Safe Investments

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire You could dig a hole in the back yard and bury a jar with your money in it. :confused:

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet That assumes our society, political system and economy are still intact. Digging up a jar full of Confederate notes that great grandma buried in the backyard in Alabama wouldn't do you much good today!

Good point! I guess you'd have to bury gold bullion(sp?), instead!

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny I had no idea there was that much in the fund!

So, $1 in surplus for every $45 in CD's...........

Plus, the Treasury has up to 99 years to repay you if the banking system fails and they have to play "catch-up"..........

[DJRR]

There are many risks, some visible - loss of principal, others not so visible - inflation, etc.

Trying to mitigate one risk based on "current" conditions will probably unintentionally expose you to another risk which will occur in the future.

Your best bet is to join the asset allocation thread and learn to build an allocation that is acceptable for the long haul unless you have so much money that you can avoid all risks but credit risk. Then buy US treasuries, gold bullion, and food/ammo

Quote:
Originally Posted by youbet
That assumes our society, political system and economy are still intact. Digging up a jar full of Confederate notes that great grandma buried in the backyard in Alabama wouldn't do you much good today!


Actually it would probably be great to have that jar from a collectors view as long as they are still in good shape. Wonder what the return is for the last 150 years?

[Danny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude So, $1 in surplus for every $45 in CD's........... Plus, the Treasury has up to 99 years to repay you if the banking system fails and they have to play "catch-up"..........

It's kinda not reassuring if one looks too closely behind the curtain, through the fog and mirrors and see the system is built mostly upon trust, psychology and 1 cent on the dollar in solid backing.

[emilylynn]

I think a lot of people have the same question. Why your concerns are dismissed as laughable is a mystery to me.

With the caveat that I am not an investment professional and do not purport to have any special expertise that could reasonably be relied upon, my own approach has been to keep the majority of my portfolio in cash or cash equivalents (including commercial money market funds, treasury money market funds, short-term treasury bills, and some foreign hard currencies), and the rest in a mix of funds that I consider to be pretty good bets in the face of a falling dollar and a floundering stock market: foreign-denominated treasury bonds, gold/silver ETFs, and balanced stock/bond funds concentrated in the consumer staple and natural resource sectors. I also devote a small allocation to BEARX (a predominately short fund).

Here are a few of the funds that interest me at the present time:

Permanent Portfolio (PRPFX)
Vanguard Wellesley Fund (VWINX)
Vanguard Wellington Fund (VWELX)
Vanguard Life Strategy Income (VASIX)
Prudent Global Income Fund (PSAFX)
U.S. Global Investors Global Resources Fund (PSPFX)
T. Rowe Price New Era Fund (PRNEX)
PIMCO Commodity Real Return Fund (PCRDX)
Hussman Strategic Growth Fund
Lehman International Treasury Bond Fund (BWX)
Hussman Strategic Total Return Fund (HSTRX)
Vanguard Consumer Staples (VDC)
Currency Shares Swiss Francs Trust (FXF)
Currency Shares Canadian Dollar Trust (FXC)
Merk Hard Currency Fund (MERKX)

That should give you some things to look at.

[Danny]

Thank you emilylynn.
Your investment mix makes sense and is very agreeable to me right now.
Appreciate you sharing the list of ideas - that will keep me occupied and my mind off the markets.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emilylynn Why your concerns are dismissed as laughable is a mystery to me.

My reading of the thread shows no dismissal of his concerns and posters laughing with Danny, not at him.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJRR Quote: Originally Posted by youbet That assumes our society, political system and economy are still intact. Digging up a jar full of Confederate notes that great grandma buried in the backyard in Alabama wouldn't do you much good today! Actually it would probably be great to have that jar from a collectors view as long as they are still in good shape. Wonder what the return is for the last 150 years?

If the situation has detiorated to the point where only items buried in the backyard have value, I wouldn't count on "collector's value!" I can see it now........... A mean lookin' guy with a 12 gauge approaches you, his starving family standing in the background, and demands your food. "No way!" you say. "But here, take this Rembrandt, it has lots of collector value!"

Let's hope things don't move off in that direction. It makes spending old age in a nursing home sound good.....!

[Danny]

I think Wahoo and the guys are more worried than I am, but are trying to show a brave front to steady me so I don't scare anyone else. Helps to have a chuckle while my knees buckle also.

Still I think emilylynn's mix is a good posture for the coming bad times ahead.

[Danny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet If the situation has detiorated to the point where only items buried in the backyard have value, I wouldn't count on "collector's value!" I can see it now........... A mean lookin' guy with a 12 gauge approaches you, his starving family standing in the background, and demands your food. "No way!" you say. "But here, take this Rembrandt, it has lots of collector value!" Let's hope things don't move off in that direction. It makes spending old age in a nursing home sound good.....!

