If we think (and there have been numerous posts here to support this idea) that all major banks are going to fail because of over-investing in derivatives, what should we do if we have money in those banks? Pull it out in cash? Convert it to silver or gold? Put the cash under our mattress? And will cash be worth anything?
So if we have cash in checking or savings with a bank, how can we protect our assets?
I believe you should always have some cash on hand in case of bank holidays or ATM's not working. Cash may not be great in the long run but it will help in the initial stages of a crisis. Bank deposits (to a limit) are insured but that won't make a difference in a SHTF scenario where all the banks/governments are insolvent. Gold and silver are good as a way to maintain your wealth. Don't just buy silver because it seems cheaper. You can buy small amounts of gold (i.e. 1/10 ounce) or jewelry. Buy real useable assets if you can.
That's good to know about the small amounts of gold. Thanks.
I'm not sure about other places but in Canada you can buy 1/10 ounce gold Maple Leaf coins.
I'm pretty sure I've seen US retailers selling the 1/10 maple leaf coins.
There's actually lots of options. 1/20 ounce and single gram maples, single gram bars, 5 gram bars.
I personally would wait to get a sizable chunk, or even figure out some way to finance it without interest if you have good credit. You pay a lot in premiums on the small chunks.
How can you avoid the premiums? I checked with a local dealer and the premium is at 24% today! Thanks.
Premiums are different based on what you are buying, you cant really avoid them fully but they are cheaper in bigger pieces. I'm gonna go with the JMbuillion prices to show you.
Gold Spot price $55.23 per gram 1 gram Valcambi Bar is $80.23 10 gram Valcambi bar is $589.01 10x 1 gram Valcambi bar is $823.00
Premiums on one gram bar is $25 per gram but on the 10 gram bar it's less then $4 per gram.
So while it may be easy and convienent to buy a gram a month or every 6 weeks or something for $80 that's almost $300 in premiums that you don't have to pay if you save up $600 and buy the 10 gram bar...
I see what you're saying. I'm new to this and trying to wrap my head around it and understand. Thanks. But I did the conversion between 1 oz and 1 gram. Dang! There are 28.34 grams in one ounce, so if you can buy I gram, that must be a tiny coin or something. It might be good to have a few of those on hand for purchasing, bartering, etc. But I agree, the better way to go if you can, is to buy it with the lowest premium. I guess you endorse JMBullion then.
Checked on that and the premium is 24% So spot, plus = 24%!
You can buy bars as small as 1/2 gram.
https://www.jmbullion.com/gold/gold-bars/gram-kilo-gold-bars/
Those one gram bars are so cute. You're girl will not be mad you spent the munnie.
How big are they compared to a dime?
Smaller
Alright, thanks.
It's difficult to predict as we have 2 scenarios, 1 a financial holocaust with food and energy shortages, dog eat dog and 2 God and patriots are in control, while the financial collapse will be bad, some interventions will mean the holocaust is avoided. For both cash in the bank needs be converted into something you can spend or barter with.
Those are two polar opposite outcomes -- A) total collapse or B) total perfection. Is there nothing in the middle?
It crashes either way. Its just a difference of the great reset (black hats in control) and the great awakening (white hats in control).
B is the interim option where the Davos reptiles have been removed and we have a chance to rebuild. No idea of how difficult that would be in practice.
Two crashes…one victim falls at terminal velocity….the other has a parachute.
Have done that in a limited way.
Remember every ounce of silver you buy messes with the system. If every Trump supporter went out and bought a single ounce it would already be done..
Full disclosure i am a layman, i dont have any formal education on stocks or anything financial, i am simply and internet researcher parroting much smarter peoples opinions, that logically make sense to me.
More silver is sold on the stock exchange then is mined every year, like 100 times the amount. There is also other fuckery like being shorted by billionaires but the mining is the easiest to wrap your head around.
