Personal debt - don't pay it off
This will go against what many people may be thinking, but I'm taking time to try and offer helpful advice. I've seen many people with the frame of mind to pay off/down debt asap. This is NOT what I would recommend. I know it sounds like common sense, but this is a very different set of circumstances we are dealing with, and the time for paying off debt has already long passed. It's too late for that frame of mind. I sincerely believe we will experience a total economic collapse within the next 12 months. In fact, I believe it will start by this June or July. If you can easily pay off your debt in the next 3 months, then by all means do it, but this will not apply to most people. All you need to do is not take on more debt (except possibly housing - I'll explain this below), and send in MINIMUM payments.
The dollar value is going DOWN. This means that your actual debt load goes down automatically, but this is not the main reason I give this advice. Let me break it down into secured debt, and unsecured debt and what is the best strategy.
First, secured debt (house):
If/when we experience economic collapse your priorities will be water, food, shelter. Shelter is a basic need. A house is better than an apartment, as you can defend it and also use the land to grow food. I advise moving in with parents, relatives, mates etc. if necessary. All you need to do is worry about staying current with mortgage payments. If you give all your money to bills now, you will not have any wealth (in gold/silver!) saved up when you lose your income. Even if you only had one payment left, you can still lose the house by defaulting on it. On the other hand, by sending only minimum payments you can afford to buy gold/silver coins which will hold their value. I expect that we will experience hyperinflation and the dollar value will drop to be worth about a penny each. In this situation you could find a gold dealer that would give you the actual full value of your gold coin(s). A coin that costs 1K now could be worth 100K after the dollar collapsed. If your mortgage is 1K per month you would have enough for 100 months with a single gold coin! In other words, your debt will be much easier to pay if, and only if, you store your wealth now in gold/silver. Paying your debt down now only makes it harder to buy gold/silver now. You should be doing the reverse, and buying up gold/silver now and putting off the debt for as long as you can - at LEAST until we can get back on solid economic track!
Second, unsecured debt (credit cards):
The same thing above applies here, but even more so since nothing will really happen if you are unable to keep paying on your credit cards. Your credit rating will suffer, but how much priority is that when you are just trying to live through a crisis? Again, if you have your wealth in gold/silver, and the dollar collapses you will be able to pay your monthly notes much easier - probably even paying them off altogether. In other words, don't work AGAINST the shift in gold, dollar, and debt value, work WITH it. To do that, work your a** off not to pay bills, but to by gold/silver!
Last, Buying a House:
This question was asked in another thread, and I gave a good answer, but I want to expand it. In fact, after thinking for a few hours, I want to now say YES, buy a house now IF you don't have one and are renting an apartment. I did a quick search and saw fixer-upper houses for $500 down and $350 per month! Again, the same principles above apply here. If you can get the a bank to give you a loan which you can easily pay now, while at the same time stocking up on gold/silver then you will essentially get the house for free if things play out as I think they will. Let me give a quick example. Try and find a really modest house, let's say $100K. Now, let's say you buy 1 gold coin today which costs 1K. You get into your new home, and a few months later the economy and dollar collapse. Each dollar will decrease by close to a multiple of 100. That means the 100K house would be the same cost as the 1K coin you just bought. :) The banks (or anyone that holds debt in dollars) are the ones that will lose big time. After things settle, the banks will own foreclosed property which is essentially worthless. They will then hold this property and rent it out until the area picks up enough again to sell it for a decent price. The new price they will sell it for will be priced in the new value of the money, effectively locking you out if you have no decent job to keep up payments. Foreigners will have better means to buy homes in our country than we do, just the same as has been easier for Americans to buy homes in third world countries in the past.
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Of course. Inflation is good for those who are in debt.
If one expects the value of money to go way down, the last thing they should do is pay off their debts in the short run. If we have a lot of inflation, people will earn more dollars (not more value) and therefore will by paying a smaller percentage of the dollars they earn to settle outstanding debts. The people that suffer from inflation are those who have extended the loans, because they're receiving money back that is worth less. Inflation is good for those who are in debt.
