Posted on 02/11/2009 10:37:46 AM PST by OneVike
I would like to start a conversation about the logic behind investing in gold. I am in the process of transferring a good portion of my investments into gold. Now I am just a hard working Joe who wants my future retirement to be better then this current government wants it to be.
That being said, I would like to get those of you who are more conversed in the subject of investments and gold then I am into a healthy debate for me to sit back and learn from.
Don't expect much input from me other then my original plea for a debate on the subject. I will tell you what I believe and why I am interested. You can in turn tell me I am either on target or out there on Pluto. So here is my uneducated, yet serious understanding of the situation.
First off, I have watched with many of you, as our government has been giving money to whomever comes to them with hat in hand, and it promises to continue this giveaway. Then I see the trillion dollar stimulus bill being readied for the "Great One" to sign it. Also I have read that the government is prepared to buy as many bad mortgages as it can get away with. A dollar amount I have seen discussed is supposedly somewhere around 5.7 trillion dollars. Now those are some facts that I have at my fingertips, only God knows of the ones we will be blindsided with in the coming two years.
Now I do have a basic understanding of economics, and my head tells me that the government needs to print money, something I believe they even admit they are all ready doing. However, my head tells me that the government will need to print almost 7 trillion dollars just to meet their already committed expenditures.
So it is only common sense that the money already out there will be worth less, and eventually inflation will set in. Not just a little inflation but inflation that could rival the third world countries that we have regularly bailed out time and time again.
Now as I understand it, gold has always been a hedge against a weak dollar and high inflation, if I am wrong I am sure someone will correct me. However if I am right, then it would only make sense for me to take at least 30% of my worth and put it in gold. Right?
Well, I patiently await the discussion that will hopefully unfold before my eyes. I have nothing but the utmost respect for a vast majority of my fellow Freepers. I may not always agree on every subject, especially when it comes to religion, but I do enjoy the debates I have with everyone on here. Well, here I am with my hat in hand as I humbly ask you, my peers, for advice on this matter.
May we have a good respectful debate that will benefit all.
I have been invested in Ammunition for a good many years, I have recently endeavored to diversify my investments these past few months.
I have put a largish sum into Ramen Noodles, Coffee, Canned Hash and Spam, Beans, Rice, Spices, Tea, Canned Fruits and Vegetables, Several Water Purifiers, a small portable single butane burner with several cases of Butane canisters, and bags of Salt and Sugar all stored in water proof containers and all the dry goods sealed in vacuum packs.
Also several battery operated lanterns and flashlights and a system to charge those batteries using our SUV. Plus a couple of Kerosene heaters and we recently installed a natural gas wall heater that can run without electricity.
Several of my friends thought I was off my rocker till the power was off several days in my county. We were eating and cooking and reading by lantern and staying warm. They were moving to hotels and relatives homes and those who still had power were driving many miles to buy food since our grocery stores were without power.
Two of those friends came by after the power was on and asked for my shopping list for self sufficiency.
Most folks don’t realize there is only like three days worth of food in the pipeline.
There isn’t much to know. A Ruger 10/22 with a scope is capable of a brain pan shot at 100 yds and $100 will buy enough bullets for a small battle. You can put more lead down range, quicker, and more accurate, than shooting 2 arrows. Gun saftey would be the thing to learn for any fire arm if you haven’t ever handled them.
What is the most intelligent way to buy bullion?
Where do you buy the krugerrands and how do you know you are not overpaying?
Rice is not a bad idea and it stores for a long time!
i am interested
Seriously, to me, gold, silver, and other metals are a sensible investment. As you said, they are a hedge against inflation and weak currency. They're also portable and you can keep them with some degree of anonymity. I can't say that 30% is a good number - for me, that's high.
Another good investment is ammunition, which the left would like to make scarce and which will probably be more useful than precious metals in times of Armageddon.
That would probably be more sensible if we were experiencing an ordinary situation. We're not. We just elected a communist President who believes that the answer to a credit crisis is to borrow more money.
I can't say whether gold will go higher or not, but if you think that the dollar's about to take a plunge and inflation's going to happen, then gold is bound to go considerably higher than it is now. On the other hand, if you don't think that inflation is likely to happen (and some are predicting deflation so this isn't cut and dried), then gold or another precious metal is a good investment even at today's prices.
Which begs the question, 'can the US government confiscate gold currency from another nation?' For example, the Chinese Panda or Austrian Philharmonic? These are, after all, currency from another nation.
They have the guns. They can do whatever they want.
ML/NJ
The golden rule still applies;
"Never gamble with more than you can afford to lose". The nice thing about gold is that would won't lose everything.
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