If several million physical ounces were bought in a day, the prices would shoot up. Mints and mines everywhere would say they have to limit how much can be sold to make up for it, while industries that use silver are trying to buy it up because the price is going up. People who have paper silver stocks would get scared that their silver stocks won't get paid out as theres a global shortage, and start requesting their stocks in physical silver. Companies will not be able to pay out all the silver stocks and it will kill any trust in paper silver, and effectively destroy the paper silver market completely. This should destroy the entire stock market aswell as silver is a big thing and the stock market is very unstable.
Once the paper silver market is gone so is the system that's manipulates its prices, no more shorting or lowering the price with fake extra supply. Plus all the paper silver holders will be fighting over what physical silver is available to pay out to them, plus the industries trying to get it. All of this will raise the prices above even the historical value.
Yup. The real silver prices are much much higher.
Another tip here is that even a silver chain is a good investment. The premiums are high on chains but those premiums will also go up, and potentially much much higher if jewlery shops can't get ahold of silver to make more chains. Plus it's wealth you can wear.
Buy food. What good is cash or gold or silver if there is no food to be bought? I'm not saying don't buy gold/silver, I'm just saying have some food (and water) on hand because in a collapse the stores will be wiped out very quickly. Some people might sell you what they have, but if they don't know how long the problem will last, they don't know if what they have on hand is sufficient or not and would be less likely to sell or barter it away. Maybe also buy some commodities that YOU could sell/barter to others (toilet paper, for example).
(I see others have already suggested food stores, I didn't read further down, my bad).
Don't forget ammo. Banks collapse, people lose access to their money, and the majority of them aren't awake like we are? There is a good chance you may need to defend your food stocks.
I assure you I have done these things.
Sell something you don’t need NOW! Convert that cash to gold. Best to do that now before the crash because you will not be able to do it after as everyone will be trying to sell things.
God Bless. A roof over your head is so important.
Silver is suggested in other replies. That's a good place to put money so that it holds its value (or appreciates, we hope), but,barring the ability to do that, use your cash to buy what you know you (or somebody else for barter purposes) will need--shelf stable food (suggestion in this--don't neglect the fats (ghee (i.e. clarified butter in a jar) is a good shelf-stable option as are any good oils that you know you will use like olive oil, coconut oil, etc). If you don't have a freezer, that's a good place to put some money--a good freezer--and then spend the money to fill it. But use what you buy and just replace what you use as you use it. The freezer option won't work for everybody, but if you can do it, it's a really good use of money. The meat in the freezer doesn't get more expensive with inflation. If you can get a share of a beef cow from a local farmer, that's the most inexpensive and healthy way to fill your freezer.
Do a storage set-up where you can fill it up and just replenish as you use it, then it will be there for you if you suddenly can't get access to replenish it or can't afford to replenish it.
Make sure you have water--that's the big item for people who have city water. Suggestion for that: if you buy drinks in bottles or cans, opt for 2-liter bottles, rinse them, fill them with water. Some people add a drop of bleach to each two-liter bottle, but water is very shelf stable so you likely don't even need to do that.
Don't limit your storage to food items--try to cover everything that you regularly use. That way, in a pinch you can just stay out of the fray at a grocery store. That will help you and everybody who didn't know they needed to prepare too by allowing them to buy what is still at the stores.
Don't forget your pets. And if you have kids or grandkids, keep extras of what you know they'll need.
This isn't going to last for too long, it is said. This will be a great opportunity for all of us who were prepared to help out the people who didn't know to prepare.
Blessings to you and yours.
WATER BARRELS
Doesn't work in Winter but hopefully snow will be available to you. Takes a lot of time to melt and snow reduces in size by x10 times by the time its all water or something like that.
Is there actually such a thing as specialized barrels for collecting water?
Yes
Thanks.
Yes, but food grade barrels can accomplish the same thing. There are big bladders and giant tanks for water collection as well. I use 5 gallon buckets to catch off a shade sail to use in the spring garden when it's real dry here in Zone 10.
Edit: there are also barrels you can connect directly to your downspouts.