What I have done....
About six months ago, after a family meeting, we determined to get out of debt a.s.a.p. We stopped making our auto payments, resulting in both of them being repo'd. But only after four months of waiting. We took what would have been going to the banks and paid cash in full for a couple of cars that are getting us by quite nicely. Let me explain.
Your banker is NOT your friend!!! Everyone knows that it is against the law to alter a contract once it has been signed in good faith by both parties. But this is exactly what your bank or credit card company does after you sign the agreements. They take all of the day's loan papers to a back room and stamp (alter) them with the banks code numbers. They then forword these note to their assigned Federal Reserve branch, who in turn pays them the principle amount plus the interest based on YOUR signiture. When you "pay back the bank",you are, in fact paying them for the second time! And they are already useing interest money that belongs to you!! They are useing your signiture to produce money out of thin air. We have also quit paying all our credit cards and are paying off all of our , secured debt. ( Those debts we owe to friends ). Fortunately we don't have a house payment.
The link to the company that has/is helping us do this is http://www.fdrs.com/as5602rf
For every one dollar of debt they eliminate it takes away thirty three from the Federal Reserve,thus helping put them out of business.
If you want to use their service,great,I've help people out.
Even if you don't want to use their service, visit the web site and go to the 'resoure' page, you will find the largest list of informative sites and articals, including several by Dr. Ron Paul, that I have ever found.
Do your own reserch and I'm sure you will see why as a Patriot, you need to get out of debt now.
Tools for freedom also has information on eleminating your home loan, you keep the home. Check out their catolog on line. Look for the title "Free Mortgage Analysis Could Get Your Home Loan Erased"
http://www.toolsforfreedom.com
Read this and spread the word
The Federal Reserve is a private company
http://theunjustmedia.com/The%20federal_reserve_is_privately...
A private company that is controlled by the government
So, while private in name, it's not really.
I forget which country...
...in Africa... but they have 26,000% inflation! It can happen and does.
I have been suggesting Palladium for about two months now and it has gone up from $350 to around $520 per ounce in that time. Instability with Russian relations will make that sky rocket in the near future. It had priced at $1500 per ounce in the past.
I don't have a lot of money and not much debt and live in an apartment. But I have a nice backyard and a forest. I pay a little bit of my debt and then buy a bout 2 or 3 ounces of silver each week. It has added up. That is what I suggest fo those that are struggling.
Also, distilled water is the BEST to drink. My ex tested various water sources and said that distilled water was the closest to pure.
I have stocked up on some canned goods and have an extensive knife and sword collection. Have a blow gun as well. My next purchase may be a gun or crossbow. Simply because we need to protect ourselves.
Does my burka make my butt look fatwa?
Distilled Water
If you're going to drink distilled water, you MUST add some salt back in, or you will cause severe health problems.
Zimbabwe
It's Zimbabwe and inflation is over 100,000% per year. This is price doubling about every 38 days. They are printing money out of thin air by the Trillions. Infact they are having trouble buy ink for the paper money. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwean_dollar
Don't
they know they can get 10% back at Staples?.. :O)
Excellent Post -What also is really driving up Metal Prices ARE:
1. As a mine owner I can tell you that Gold and Silver reserves are greatly falling. Today, silver production is less than it was in 1922 and gold production is down. The South African gold mines have reached a depth where many of the air tempetures are as high as 130 degrees. Miners can only mine for a very short period of time. The amount of gold recovered in these mines are rapidly falling. Tribal warfare takes place almost daily and dead miners are hidden within the hundreds of miles of old tunnels. Thieft has greatly increased. And, worse of all is that the HIV rate amount blacks in these African countries are running as high as 90%. Interestingly, French Scientists have located five different muttated types of the AIDs viruse in Africa. The one they worry about is the one transfered via a number of different flying, blood sucking insects. As a result, white European and North American Mining Engineers, Managers, Geologist and others will not work in these mines. Just note the shortage and the rapid increase in the price of Platium and Rhodium. Both part of Platium Group Materials have sky rocketed. These materials are primarily mined in South Africa and Russia. A short time ago gold was priced at $250 per once, Platium was $300 per once and Rhodium was approximately $450 per once. Today gold has shot up to over $900 per once, Platium is $2150 and Rhodium is around $9,000 per once. The one that is control by the Federal Reserve Bank is Gold and you can see how it has been held down in price. The demand for all of these raw materials is much higher than our ability to supply. Plus it is going to get a lot worse.
