Right, the only way I would buy precious metals is from a local gold dealer, and hold them physically. I mean for now my 401k is roaring because I have a pretty aggressive portfolio, but that doesn't mean jack if $1USD = 1 dime in 5 years
Pedes should be aware that there are scam artists on the left and the right. They prey upon people's desire for economic security and their ignorance of how financing works.
Precious metals markets are generally down when the stock market is up and moderately up when the stock market is down. It takes extreme events to make a market in metals more valuable than any type of currency. By extreme, I mean massive amount of social upheaval and broad interference by government. Yes, metals have never been worth zero but they've been pretty close to zero numerous times over the last 150 years. It took the second world war in the most ravaged of desperate of areas to make gold, diamonds and such more valuable than anything and even then, it didn't save a whole lot of lives. You may think you're going to trade one gold coin for food or passage out of a hotspot. It's more likely you're going to get murdered because your trading partners suspects you have more gold.
No one can buy their way to security. It's good to prepared but in the time of extreme crisis (which we aren't even close to), most of anyone's preparation plans are immediately going to be worthless. Prepare more for the more common disasters - electrical blackouts, a gas shortage, temporary food shortage, lack of running water. The one in a 500 year disaster we should prepare for is an EM pulse either by an enemy or worse, a solar EM pulse originating with the sun. A solar EM pulse will immediately reduce the world to the 19th century. If Yellowstone does actually erupt, there's very little anyone is going to be able to do to avoid the fallout. Pray that doesn't happen.
The point being is that the OP article says a couple of banks, one in Switzerland and another in Japan lost a few billion each due to a client bank in America. Well, gee, folks, that's almost nothing worldwide and the whole reason why banks are required to hold a cash reserve is to insulate banks from a domino effect. yes, there's going to be a ripple but as it ripples out, the effects will be lessened. This isn't a major crisis.
Time (and inflation) will make precious metals worthwhile. Not as fast as stocks or even bonds, but in a hyper-inflationary cycle PMs can most readily save your bacon. Only nitpick I got, really, because the rest is very correct - if/when shit meets fan full-on, PMs are going to be pretty much worthless until some semblance of civilization starts to pop back up from the ashes.
Correct, but try not to gear towards any one event/happenstance. Leaves you flat-footed when something else inevitably comes along to wreck your civilization.
Also correct. Now if the top 100 banks and hedge funds all shit the bed to the tune of hundreds of billions, if not trillions? THEN you worry.
Right, the only way I would buy precious metals is from a local gold dealer, and hold them physically. I mean for now my 401k is roaring because I have a pretty aggressive portfolio, but that doesn't mean jack if $1USD = 1 dime in 5 years
Yup, my parents bought a ton of silver way back when from a scam artist. Poof.
If you buy the precious metals, make sure that you take possession when you buy it, and put it in a safe or something.
Pedes should be aware that there are scam artists on the left and the right. They prey upon people's desire for economic security and their ignorance of how financing works.
Precious metals markets are generally down when the stock market is up and moderately up when the stock market is down. It takes extreme events to make a market in metals more valuable than any type of currency. By extreme, I mean massive amount of social upheaval and broad interference by government. Yes, metals have never been worth zero but they've been pretty close to zero numerous times over the last 150 years. It took the second world war in the most ravaged of desperate of areas to make gold, diamonds and such more valuable than anything and even then, it didn't save a whole lot of lives. You may think you're going to trade one gold coin for food or passage out of a hotspot. It's more likely you're going to get murdered because your trading partners suspects you have more gold.
No one can buy their way to security. It's good to prepared but in the time of extreme crisis (which we aren't even close to), most of anyone's preparation plans are immediately going to be worthless. Prepare more for the more common disasters - electrical blackouts, a gas shortage, temporary food shortage, lack of running water. The one in a 500 year disaster we should prepare for is an EM pulse either by an enemy or worse, a solar EM pulse originating with the sun. A solar EM pulse will immediately reduce the world to the 19th century. If Yellowstone does actually erupt, there's very little anyone is going to be able to do to avoid the fallout. Pray that doesn't happen.
The point being is that the OP article says a couple of banks, one in Switzerland and another in Japan lost a few billion each due to a client bank in America. Well, gee, folks, that's almost nothing worldwide and the whole reason why banks are required to hold a cash reserve is to insulate banks from a domino effect. yes, there's going to be a ripple but as it ripples out, the effects will be lessened. This isn't a major crisis.
Time (and inflation) will make precious metals worthwhile. Not as fast as stocks or even bonds, but in a hyper-inflationary cycle PMs can most readily save your bacon. Only nitpick I got, really, because the rest is very correct - if/when shit meets fan full-on, PMs are going to be pretty much worthless until some semblance of civilization starts to pop back up from the ashes.
Correct, but try not to gear towards any one event/happenstance. Leaves you flat-footed when something else inevitably comes along to wreck your civilization.
Also correct. Now if the top 100 banks and hedge funds all shit the bed to the tune of hundreds of billions, if not trillions? THEN you worry.