23.10 Money and bartering

Without power, ATMs, card terminals, and phone payments do not work. In the first days, cash is what opens doors: gasoline, ice, food from businesses that are open. There is no official figure for the amount; the guidance in chapter 2 applies: small bills, spread across several places, and replace what you use.

• Banks come back sooner than you think. In U.S. disasters, the financial system does not disappear: businesses reopen with generators and accept cash, and then cards. Plan for weeks of paying in cash, not for an economy without money.
• Income: if work stops, check with your employer and your bank about deferred-payment options. FEMA and the state often open disaster unemployment assistance programs.
• Realistic bartering: among neighbors, exchange works better as mutual aid than as business. What is shared most: water, ice, phone charging, tools, skills (nursing, mechanics, translation), and care for children or older adults.
• Do not show how much you have. Share generously, but do not announce your reserves on social media or to strangers.