Thank you. And I've never heard of downspout barrels either.
Yup you just tap right into your downspout. They even have flow control shut off when the barrel is full.
Oh thank you. Good idea. I wouldn't have thought of that.
How do you calculate rainwater runoff from a roof?
How Much Rain Water Runs Off Your Roof?
Take the dimensions of the footprint of your roof and convert them to inches. (So, a 50′ x 20′ roof is 600″ x 240″.)
Multiply the roof dimensions by the number of inches of rainfall. (In this example, 600″ x 240″ x 1″ = 144,000 cubic inches of water.)
How much rain comes off a roof?
Typically, one rain barrel will fill in just minutes in an average downpour. One inch of rain on a 1000 square foot roof will yield around 600 gallons.
How many gallons of rain come from roof?
Every square foot of roof space collects 6 gallons of water in a 1 inch rainfall.
And blessings to you too. Thanks, all good advice. I've actually done most of this with food, water, consumables, etc. I have a lot of things that will hold value and can be bartered if necessary.
I have no idea. We're sitting on a lot of money right now from selling a house and wanting to build a house.
So I need liquidity.
So, I have some split across banks right now. If it all goes up in flames, it is what it is and I'm trusting that God will take care of us.
All that said, some of this I think is FUD. Some of it is based in reality. And some, people just want to watch the world burn for the kicks and giggles and to be right.
While you might want to build right now, you need a roof over your head when SHTF. I would look for a small home where you are now and make it yours - debt free. At the same time I would be looking for a small acreage in a safe location, off the beaten track where you could flee to. For expediency, I would look for an acreage with either a liveable home or land where you can move a home onto immediately. There is no way in the world I would be building atm. Hubby is retired builder. Enquire how many builders are going under atm. It will shock you. If you plan to build yourselves, timber and building materials when fuel starts to rise will be unavailable as society grinds to a halt. You have a perfect opportunity now in perhaps securing a generation or two with somewhere safe to grow food and a roof over your head. You can always rent where you are but concentrate on getting a life set up for yourself and love ones away from populated areas. Visit some prepping sites. Join the forum and ask questions. Many, many there that have done this and can give you ideas.
Builders going under? What about in the areas that seem to be booming in population growth and real estate sales?
I concur; building is happening in my area now, but they're still all reliant on supplies, which is reliant on transportation.
These companies are on shaky ground. There is no way I would consider building atm. There will be no warning as a lot of builders take on work, take a deposit, then cannot get supplies. Then it’s like a pebble being thrown on a pond. If fuel keeps moving up - especially what OPEC did yesterday - then supplies will grind to a halt. Things might seem all roses but it’s a just a facade.
Spend it.
If you don't have your own roof right now, perhaps a prefab that's on the lot is the most sure way to establish immediately, especially if you can pay outright without financing. Get a plot outside the cities, almost rural near farmers you can get to know, near natural water sources. Put the rest of the money into setting up some sweet greenhouses, coops...
I have somewhere to stay and land.
It's taking forever to get anyone to do anything... everyone is "busy". So appraisals take forever, survey took forever, etc.
Yikes, but I'm not surprised. The ones that have so far escaped sudden climate change syndrome are very busy. Godspeed!
What is FUD?
Fear, uncertainty, doubt
People spreading things like it's gospel truth. Truth is, no one knows what's coming tomorrow.
Oh, thank you.
I bought silver over the last 2 years and 120 shares of DWAC. Thsts my plan and I'm sticking to it.
Keep stacking.
This is an important question. So much strategy involved. If you pull it out in cash, then what do you do with that? By all practical matters the best thing would be to have a safe, but even safes can be carted off (if they are not big and heavy enough) and even fire can get in and destroy the paper money.
Gold and silver - probably for most, silver would be more practical because it's more affordable. But even at that it fluctuates a lot and the price was driven up drastically during covid, so will it drop back down once the dust settles?
If you have enough cash, you might be lucky enough to buy some real estate. But with so many areas being 'in the bubble' is that even a wise decision?
