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Cash, gold and gun?

March 5th, 2009 · Comments

Where should we put our money?

All banks in the US are in deep trouble. Citi Bank’s stock is below $1 now. JP Morgan Chase and BOA are in pretty bad shape – their balance sheets are in much worse shape that what their CEOs have been saying. Well Fargo is not much better.

Bank saving account rates are pretty low.

Given the turbulence in the stock market, it’s time to wait on the sideline. Until we can see clear indicator of a recovery, it’s very risky to get back into the market now.

We’re going through a deflationary period. Massive inflation probably will follow suit.

Foreign banks are not safer than the US banks. Even the Swiss Banks are in deep trouble.

Where should we put our money?

Over lunch today, a very financially savvy friend said: “Cash, Gold, and Gun.” This is not a joke – these might very well be the 3 remaining instruments for safely park your money until we see clearly indication of market recovery.

Where are you keeping your money?

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Tags: 401K and Money Market · Beat Recession

Viewing 4 Comments

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    I had thought gold but heard that swiss banks are closing the availability for any American new accounts and also [new to me] that the President has the constitutional right to confiscate the nation's gold. How ? Why ? dunno but it is fact so if you are hording gold be aware....

    thoughts?
    • ^
    • v
    Interesting comments.

    Honestly, I don't have an answer. I knew a couple of friends who are quite financially savvy. They were really concerned about where to park their money. :-) Although those "bears" have been very correct in forecasting the current economic recession, I sometime think that they're overly pessimistic. And frankly, we cannot live in fears.

    Here is what I'm doing: for the near term, holding most of my money in cash because I still think there is going to be a major market correction. I could be wrong on this. In 6month - 1 year, I'll go back to the market, but be very diversified and conservation (e.g. index fund, money market, cash, maybe a little bit of gold, and also get a little bit of foreign currency.)

    I think diversification is probably the best bet at this point to mitigate the risk.

    At the same time, I think the the best investment one can make is on himself/herself -- continuing personal/professional development, developing multiple income stream, developing entreprenurial skills, sharpening sales skills -- even if you lost a substantial amount of your network worth. If you have the skills/mental make-up, you can still earn the money back. Obviously, I'm talking about worst cast scenario, but I do believe in self-reliance. :-)
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    I knew the topic of the post as soon as I saw the title. Does everyone remember those stories of the old person who died with money in their mattress? Did anyone else have some elderly relative who didn't 'trust the banks'? Have you ever read a rant by one of those emtional advocates of returning to the gold standard for currency? There is a basis for those beliefs. It's unfortunate that the economy has reached a state where such beliefs are starting to look far more reaonable than they did last year.
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    Thanks, Ted.

    Yeah, it's very unfortunate for us to get to this point. I guess I could add one more thing to the list -- I heard from multiple reports that the sales of seeds have been growing -- I guess that's the ultimate way to be self-sufficient. :-)

    A lot of these ideas sound silly or laughable in normal circumstances, but like you said, these beliefs/ideas are starting to look far more reasonable.

 

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