In his book How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It, James Wesley Rawles advises to first get what you need before thinking about buying items to barter.
Making lists of things you will need helps to break down what you should buy, as this can be a bit overwhelming: water, food, things needed to prepare and store the food, personal things (depending on your needs: reading glasses, special medication, tobacco, etc.), hygiene and sanitation items, natural antibiotics, supplements, remedies, batteries, gardening items, hunting/fishing/trapping items, power/lighting/batteries, fuels, tools, communications items, etc.
Then you can also spend some money on having a dental clean up (it's often forgotten how important oral health is, especially with regards to cardiovascular diseases), the surgery you've been postponing, getting the prescription for medication you need, having other pairs of glasses done, etc.
Then, you can consider barter items: ladies supplies, salt, fuels, anything to keep warm (thermal socks and clothing), duct tape, fishing line, playing cards, candle wax & wicking, sewing supplies, skills and services, etc. My great-grandmother, who survived both World wars and talked a lot about these events with me, was often talking tobacco and alcohol to barter. It might also seem bizarre but in the midst of difficult events, sometimes people also want to buy 'non-essential' items as well because it helps them have some sense of 'normalcy'. So novels, fancy soaps, creams and make up but also objects that you might already have at home, might be bartered at some point.
FWIW.
), much better than gold or silver coins, when SHTF.
