Do yourself a favor; withdraw ALL your money from banks and buy a safe; keep it at home in safe bolted to the ground, fireproof; the type with remote off-trigger so with a gun to your head you can't open it for a burglar. Preferably replace most with silver coins the 25c 90% silver ones. Do not buy gold in large quantities as when buying food on a daily basis it will be hard to "break" a bar of gold.
Once successfully pushed in Cyprus, US will be the next one. Why you think they buying millions of rounds of ammunition? Street tanks bought by DHS (not a military part of government). And if you think about it, it makes perfect sense! Only by taking 25% of peoples assets can safe America, safe Social Security, safe Medicare, Medicaid, etc. Pres Obama already prepared it for you -- "you haven't built your business" yourself; the money you have is not really yours; it should be obvious!
It's worth keeping physical currency immediate needs in the case of a storm, earthquake, banking glitch, etc. (For most people, maybe $500-1000; the crazy thing is I know plenty of people who do nothing but use credit cards and just have $0-20, which sucks even if their bank just freezes their ATM account or credit card for 3 days!)
Otherwise, physical currency is exposed to the most serious risks (devaluation, inflation), plus physical loss, plus is relatively inconvenient to use. If you want a hedge against USD shenanigans, the things to do are:
1) Reduce ongoing liabilities (debt or expenses), particularly those which might adjust
2) Invest in income-producing assets which have pricing power
3) Potentially, hedge by investing in assets in foreign currencies or non-currencies, or assets in foreign countries, etc.
#1 and #2 are generally reasonable no matter what (buying energy efficient appliances, buying foods/etc. in bulk, education, being in good health, improving your skills, building products or companies...)
FYI, during the Weimer inflation, it was those who went into debt (ie, shorted the Mark) and bought real assets who profited the most. There's no real good advice during a currency collapse for unsophisticated investors. Filling your basement with Jack Daniel's whiskey is as good as anything.
That said, a FRN crisis, if any, is many years off.
The difference is fixed-rate, vs. things which could adjust. It's all about being on the right side of optionality :)
It's better to own a subsistence farm than to have something which requires purchasing market-priced inputs and to sell at long fixed-term prices.
Similarly having long term fixed-rate debt (mortgage) is better in a market where rates go up than having to refinance every few years with short-term debt (or, say, rent, in a place where there's no rent control). But a disadvantage of owning vs. renting is that you can't move as easily to take advantage of opportunities.
Reducing mandatory ongoing/recurring market-rate purchases seems like a win; usually that requires either spending capital now or some form of (ideally, fixed-rate) debt. Like borrowing at 3% to buy a fuel-efficient car or live close to work/transit is probably worthwhile, if you get 10-15mpg now and need to commute to work.
I think you missed the part where he recommends holding physical currency in pre-1965 90% silver coins (commonly called "junk silver"). I agree with him that Ag will hold value very well in such a scenario.
You really haven't convinced me. Inconvenient to use? Whe dollar will get heavily devaluated you will see the green paper you hold in your hand losing value. People will be trying to get a rid of it. You know what happens when more people wants to sell than buy; make yourself the rest of the story. Meanwhile silver or gold is an "international" currency. IT will hold more or less same value in each country. Using silver coins will be very convinient to use.
Holding green paper is just to handle short term disruptions in electronic systems in supply of green paper, which is. Most likely situation for a 1-2 week non financial crisis, which is the most likely (if least severe) crisis.
Stockpiling unproductive assets is just not a viable long term strategy, nor does it work for society if everyone does it. It makes sense to keep a certain amount in reserve, and to slightly increase that during times of uncertainty, but working and buying gold coins and putting them in a safe isn't a useful financial strategy in isolation.
Let's make one thing clear: in the spectrum of possibilities, a massive inflationary event (where the purchasing power of the dollar is significantly impaired) is far more likely than any government agency raiding everyone's bank accounts, and keeping cash at home won't protect you from it
> than any government agency raiding everyone's bank accounts, and keeping cash at home won't protect you from it
Why not? They will be busy going through houses from the "citizen armed lives here" list. Don't keep cash; I said keep most in silver coins. Don't keep in bank ready to be raid; keep at home in safe.
BTC is far from a stable and accepted currency, and the fluctuations in USDBTC are still being driven by developments in the bitcoin community (e.g. good press, bad press, technical issues, new sites that accept BTC).
Yesterday in Palo Alto, California, John Schultz was mugged for 10 Bitcoins,
a volatile new digital currency based on complicated calculations.
“It was terrifying”, John exclaimed, “he handed me a pen and waited patiently
for 45 minutes while I wrote down the encrypted text required to retrieve the
money”.
The stolen Bitcoins were valued at $415 at the time of the mugging, but
fluctuated between $600 and $3 during the time John was walking home.
This proves the opposite. It is much harder to steal bitcoins than cash or bank deposit. You have to infect the computer, break the password, and know where to go in the first place.
I upvoted it because it's very interesting to see what joering2 said, which I've only ever seen dismissed with a chuckle by people who don't already agree with it, debated in this context, on HN.
I'm a firm believer that genuinely and seriously entertaining stupid questions, unpopular opinions, and fringe theories, is the most effective (and engaging) way to learn something new with some immediate depth. Which is what I'm here for.
I upvoted joering2 because the developing conversation it set off between rdl and mynameishere is the most interesting and novel content in this thread so far.
They don't because in the long run you have to actually produce wealth that would sustain your money-printing instinct. This is the best opportunity for Europe to actual implement structural reforms that would give them a chance to compete long-term, as an European I do hope they don't fuck it up.
Once successfully pushed in Cyprus, US will be the next one. Why you think they buying millions of rounds of ammunition? Street tanks bought by DHS (not a military part of government). And if you think about it, it makes perfect sense! Only by taking 25% of peoples assets can safe America, safe Social Security, safe Medicare, Medicaid, etc. Pres Obama already prepared it for you -- "you haven't built your business" yourself; the money you have is not really yours; it should be obvious!