2. China wants to trade it's ever increasing $1.3 trillion dollar stock pile who's worth is dropping rapidly, for raw materials, especially gold. Right now China is like a stealth vaccum cleaner sucking up every once of gold and other raw material it can buy, through their many World Wide agents. They just hope that the IMF or anyone else puts tons of gold on the market, they will be first in line. China's plan in the future is to have a gold back currency. Then they will reach the level of Worlds greatest economy. They are purchasing stock in a number of corporation to aquire pattents and state-of-the-art knowledge but that process is too, slow and requires a lot of approvals and legal work.
3. The part that you left out is that yes, the price of gold and silver are moving higher throughout the World but most important for us is the fact that the dollar is falling in value of worth. It takes move dollars to buy fewer onces of gold or silver. Dr. Paul has pointed this out a number of times. So obviously as the dollar falls, the price of gold and silver per once increases. And, there is nothing in sight that is going to change that outcome.
4. The cost of mining has really shot up. Cost of mining equipment, fuel, machine cost and shortages, processing, environmental concerns, wages, insurance, spare parts, maintenance, drilling rig shortage are all up and no end in sight.
5. Many are not aware that most of the worlds mined gold is still with us but not in the case of silver. Silver is primarily an industrial material who's uses have expanded greatly just in the past ten years. Historically, the people of India have always favored silver over gold, primarily for its magical abilities. Many are not aware that silver kills well over 650 known pathogens upon contact. Silver has stopped many plaques in world history. Thats where "born with a silver spoon in their mouth comes from". Silver has been proven to stimulate regrowth of human tissue, cartoledge and nerve fiber, as well as saving a military veterans leg by stopping an infection that drugs could do. (Dr. Robert O. Becker, MD Research and book "The Body Electric" 1985). Silver water and air filters for hospitals greatly reduce gem transference. Military band aids now contain silver threads which expedite healing by three times. New silver impregnated counter tops will kill pathogens, including bacteria and viruses at hospitals, schools, restrauants, nursing homes and so on. The list is way to long to place it here. Note, that gold is being used in many new medical treatments, as is Rhodium and Platium.
SILVER - Method of Ownership
Appreciated your analysis, Arizona_Steve - it seems well-founded.
I had already been wondering why Silver was not reacting the way Gold has, but I've come to suspect that Gold (being the "Senior" metal, of the two) always steals the limelight, and hence, the early higher accumulation.
My question is, what do you see as the best, most efficient method of Silver ownership ?
- Silver currency coins, I suspect, have an even higher percentage of 'fluff' value, than their Gold cousins, making an instant loss of 15 % or more upon exchange.
- Silver mining stocks seem like they're even less efficient that Gold ones.
A Couple of Answers That May Help or Guide You
The one I like the best is the one-once 99.9% pure American Silver Eagle coin. Shop around among coin shops for the best buy. Quantity discounts are available. They come one at a time, 20 coins in a plastic sleeve or my favorite, a large green colored box with federal seals and stampings direct from the mint can be ordered through these shops.