Anyone else read Cormac McCarthy's The Road? Now there's a fun read.

Violence, in McCarthy's postapocalyptic tour de force, has been visited worldwide in the form of a "long shear of light and then a series of low concussions" that leaves cities and forests burned, birds and fish dead and the earth shrouded in gray clouds of ash. In this landscape, an unnamed man and his young son journey down a road to get to the sea. (The man's wife, who gave birth to the boy after calamity struck, has killed herself.) They carry blankets and scavenged food in a shopping cart, and the man is armed with a revolver loaded with his last two bullets. Beyond the ever-present possibility of starvation lies the threat of roving bands of cannibalistic thugs. The man assures the boy that the two of them are "good guys," but from the way his father treats other stray survivors the boy sees that his father has turned into an amoral survivalist, tenuously attached to the morality of the past by his fierce love for his son. McCarthy establishes himself here as the closest thing in American literature to an Old Testament prophet, trolling the blackest registers of human emotion to create a haunting and grim novel about civilization's slow death after the power goes out

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny Violence, in McCarthy's postapocalyptic tour de force, has been visited worldwide in the form of a "long shear of light and then a series of low concussions" that leaves cities and forests burned, birds and fish dead and the earth shrouded in gray clouds of ash. In this landscape, an unnamed man and his young son journey down a road to get to the sea. (The man's wife, who gave birth to the boy after calamity struck, has killed herself.) They carry blankets and scavenged food in a shopping cart, and the man is armed with a revolver loaded with his last two bullets. Beyond the ever-present possibility of starvation lies the threat of roving bands of cannibalistic thugs. The man assures the boy that the two of them are "good guys," but from the way his father treats other stray survivors the boy sees that his father has turned into an amoral survivalist, tenuously attached to the morality of the past by his fierce love for his son. McCarthy establishes himself here as the closest thing in American literature to an Old Testament prophet, trolling the blackest registers of human emotion to create a haunting and grim novel about civilization's slow death after the power goes out

Danny, did you forget to take your vitamin P?

Ha

[Danny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Danny, did you forget to take your vitamin P? Ha

This forum is my prozac

I don't recommend The Road - it was kind of depressing.
Not as entertaining and cheery as No Country For Old Men
I'll take the lows and highs of the markets for my everyday kicks- I know there's a chance of a happy ending...

[kjpliny]

You want depressing, read some of this survivalist forum stuff:

Collapse

The guy writes pretty well actually.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjpliny You want depressing, read some of this survivalist forum stuff: Collapse The guy writes pretty well actually.

Wow! Interesting reading! I don't explore the web very much. This board, my brokerage house site, a few other financial sites, and vacation-travel-fishing-outdoorsey info, and that sort of thing. That's about it. So, I'm not very familar with this sort of thing...... I went and couldn't tear myself away for a good half hour.

Some days I don't feel like drinking and spend the entire evening stone, cold sober. But now I have a cure for that malady! Go to "Collapse" and then go to the liquor cabinet.........

[kjpliny]

Quote:

Some days I don't feel like drinking and spend the entire evening stone, cold sober. But now I have a cure for that malady! Go to "Collapse" and then go to the liquor cabinet.........

ROFL!

[Spanky]

I vote for gold bars.

[Sandy]

You guys are scary. I feel like have 3 -6 months of canned goods and water stored in the basement. And an arsenal on the wall.

[CyclingInvestor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjpliny You want depressing, read some of this survivalist forum stuff: Collapse The guy writes pretty well actually.

I could not stop laughing. I have never seen anyone who sees so many negative things coming from
so many directions. I kept expecting to come across :

"Adopting a puppy can be a cold, thankless task. . ."

"Having a steak and a fine red wine for dinner is a sign of major disruptions to come . . ."

"You are never so alone as when having sex with someone you love . . ."

[TickTock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandy You guys are scary. I feel like have 3 -6 months of canned goods and water stored in the basement. And an arsenal on the wall.

Seriously, maybe not 3-6 months and an arsenal, but have you considered what kind of emergency contingency plans you should have?

In a hurricane/ice storm/earthquake/etc., there could well be disruption of normal services and looting for a period of a week or two. Having enough food and water for two weeks and a firearm to persuade looters to go elsewhere for easier pickings is not a bad idea.

[Danny]

I'm actually thinking there are some over sold stocks out there that may be a safe place to put some money right now, but I'm not in a huge hurry, I would like for them to be put on clearance.