There is a growing concern that brokerages and banks are not maintaining enough money on hand to pay depositors desiring to ‘cash out’.
My family cashed in the last IRA money in August 2008, just before the stock market tanked. We saw it coming way back then, and it wasn't just about the ghastly communists in the Obama Administration either, though they have certainly made things worse all around. Our monetary system is in free-fall.
We also cashed out on a large insurance policy this past January 2012. Insurance companies have usually invested conservatively in commercial real estate. Commercial real estate has generally been considered a ‘safe’ investment, but not right now as real property values have crashed into a fiscal basement. So, we cashed in then just in case the company went bankrupt. We took the tax hit and paid off the mortgage and car loan.
I am no longer trusting of banks or any institution holding deposits and am working towards getting off the grid. For me this is easier than for most folks as I have no dependents.
> “My family cashed in the last IRA money in August 2008, just before the stock market tanked.”
The stock market is now higher than it was in August 2008.
You must be a prophet. At least for your own finances. Good move!
I don’t have a lot but what I do have is in a credit union. My wife wants to take most all of it and bury it in the backyard. Seriously. You can’t be robbed or burgled from something that ain’t in the house.