In addition, I would suggest possibly purchasing some Junior Gold and Silver mining stocks. Owning such shares makes you part owner of one of these companies. Most importantly is to take possession of your stock certificates and place them in a home safe or a safe deposit box with your coins. These junior mining stocks will be fought after by a number of groups, including larger mining companies. The larger mining companies released most all of their geologist and greatly scaled back their search for new mineral resources about twenty years ago or so and only recently have begun to hire the few remaining geologist that are available, most retired or changed occupations after the metal prices fell. In todays job market one of the occupations that really commands a high wage and a lot of attention is a good geologist. So now with the price of most all minerals moving higher almost on a daily bases, the larger mining companies realize that the best and fastest way to replace the resources that they are mining each day is to purchase smaller, primarily junior mining companies that have done all of the basic work of locating in-ground resources, testing, locking them up legally, getting the necessary zoning approvals, having their mining plan and environmental plans approved are the perfect targets. Very, very soon we will see panic merging or aquistion of these type companies. Battles will take place between these larger mining companies for the right to take over these smaller companies. They have too, or their stock will begin to stagnate and their company will not grow. The bottom line is that they just don't have the time nor the geologists to send out into the world to find the minerals they seek. This means that they will pay a much higher price for the junior mines and that you will either make more on the sale of your stock or in a merger you will receive additional shares of the large companies stock. There are many to choose from but you must do your homework on each one. Years ago there were a number of what are referred to as "Pump and Dump" mining companies. They would hype a stock up and then sell their shares and leave you and others holding the bag. Today, because of laws, most of these have gone away but now and then some will surface. Double check all of the information and be sure to call the company and ask questions. One junior mining company that I invested in years ago is Minefinders (MFL on the American Exchange) based in Vancouver, BC. The contact up there is Mike Wills. Why do I happen to like this company, you ask?? One of the main reasons is that both Mike Wills and the CEO Mark Bailey are former Marines who were real hero's during the Vietnam War and have been written about in a number of books. As a Vietnam Veteran myself I know what kind straight-talking, honest, conservative people run this company. Mark has a Masters in Geology and very well thought of in the mining industry. This management team is a "Can-Do" group of indiviuals who always completes their mission. Another reason is that they only issued 37 million shares of stock. That's way less than most companies. One of the biggest reasons is that they are about to open their first open-pit mining operation in Northern Mexico and they are sitting on a bonanza size amount of Gold and Silver. Now, I'm not recommeding this company or any other particular company. You must seek your own professional guidance or do you own research, as well.
God Bless
Personal Debt
My personal opinion is that paying down debt in general is a good idea. The problem with credit card debt is that the interest rates are so high that your debt keeps balooning faster than the rate of increase on most investments including gold bullion. Gold has been averaging 17% a year increase in price. Many people pay 20% plus on credit cards, never mind the late fees, etc. For me, I pay off my credit card debt at the end of every month.
Long term fixed rate debt can work to your advantage. Mortgages that are fixed in the 6% range with the tax break make your effective rate less than 5%. Keep paying those each month and invest the rest. Some oil trusts pay in excess of 10%, so you can collect a positive spread. If you buy gold coins at a dealer there is a bid-ask spread so you pay a commission coming and going, which has to be accounted for.
Right now we are experiencing inflation in commodities and deflation in real estate. This is the worst of all worlds for the middle class. Without the ability to service debt and maintain a positive cash flow, many people will find themselves in serious trouble very quickly. Hyperinflation won't bail you out if you don't have a job. If we have hyperinflation credit card companies will charge 100% if needed. We really don't know the future for certain, we could have a deflation or sudden collapse.
One investment advisor recommends cash and gold, because it is unclear how the economic crisis will unfold. To me paying off high interest debt and servicing reasonable mortgage debt makes the most sense. After you do that, invest the rest.
Turbo Inflation
I think I see what sobrdup is saying here. Let me elaborate-
If a loaf of bread is $1 now. You have a 100 homes in your street. Every home buys a loaf of bread per day so that is 100 loaves x $1 = $100 per day or $700 per week. (Lets say it's paper cash).