I wish there was an easy answer. Trust God is my only answer.
Convert it to gold/silver. You can still cash it in if you need it before the crash, use it to barter after crash (silver). Gold is for major purchases like land or to get you out of a bad situation. Moving family to a safe location. Silver is everyday use. But. Before you buy silver/gold you must get your food stocks, meds, water, baby needs, animal food, alcohol (spirits) alternate fuel supply (wood) cooking means in order. ONE MINUTE after SHTF, will be too late to do any of this. Alcohol (whisky, rum, etc) are excellent bartering tools. Also can be used in wound cleaning etc.
Good reminder about the heating. Thanks. And never thought about alcohol to barter, but that's a good tip. Thanks.
Chocolate is also an excellent barter item you can stock up on.
It wouldn't last ...
😂. Same here.
Cuz you'd eat it all?
Good answer... and I actually had not considered real estate. I know they're not making any more of that commodity! Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
If we see the financial collapse we are all expecting, the USD will be as worthless in a safe as in the bank. I agree with silver, gold, land, real estate. I also believe that whatever happens, it will be short lived and people will be ok on the other side. Perhaps a new money system where maybe a snapshot of your USD funds in the bank is converted into new currency. I’m certain there will be something in place to take care of people. That being said, I think converting cash to the assets above before the crash will make people extremely wealthy on the other side.
Are you canning yet? If you have a canner, every day should see you canning something. The problem is finding jars.
Similar here, been working on getting those deferred repairs done this year instead of putting them off longer and given supply chain issues buying maintenance items like car parts now instead of waiting for when they're needed next year because who knows if they'll be available and I've already watched the prices trending up each month.
"I also believe that whatever happens, it will be short lived and people will be ok on the other side."
Agreed. That said, I have bought gold and silver and will buy more -- just in case.
Well, yeah, you're a silversmith, Paul.
I hear this scenario a lot. Thanks, I pray you're right.
Sorry to tell you this but I believe it won’t be short lived. I hope it’s over quickly, but I don’t see that. This is not going to be sorted out quickly.
Believe what you want. You say “sorry to tell you” like you know for a fact. We’re all speculating here. I choose hope and faith over doom and gloom 10 times out of 10. 🙂
Amen, brother! Not to mention, we've seen the collapse coming for a while now. If you don't think there are and have been very smart, well intentioned people working on a plug-and-play solution for a long while now, you're fooling yourself, IMO
\A Volcano enters the chat/
I'm already handy, maybe I'll up my game.
Good skill to have.
I'd say you should diversify. To me silver and gold are at the top, you should have some emergency cash that you can spend, but the financial system is splitting and I am betting on Russia. If you had bought a bunch of Rubles at the beginning of the year your wealth would have grown instead of shrinking with the US inflation.
I am going to buy 10,000 Rubles tomorrow.
How / where do you buy them? Will the ef bee eye know you're supporting 'the enemy?' And how much is 10K rubles in American dollars?
Yep I tried to buy rubles and Russian stocks at the start of the Ukraine conflict but the purchases were already blocked because of muh sanctions.
Oh wow. Where did you try to buy them, if I may inquire? I tried a local place but they don't sell them.
Any foreign money exchange should have Rubles, lots of coin shops also exchange money. I can buy it with cash, no paper trail. 10k rubles is just under $200 American, $226 CAD. I was thinking about this in July and it was $170 CAD back then, that goes to show how much their currency is gaining.
Wow. That is a huge gain. Thanks for the info.
I don't know the answer and I've been asking myself this for a long enough time to come up with my own plan and this is it, don't know if it's right for everyone but it's what we are doing. I'm moving my savings out of my national bank and into a credit union first, this is to protect against what I believe we will see before a crash, and that is banks imposing limits on spending and withdraws.
Once that stage happens, I'll probably go ahead and purchase raw land with that money, as much as I can afford, maying just 1 acre, maybe 5 or more, depends on the market at the time. I consider land to be the most valuable asset in the world. If you have land, you can survive. And it will only go up in value over the years.
