Posted on 11/20/2012 10:24:01 AM PST by 4everontheRight
I heard recently that a lot of "wealthy" Americans are selling off their wealth. I am not by any means "wealthy" but really, what does that mean? Government wealthy? Own my own home wealthy? Just wondered what FReepers are doing? Selling? Buying?
If you have any debt, pay it off now. You want to be as self-sufficient as possible.
Other than that, I’m Going Galt with my money: I’m keeping it out of the system.
If I told them, it would spoil the surprise.
Next was take cash and hide it, then the thought that they could very easily make hidden Dollars worthless by changing the money and requiring the old money be traded for the new money.
Gold and Silver sounds nice except unless you cut the coins or bullion up into $5 or $25 pieces, you'll end up trading a 1/4 oz for a box of bullets or a bag of groceries.
Bullets? Trouble knowing which cal most traders would want and they are somewhat perishable and hard to carry around in bulk.
To a large degree you are just screwed no matter which way we go. But would like to hear other ideas too.
I’m putting what cash I have left into hard assets. Property (unimproved) and physical precious metals. I don’t see any other way to avoid the inflationary collapse that is heading our way. The typical safe havens of bonds and CDs offer nothing to outrun 7%, 10%, or 20% inflationary pressure - I would be losing money every day.
More Garand clips and the ammo to fill them, some more handgun and shotgun ammo, and a number of other assorted novelties.
I buy my ammo online, by the case.
Get another passport and invest it there. You should hear what my Filipino bud was able to do with his after 15 years of having 3 passports.
Hi Taxcontrol, where are you getting the 30% figure? I thought it was 10% penalty on early withdrawal from 401k with no hardship excuse.
I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
Took a third of money to Canada. Just in case I have to move someday and we have financial controls.
They will not do that. There is too, too much drug money in cash. Somebody could get dead if they tried this. Obama won't take a chance on getting a 'contract' on himself.
I am thankful I paid cash for my house so I own it as long as taxes are paid and I considered that when I bought. I went smaller rather than larger to keep utility cost down (think electricity), and keep the amount of taxes down. I am as far divorced from others having a say in my house as a person could be.
I know most people can't afford to pay off their house. I am “old” and had paid off a house so when I moved I had the money from that house to pay cash for this one. I guess that is a trade-off - “old” means a paid for house.
I also don't owe money on my car as I paid cash for that. Insurance is the only cost for it.
I keep smaller bills in cash hidden in the house in case an emergency happens. Hurricanes always take out power and there is no money to be had then. That one was difficult for me as I never think about cash money. I use a debit card and didn't think about cash. When Ike Hurricane was coming, I rushed to the bank to get cash. After Ike, I thought about that and asked myself why I had to do that when I could get money and have it available. Made a special trip to the bank to fix that. If you don't have much cash at home, it's a good thing to get that.
Bank crash: Here's what I think about money in the market whether it's a 401k or not. If banks fail, how much do you trust your bank to still have that money in your name after a year with the bank not opening? Your money is on a microchip, it is not a stack of actual money. What you have is maybe a statement showing you have an amount of money on a microchip. Personally, I would cash it in for actual cash and leave only the amount of money I knew I could survive without if it disappeared. Or, take it all out. This whole situation is mute if you believe banks are not going to fail.
Taxes: If you have a profit if you sell securities now, sell them now and take the profit this year before taxes go up. If you will be taking a loss if you sell, decide if you trust the bank to stay open for another six months or more and that the securities value won't go down more.
Good luck to you and your money.
10% penalty but then taxed at the 20% rate in addition. 30% total.
Out of money unfortunatly. Wife looking for work without any luck.
Unless things change at the last minute, Americans who make up to $48,600 will have a 15 percent rate. Between $48,600 and $125,450 a year will have a 28 percent rate, and those who make more than $398,350 will pay a rate of 39.6 percent.
Sometimes I think it would be a good idea to stockpile luxury items for barter. Sugar. Coffee. Cigarettes. Chocolate. Booze...
I am stockpiling seeds. Bought some gold. Thinking of starting a 501c3 which will help some foreign government support their orphaned kids. Will take a large administrative fee from that. Start an S-Corp tha sells gray market chevy Volts. Put your money in there and take draws. Declare a loss at the end of the year. No one is buying Volts anymore?
It is the penalty plus the normal tax rate that adds up to about 30%. That of course assumes your normal tax rate is 20%. Mine is right in that range that is why I use 30%. As always, you mileage may be different.
Another option you might consider is a loan against the 401k. Granted you will have to pay it back and the loan is around 7% interest (to yourself) but if you are paying mid level interest rates (10 to 15+% on credit cards) you can “refinance” your debt by taking a loan and pay of your cards. Use the “extra” in savings on the cards to pay off other debts faster.
Again, your specifics my be different. This is only being presented as options to consider.
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