Inflation rockets 100% pretend over one year. So on the anniversary of the first year your street will have to come up with 1400 bits of paper per week instead of 700 -365 days earlier. There will be a shortage of paper money so they will have to print more otherwise there won't be enough in the cashpoint/ATM. To do a weekly grocery shop you will need a wheelbarrow to carry the cash. (You won't trust the credit card because a)you might be over your limit or b) The bank might go bust with your money inside. You will want your wages in cash in case your employer is over his credit limit or his bank goes bust. He will want his customers to pay cash for the same reason. END of credit. Period.
'I always think of all you canvassors and precinct leaders at the front line.
Good luck out there &Thank you. It's appreciated'.-fip -U.K
'I always thank of all you canvassors and precinct leaders and delegates who were at the front line and caucuses.
Good luck out there &Thank you. You're a gift.
Meant to post this below.
Meant to post this below, to cold fusion's "I'm no economic wizard but I"
So, I'm moving it there the best I can.
MODS please delete this one...
-ac
i dont think hyperinflation will happen how you say
Hyperinflation of 1000-3000% has occurred in several countries when the economy collapsed, but I'm not sure we can count on that happening here. I agree with you that our economic system is headed for major upheaval, but I don't think you should bank on getting a house for pennies on the dollar. The reason I say this is because we are a superpower and the economy is much more global than it was when this occurred in post-WWII Germany. Since we have such strong military and police power, you can count on the government stepping in at some point and forcing a new economic system on us. They may even force us to turn in our gold and silver, so I would not put all of my eggs in one basket. Remember, Germany LOST the war and so their government was basically dismantled. I don't foresee us losing a war and being re-constructed by a foreign power, so I would expect our government to clamp down with an iron fist.
In fact, I think we should be equally prepared for deflation as inflation. I sort of expect a period of high inflation followed by a massive deflation. If that happens, your house payment is going to be a major burden, because it is a fixed amount, but your wages will go down. That is how real estate and wealth gets transferred from middle class people (leaving them poor) to the already rich. That is exactly what happened in The Great Depression, and I expect the bankstas to use the same formula this time around.
Some conditions are different, some the same
The Weimar experience is what we are heading for, that is certain now. Bad debt, debt that cannot be repaid, is being monetized by the Fed, sovereign wealth funds and other central banks. Substitute the term "war reparations" with the term "credit default derivatives", and it is very nearly the same thing. The fundamental problem is the same. All that's left to find out are all of the sordid details. Maybe they (the banksters and their politicians) will be able to take us down slow without a lot of pain, but I think that their goal here is the economic slaughter of all but the super rich, so I'm not expecting much in the way of love from these criminals. I'm very glad that I chose the theme of "gold and guns" for 2008!!!
Very Good Posting - Just A Few Additional Thoughts
This is a very good posting that provides excellent information. I thought that maybe I could add a few more ideas.
If you believe in Dr. Paul and his message, you then know what is about to happen financially to the value of our dollar and to our economy. The question then becomes, what steps due we each take, both large and small, in our own lives to protect each of us and our families against a strong potential of a pending financial crash. In addition, many of these steps are designed to reduce the strength and power of the establishment. These steps, in random order, must be looked at as an accumulative package whose total adds up to something very positive for us all.
Steps we can all take:
1. Use your rebate check, your tax return and extra money to buy Gold and Silver coins. The one I like the best is the one-once 99.9% pure American Silver Eagle coin. Shop around among coin shops for the best buy. Quantity discounts are available. They come one at a time, 20 coins in a plastic sleeve or my favorite, a large green colored box with federal seals and stampings direct from the mint can be ordered through these shops.
