Surviving outside the financial system

Unfortunately, when it comes to living in the U.S. there is sometimes no alternative to cash....or is there? Depending on who you pay tax to, it may be possible to either pay taxes with items or at worst sell items for cash. So, it may be possible to survive with very little cash (assuming one doesn't get trapped into the medical or  prison industrial systems). The principle is based on this article which showed how one individual turned one red paperclip into a house. Now, the article is not to show that you simply need a drawer full of paperclips to solve your financial needs. Rather, it's to show how it is possible to show how to barter profitably.

Bartering isn't about living without working. Rather, it is a way of directly participating in the economy. With the exception of transport costs and perhaps a bit of marketing cost, bartering can be remarkably efficient when compared to the regular economy. The unconventional economy or black and gray markets tend to be able to avoid some if not all of the following business costs:

• Income tax
• Credit card transaction fees
• Bank fees (just for having a "business account" at the bank)
• Business license or permits
• Cost increases for various services due to having "business rates" rather than consumer rates for utilities such as electric/phone/internet.
• higher rents in "commercial zones" rather than "residential" zones.
• frivolous lawsuits
  
• fancy packaging
• global transport costs (if not manufactured locally)
• Shoplifting
  
• Cost of accounting in terms of time/money spent maintaining compliance for the tax authorities.  Eg. Within the state sales tax.  (When all costs are counted, this cost of compliance can exceed the actual taxes owed for a start up business.)
  

Only the first category of cost is illegal to try to avoid.  It is perfectly sensible to try to avoid the other ones.  Each cost may be small, but there are so many of them!  No wonder the regular economy is dying! There's only so much that can be taken out of  transactions before products don't have enough profit to be worth selling! However, as yesterday's retail industry dies, other solutions that avoid at least some of these rapidly rising financial costs are taking their place. Craigslist, Ebay, pawn shops, roadside produce stands and even people selling items out of the trunk of their car may be able to remain out of the reach of at least some of these financial leaches.

Is it possible to make a living this way? Perhaps. Some T.V. shows such as "pawn kings" show it may be possible to avoid some costs. However, like any business, the money making activity is not always obvious. It may just be that the participants make more money selling the TV show than on everyday selling activities. So, it may not yet be economical for many to exist in this way. However, each year, more people try.