yourself in an all out war of attrition some form of commerce will emerge.  Barter is fairly easy but it is hard to practice on a large scale or over a long period of time.  Especially as consumables are used up or become unusable over time and can't be readily replaced. 

Modern people, those of us born in the twenty first century and the latter half of the twentieth will have to reorder the entire thought process we adopted - particularly if "the infrastructure" that we have known and depended on our entire lives is a goner.  The entire idea of "leisure time" is going to die.  It's passing will be mourned by all but make no mistake - its done.  Quaint ideas with no basis in reality, like socialism, will also die along with it.  It will take a while but words that end with "ism" and "phobia" will also disappear along with the ideas that gave birth to them.  The natural world will re-emerge with a vengeance once the veneer of technological civilization wears off.   

Which brings me back to the previous paragraph.  A few things have intrinsic value but for humans most things have value based upon what someone is willing to do or part with to attain them.  The first 6 months to a year of your proposed world are going to be a very free-wheeling period in terms of what is valuable and what isn't because some people are slower learners than others.   

Clean water, good sanitation, medical equipment -  food, clothing, shelter - tools, weapons, consumables - reference materials for all areas of knowledge.  All of these things are vital to long term survival and all of them can be traded, bartered, sold or otherwise transferred by mutual consent as long as everybody has enough brains to play it straight up.  Unfortunately some people are slower learners than others.

Yup.  Lots of ways to play it - the key is to be flexible.   Most folks these days are more addicted to sugar than to caffeine and it doesn't require vacuum sealing or refrigeration.  Just sayin'  .  .  .   

 

Ok, unless I'm a member of the minority group near Granny's house, I'm bugging out.  Especially if it is the nearest city with a University near me, which would be Phoenix. 

I should have worded that part better.  Specifically, these people are of whatever race you are not.  If you are black, for instance, change their race to redneck white.  The important thing is that they are hostile toward you, and they are going to be hungry.


I waited to give my own plan until three other people had posted, and this is what I was planning before Coelacanth made his points:

I would keep the car, definitely.  Nothing like having wheels that work.  I would probably invite my friend along, even if that means $50 of cheap coffee would have to go toward weaning him off of his addiction.

I am lucky, in the nearest major college (not technically a university, I just discovered) is in a relatively smaller city.  That doesn't change the fact that it does have some rough neighborhoods just a few blocks away, but at least it is not urban.  The threat demographics would be both city blacks and crackheads of any color, both of which are local to the college.  Bugging out is definitely a good idea for the first month.  Once things blow over, returning may be feasible.

I would take as many useful tools with me as possible in the trunk, (this includes the shotgun and ammo) because anything left behind will be looted.  After the tools, as much of Granny's canned food as I could fit in the car.  Prioritize fruits and starches (corn, peas, potatoes) over vegetables, simply because of the caloric value, though I would not willingly leave veggies behind either.  My friend has to fill the front seat, so not much space to be had in the car.  Then it is time to spend what little we have.

My first priority would be clothes. (and keep in mind, this is my original list, before Coelacanth responded.  Three pairs of good, sturdy jeans for me, as well as maybe five sturdy work shirts, and several packages of good socks and a sewing kit.  Then two pairs of the sturdiest work boots I can afford.  This will probably run $500 or so, and that is what I would figure the friend has, so hopefully he spends his money toward the same.

With limited funds, I would not spend much on weaponry.  I would make sure each of us had a decent fixed blade, so figure $100-150 there.  A box or two more of birdshot for the shotgun, and a few boxes of slugs or buck if they have it. $100.  I would buy a 9mm pocket pistol, the cheapest they have - KelTec or SCCY - and a single box of 9mm hollowpoints. $250.  This is not meant to practice or fight with, but as a last-ditch 'get off me' piece.  If friend has extra money for one, I would straw purchase one for him too. (out of state college student, can't buy a handgun)

This is leaving maybe $200 for the rest, which I would probably invest in some gasoline and cans once I get to wherever I am going, and hide them out of town somewhere.


This has some obvious holes in it, now I have read other replies.  My plan was to disappear for a month, wait for everyone to get hungry, riot, loot, and then try to come back and reclaim the house.  If it is still standing.  Not sure if that would be feasible, but I was planning to try.  Now looking at it, it seems best to try to maybe fit in to the small town that I was hiding out at, and hire on to a farm as a laborer.  Because when the balloon goes up, only the farmers are going to have food.  City dwellers, not so much...

While I like the line of thinking, two things: One, he doesn't own the home.  One of his parents and their siblings own it, by virtue of the grandmother's passing.  They are just letting him live there for free, something about him stepping up to look out for her during her last years.  The second thing is... While tracking you down via your social security number is going to be a lot harder for a few years, figure on the payday loan places using other-than-legal methods of collecting from their clients.  If I did that, I would want to be 300 miles away, at the least.

ETA: Those self-financing car lots all have trackers in their vehicles, as well as remote shutoffs.  At least, the ones around here all do.  They also require weekly payments, or the truck gets shut off on the 8th day..  Maybe the satellite system and remote comms will be totally knocked out, but I would not bank on it.

While I like the line of thinking, two things: One, he doesn't own the home.  One of his parents and their siblings own it, by virtue of the grandmother's passing.  They are just letting him live there for free, something about him stepping up to look out for her during her last years.  The second thing is... While tracking you down via your social security number is going to be a lot harder for a few years, figure on the payday loan places using other-than-legal methods of collecting from their clients.  If I did that, I would want to be 300 miles away, at the least.

Agreed. I'm not even sure it'd be worth it to look over your shoulder for that long .

Like you, I made a (rough) plan in my head and then waited for everyone else to reply.

Having seen others plans, I'm not sure how mine stacks up. I liked coelacanths, but I'm not sure if 24 hours is long enough to ingratiate yourself amongst the populace. They might just see you as someone to loot.

Other than awaiting collection day, I thought low keys was an absolute stroke up brilliance. A prepper con man is quite an eccentric character  .

While I like the line of thinking, two things: One, he doesn't own the home. 

Pretty sure I convince one of the less reputable "I want to buy your home" people that he does, or has a Power of Attorney* to do so.
Even 10% of the "sale price"  upfront would be worth it.

The second thing is... While tracking you down via your social security number is going to be a lot harder for a few years, figure on the payday loan places using other-than-legal methods of collecting from their clients.  If I did that, I would want to be 300 miles away, at the least.

Forget payday places, I'm thinking Guido. He's gonna have much bigger problems by the time things settle out.

ETA: Those self-financing car lots all have trackers in their vehicles, as well as remote shutoffs.  At least, the ones around here all do.  They also require weekly payments, or the truck gets shut off on the 8th day..  Maybe the satellite system and remote comms will be totally knocked out, but I would not bank on it.

Older vehicles.  *80's and early 90's vintage, if not earlier.  Shouldn't be too difficult to remove anything if they bother to install it.


* Two phone books and a silver dollar+ a hammer make an imprint that looks an awful lot like a notary seal.

 

I don't want to know how you know this.

Since you mention it, some of us 'redneck' types don't much care for that name either.  But I wasn't going to give you a hard time...

Hey, watch it!  Some of us 'Guidos' might take offense to that term.

I never knew Guido was a bad term  . Kind of reminds me of the time I got fussed at by Czech relatives for using the term bohemian .