2. Sell most all of your stocks, particularly fortune 500 companies and purchase Junior Gold and Silver mining stocks. Most 401k will allow a shift to a basket of these same types of stocks. Most importantly is to take possession of your stock certificates and place them in a home safe or a safe deposit box with your coins. These mining stocks will be fought after a number of groups, including larger mining companies, big Banks, Governments and others at the new re-evaluated currency price later on.
3. All birthday gifts, as well as other occasions from now on should be given only in the form of gold or silver American eagle coins. Coin stores offer these in very attractive and protective packaging. Most importantly, don’t tell everyone that you have these coins.
4. Trim down your frivolous expenditures. Only buy bare-bone essentials.
5. Reduce many extra services that you presently have, such as, extended cable television and telephone packages. Think bare-bones and down-size everywhere you can.
6. Sell stuff and gift away things that your family members or friends don’t really need.
7. Cut back on your vacation plans and use the extra money to purchase more gold and silver coins. Also, purchase various bags of vegetable garden seeds. Keep in cool place.
8. Never let your gas tank fall under half full. Riots and fires will break out almost daily.
9. Each time you shop at a super market, purchase reverse osmoses filter water in two gallon or larger size, if possible and extra can foods for emergencies. Don’t forget to purchase extra Medicine, (Write the date on the top of each can with a marking pen).
10. Purchase a portable short wave radio with a hand crank instead of batteries and a GPS.
11. Put together an emergency package of important items, possibly using a suite case or plastic box. Make sure that you and your family have a set plan of action. (riots possible)
12. Cancel all of your newspaper, magazine and other subscriptions, and club memberships.
13. Call your credit card companies periodically and continue to request a lower rate.
14. Always have some cash on hand in your home safe and place copies of all of your important papers and information in clear plastic sheets within 3-ring a binder.
15. Purchase a pistol and a shot gun for protection. (Suggest taking a class on their use)
16. Have a family meeting and investigate how other members can cut back and trim down.
17. Try to move out of urban areas. Take only safe routes of travel. Think LA Riots being mobile. Buy up-to-date maps. The dollar and stock market could collapse quickly. Banks would then close for a period of time, then possibly as in 1929 re-open and give you only $0.10 on you deposited dollar or possibly re-issue you a new hyper-inflated paper currency. Those on Welfare programs, such as Food stamps, Rent Assistance, Free School Lunch, Day care Assistance, Unemployment and welfare checks, will be hit first.
18. Begin improving your own physical condition and strength training.
19. Purchase a couple of black marking pens and use them to blacken out all of your personal information before discarding or shredding.
20. Don’t be so free with your personal information and schedule, add outside solar lights.
21. Try to stay off of your cell phone as much as possible and remember that you are broadcasting and everything you say can be heard by the general public within range.
22. Reduce your cost of energy: Try and cut back on energy use in your home. Use lower watt bulbs, turn your refrigerator down a little, as well as the water heater, turn off lights during the day, turn down the furnace and put on an extra piece of clothing and reduce A/C usage, and most importantly leave the television off, as much as possible. Use this savings to purchase more gold and silver.
23. A really important thing to do is to open a bank account at a good credit union and then close your establishment bank account. Credit unions are far safer than establishment banks. They must by law, have twice as much money on hand than banks are required to have and their loans and credit cards are the lowest. Remember, that each credit union member is part owner of the bank and you are treated that same way. You can qualify immediately for membership if a family member belong to one, or they have military veteran credit unions, corporate and government employee credit union and many other types. You need to make some calls. This one act by most all of Dr. Paul’s supports may have a strong effect on establishment banks.
24. Now that we have taken actions that will make us safer we can now begin to make calls to talk shows or CSPAN as often as possible and voice your opinion. Write letters to the Editor of newspaper and magazines and do the same thing. Submit articles to Dr. Paul’s new newspaper and Daily Paul to help keep our new found group together and informed. This is your extended family now and they will help you to survive a crash.
25. Think about running for local or state office yourself in this next election under Dr Paul’s banner, using his wonderful and sound principles.
