Posted on 09/17/2008 3:26:55 PM PDT by JDoutrider
What are us mere mortals to do in this Financial Meltdown that has seen major financial institutions go bankrupt, many thousands laid off, and the Federal Government using our tax dollars to stem the flow of a new Depression?
How's YOUR I.R.A. doing? No need to answer that one! Do You fear being locked out of your Bank unable to even access your money from a ATM? Got Cash? There is good reason to fear that in the short run... did you know the F.D.I.C. has only Fifty Billion dollars set aside to cover over a TRILLION dollars it guarantees?
Ever hear of a Bank Run? Unknown to many Americans, there already exists what is called a "Slow Bank Run". Of course eventually the FDIC will print up enough dollars to cover all it's insured, but unless this has been prepared for, that will take time. Not to mention what that does to the value of a Buck!
Earlier today I approached some of FreeRepublics finance wizards about a question relevant to all of this... and thought this would be a good place to post a thread that others could learn from, and post about their take on what to do in an unstable financial environment.
A younger friend of ours is panicking about whether, or not, to cashing in his medium value Roth IRA and following my wife and my move in going all cash (which we did in the spring). It appears he is not alone in this worrying! His job is not that stable, and his Wife is on strike at Boeing. I told him I would ask here at FR for advice, my self not that well versed in Roths and IRA's
His Roth is worth over a hundred grand, and invested in mutual funds (uh oh!). He fears that Roth will lose all value in this chaotic market. I don't blame him a bit!
Some of the answers I recieved were "Stay Steady", others told me that if wants to go "all cash" that he could do that within his Roth IRA! Still others told me that this is a great time to bulk up in donations to the Roth as the prices in the market may be at the lowest they'll get!
The advice proffered has included going to straight money markers to selling off everything, grabbing Gold, Bullets, Food and other of lifes daily needs...
So what say You? Hoarding any or all of the above? Should my buddy stay the course?
BTW... I told him to get out and go all cash...
Quite frankly, I believe we are going to witness the end of the world as we have known it since 1933.
I tried that, it didn't help.
I did get some relief last night by playing with some of my Krugerrands though.
Nailed it my FRiend!
Concur...
I have my Family prepared, and getting ready for a rough couple of years, hopefully we can salvage what’s left by then.
Invest extra cash in a broad-based stock mutual fund as soon as possible, and then email me in six months and thank me for the sage advice.
Just waiting to see where the bottom is aye? LOL.
Good for you. Take it all off the leftist suckers who believe Obama's bull. LOL.
First of all, it gives me pleasure to still see the optimism out there in FReeperland! I will pass this thread to my Friend and let him see what ya'll put out here.
I failed to mention that he hasn't followed through on anything yet as we just had this conversation this morning. I understand his situation, and just told him what my better half and I did... all this is great food for thought for him!
My situation is like some of yours. Retired, did well in life and have never bought into the concept that what you have is what you are... I place comfort and Happiness above all that nonsense. I consider myself the richest man on the planet! Faith, Family, Well armed,and prepared for times like these, and living in a Land of Freedom for which I have fought and bled for...
I truly place the blame for today's financial situation at the feet of the Democrat party, the threads here at FR are full of the whys whens of how they have brought this Land that I love to the precipice... ALL of this could have been nipped in the bud were it not for the communist, socialist, marxist agenda of that party! We have let our children and Country down by not being vigilant enough!
Not a goldbug here, though I did buy in moderately mid nineties.
Finally, (yes I hear the applause LOL!), by going all cash does NOT mean giving up! I see it as being prudent, a "pulling in of the horns" action. From my view I don't see a tamped down bottom yet, in fact I believe we won't see a bottom until Palin/McCain take office, and possibly not for two years after that before we can let spinnaker unfurl and fly us out of these rough waters. That is if the rest of the world can get out of their OWN vipers nest... and as Publius has stated, we may not return to that world that is collapsing ever again.
-straighten the sector stakes and test the detonators daily
I was doing those anyway (I have a teenage daughter.)
Cheers!
In the end, real property is all that counts. Money is only a symbol. You can’t eat money. Only food satisfies hunger. Money won’t keep the rain off your head. A house will.
Simple, frugal living is better anyway. The rich people that I know (and I know a few, some of whom are names most people would recognize) by and large do not spend their money on the glamorous life, choosing instead to live understated lifestyles and invest their money. Only pimps, gangsters, and the nouveaux riches feel the need to flaunt their wealth.
Besides, if and when a rational market returns I can always sell out and invest my equity. Until then, I have a comfortable and affordable place to shelter from the storm. As long as my family is healthy, clean, and well-fed, I’m as rich as I care to be.
I have also heard about that level being reached before "atonement"...
That is my experience as well with some old money folks. I thank the Good Lord above that my home and properties are paid off in this situation. Just wish the property taxes would become finis as well!
Like THAT'S going to happen!
I’ll bet you remember those days too.
Which days are those you refer to?
It's not gold, it's not silver. It's not redeemable. Just a collectible and trade-able thing like a baseball card. You do not set the value. That's the problem. Those who DO set the value are acting in a very novel fashion these days. Same thing done in a publicly traded stock would be called dilution. That's why at least one Money Market fund reduced it's Net Asset Value from $1 to short of a full dollar -- 97 cents. More will come to do so, almost surely.
That's money markets. Short term bills of credit, close to cash. But not cash. Still for cash -- worst case -- and one almost impossible to ever happen here -- look to the Wiemar wheelbarrows of cash to buy a loaf of bread, or the billion dollar bill cash in ex-Rhodesia, now the feral state of Zimbabwe.
The old saw never keep all you eggs in one basket still applies. Even in these strange chaotic days.
How right you are!
When I mention "all cash" that means we pulled the pin on our investments in the stock market et al... We (my Bride and I) still hold land. We have also invested in our own infrastructure guaranteeing survivability no matter what comes down the pike...
Like what you posted but to put all the blame on the Democrats is a stretch. Now I wonder if the country would be in this shape if Gore was elected. I am pretty sure it would not if Buchanan was elected.
When the market started jumping up and down like a kid wioth his pants on fire is when I backed out of it. There’s no reason to go through the emotional jumps the market was taking. I decided that keeping what I have was more sensible than trying to make more. Probably in January I’ll start buying again.
I had to chuckle when I read your post. The hold until you're broke crowd hasn't said a peep about your stay liquid, comment.
Yes, stay liquid, does refer to holding cash or treasuries.
There is enough blame to go all the way around quite a few times.
Or perhaps, get aggressive. I'm moving in hard. There are so many bargains right now, it's raining dividends. 20% annual on large cap preferred coupons? Yeah, I'm pawning the gold teeth to get my hands on those.
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