"New Bank"

I think stores here is more an abstract generic term. It would be a good thing to have something which will be accepted as payment in order to trade with neighbors or farmers along the way to a bug out location as well as to pay laborers to help with things that may need more hands than you have at that point. Yeah one can always say that if you have the guns and bullets who needs to trade but in those times most folks will have guns and bullets and none of us are invinsable and anyone trying to do business with the end of a gun will find just how fast neighbors can set things aside long enouph to dispose of them. Im not sure PM would be ideal for the survival period but like got mentioned for a form of savings it would be hard to beat and some kind of trade goods for times when the fans spraying the brown stuff in addition would be a good balance.