26. Hang on to your Ron Paul signs for I believe that they will soon be needed again.
27. Maintain your meet-up groups and give them each a copy of this to help them.
28. Work hard for Dr. Paul and continue to donate to this wonderful revolution.
29. Keep in mind that the stage is set and anything can happen between now & convention.
One thing to keep in mind is that if most of Ron Paul’s supporters purchase silver in particular, the price because of supply and demand will automatically move higher. In addition, it should be noted that historically its relationship to gold should be a 16/1. Presently, gold is worth approximately 60 times that of silver. It was just 80 to one not long ago and is closing the gap rapidly, it’s going up. Silver @ 16/1 should today be then priced at approximately $56 an ounce.
good one!
I'm going to get on this stuff soon. How much time do you think we have? I want to put my condo on the market and sell it. Take these steps and I'll be ready. I just can't wait until this is all over!
super post Arizona steve
gosh, a lot to do
what's the basis of your timing?
why do you think a catastrophic collapse will occur in the next 12 months? as soon as June, July? is this a hunch or are there specific events that you see happening in the next six months?
The sky is not falling
The sky is not falling, at least not yet. What we have been experiencing and will continue to, is a readjustment downward of both wages and asset prices. First wages; inflation, while often called a hidden tax, is in reality a wage and pay cut. For example if you earn $50,000 per year and the inflation rate is 10%, effectively your wage has been cut by 10%. Assets on the other hand, this includes real estate, stock, bonds and yes folks even gold and silver will also decrease in value as the world economy slows down. This is because as demand decreases, so does price. So selling your home to buy gold is most likely not going to help you much, especially if you own the home free and clear.
What causes the confusion in perception is the dollar. The dollar will continue to slide downward as long as the US Treasury rates are lower than other competing currencies. Only an increase in US Treasury rates, or conversely a cut by the completing currencies will stop the fall of the greenback. Here is where the value perception problem occurs. For example, would you buy something from a jewelery store just because there was a 50% off sale? Most likely you would be asking yourself first, 50% off "of what"; wholesale , retail, 100% markup, 500% markup?
The same question should be asked on any asset sale or purchase.
For example, if you compared gold to oil, instead of the dollar, you would see that both have about the same value as they did in 2001.A better question would be; did the price of gold and oil go up, or did the dollar just goes down? Since not only gold and oil are up in price ,( not value), but also every other commodity is up in price, a fair argument could be made that it is the dollar that is down. Which brings us the a worldwide slowdown, recession, depression or whatever you perceive we are now experiencing or about to experience.
Trying to call the top or bottom of any economic trend is all but impossible. The best any of us can hope to do is identify the trend and make it our friend. Assuming that assets prices will continue to rise during an economic slowdown may not be the wisest move, regardless of the asset. While it is possible and sometimes called stagflation, people should consider easier strategies than trying to guess. It is always better to pay off debt. People suggesting that you not pay off debt and should instead buy gold, remind me of what Will Rogers once said. He said, " The definition of a gold mine is a hole in the ground with a liar on top".
I am not poo-pooing gold, however it is at its all time high and most economic experts believe we will have some form of economic slowdown. The US represents 25% of the world economy. So when the US catches a cold, most of the rest of the world catches the flu.My point is the banks are not stupid, they will adjust interest rates up on outstanding debt to make up any loss in value, that is for certain. What is not for certain is, while gold may go up in price near term, will it increase in value as related to the other commodities we need to survive, like food? I would suggest paying off dept and growing a garden would better suit most people along with other common sense cost cutting approaches like eating at home instead of out in restaurants or trading a gas guzzling car for a more fuel efficient one. The sky is not falling, at least not yet. While holding gold as a "hedge" against inflation is a smart move, common sense should be applied before betting the farm on it.
Thanks for your opinion.
However, your sky is falling.
________________
Good luck to us all,
Lisa C.
www.women4ronpaul.com
Ron Paul "Sign Wave Across the USA" -- November 5th!
Your dollar is collapsing at an increasing rate.
I live overseas and we are watching from Australia in complete amazement. Americans simply do not understand what is going on. This is no joke. No conspiracy.
Dr. Paul has been warning Americans for years about just this situation.
________________
Good luck to us all,
Lisa C.
www.women4ronpaul.com
Ron Paul "Sign Wave Across the USA" -- November 5th!
Now you've really got me curious!
How could people in Australia be more aware of the dollar crashing than we are? Maybe if you are exchanging Aust. dollars for US ones?
Dollar house prices
(For house read infrastructure too).
take a look in the property section of a UK on-line agent/newspaper section. Also, take a look at the job vacancy section. The similarities with the US are similar in dollar/sterling wage packages. For agument sake a 'Manager of a Bakery shop = 25k per year.
Average house price in UK is £250k.
Average house price in US is £100k
The Uk also has the highest credit card debt because people borrow on the house value.
But UK and other 'foreigners' with spare cash can buy U.S property and business very cheap because we get approx 2$ per£1pound.
Average UK house is £250k = $500,000 worth of property, etc. That's why you are swopping US debt for easy take over of your infrasructure and property to the likes of europeans and east asians.
'I always think of all you canvassors and precinct leaders at the front line.
Good luck out there &Thank you. It's appreciated'.-fip -U.K
'I always thank of all you canvassors and precinct leaders and delegates who were at the front line and caucuses.
Good luck out there &Thank you. You're a gift.
Because
the subject matter is covered in overseas media... it's not really reported on in the US.. same as other subjects.
We're being fed what they want us to see.. ~shrug~
Edited
Here is our dollar value....
http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=dmax
~Live life to its fullest, with an open heart, open arms and most important... an open mind~
It's a hunch, as well as a
It's a hunch, as well as a "better safe than sorry" approach. I do have some reasoning behind it, but economics is not an exact science. So far, however, my general predictions for events this year have been on target - gold prices for example.
I'd like to comment...
In the scenario you forsee, I will agree with you on a few points. If we are headed towards hyperinflation and looking at it on the short-term it would be silly to pay off credit-card debt... your credit rating is not really going to matter when you are in a food line...lol. Fixed-rate mortgages if you are not horribly upside-down in 12 months again may be a great deal... if again we have to go through hyperinflation for an extended period of time.
Some people here see gold in the short-term... what can we do with it if times get hard. Gold, however, is normally used to TRANSPORT wealth over a bad patch, as it historically retains value. Short-term, you should be more concerned about the other issues.. water, shelter, food, guns.
Another thing that people don't see is that if we are going to enter a term of hyper-inflation, the feds will just allow the market to adjust downwards, forcing us into a recession. Stagflation? possibly. However, the cycle either way will either drastically or eventually bring us into a depression. So plan for that.
All this supposes a worst-case scenario. There are several ways to trigger what we are terming a depression in our current economy... there are several ways to artificially prevent that. So if you are planning for the worst case remember... it is a possibility, not a probability.
THAT being said, what I've discussed on the boards more than once is attempting to get as debt-free as possible as a way of life... not merely as insurance against a possible calamity. This has been shot down of course by our resident fascists, who think it is the patriotic duty of all Amerikans to be in debt from cradle to grave to service our great nation's debt. I personally disagree. Make an effort ot be more self-sufficient. Attempt to live within your means. This is not a radical new idea... it is just an idea that we've gotten away from. There is nothing wrong with using your money wisely. Use a barter system with your associates. If you are in a situation that you can get off of the grid, do so. If not, do what you can so that you and your families are not forever attached to the teat of Mother Amerika. There is nothing wrong with trying to be self-sufficient... it is just not in style.. ;)
~Live life to its fullest, with an open heart, open arms and most important... an open mind~
I agree on all points,
I agree on all points, especially about the priority of first having water, food, shelter guns...