Then I have to factor in the reality that I no longer have a savings to fall back on in the event of income loss (real threat as hubby and I are both self employed), so over the last couple of years I've made some serious changes to our lifestyles, including expanding my garden, raising meat rabbits, raising chickens for eggs, and canning food, because the best way to survive will be to produce for ourselves. Since 2020 I started dumping part of my savings into the infrastructure and materials I need to produce food and water for my family. So if times get tough we can at least get our own food and water. If times get really really tough, and we can't pay our mortgage, we will have to abandon our home and rely on the land that my savings will be dumped into.
We are also making plans with family to come together at a single location on about 4 acres if need be. Again the most valuable assets I'll have in this scenario won't be my stacks of silver, or stocks, it will be the investments I've made into homesteading, as everything I've purchased will be able to be moved into a new location so we can survive. In the end if things completely fall apart, the most valuable thing will be shelter, food, and water. Electricity is a luxury of the modern world. We are thinking of getting a solar power generator for keeping devices charged for communication reasons, but that's about it.
Again, this is the plan for a total collapse situation, which hopefully will never happen.
"Once that stage happens, I'll probably go ahead and purchase raw land with that money, as much as I can afford, maying just 1 acre, maybe 5 or more, depends on the market at the time. I consider land to be the most valuable asset in the world. If you have land, you can survive. And it will only go up in value over the years."
If we are in a mega-SHTF world,no one will find land easy to defend against the ravening hordes.
ravening hordes aren't in the middle of nowhere though
Wow, this reply wins the top award. My wife and I are a little old to be homesteading the way it needs to be done properly. We've discussed it, our favorite shows to watch are "Mountain Men" and "Life Below Zero." We realize, however, that given our physical abilities, that form of living might just kill us. Good for you that you're able to live such a life, I wish you only the best.
We are entering our 70's and although we work slower and take more breaks than we used to, we garden and raise small livestock. We sell eggs to a small local store in our rural neighborhood, and we sell excess fruit from our land to our neighbors. We don't need to financially, but we do it anyway. Today we are building a new enclosed run for our flock of chickens. We purchased land on a salmon-filled river and we hunt (with help from our adult children). We produce or harvest well over 50% of our own food, and that percentage grows every year. You can do it at any age, you just may need to make adjustments to accommodate for your physical limitations. Truth is, the best way to continue to be fit and healthy is to KEEP AT IT, however slowly. You can do it!
Chubby gardeners live the longest and most fulfilling lives. Change my mind.
Sounds ideal, thanks.
Approaching 70 myself. If you ever wanna have coffee - my treat, you choose the place in the Valley and I’ll pick your brain on how to grow ANYTHING. LoL…My thumbs are not green and I would love to talk to a like minded Alaskan. My friends tolerate me but think I’m nuts.
We'd enjoy that. Until then, look for a local gardening group. Cooperative Extension Service will know where they are and who to contact. I know there are some in the Valley, and the garden groups usually meet monthly during the fall, winter and spring. Join the group and attend all the meetings you can. You'll learn so much from the programs, the more experienced gardeners, and especially any garden tours you attend.
Thank you!
I don't know how old you are but my parents have said the same and I've told them that simply isn't true. If you have a little money to invest, there are very easy ways to produce your own food. I'm in my mid40's, I'm a woman with messed up foot and hip who walks with a limp, and I do it all by myself currently on less than 1/8th acre. Vertical gardening is a game changer. Raising rabbits is a game changer. These things are easy to do, and rabbits provide you with meat, fertilizer and pesticide. I do not till anything. I do not use chemicals in my garden to get food to grow. I don't have room for huge compost piles. I've found ways to do this all with limited space, and this same way is also easy on the body. I have no doubt my elderly parents could do this. If you can go outside, water your plants, and push a seed in the dirt, you can do this.
Again, I don't know your age, health, or situation, just wanted to throw some positivity your way in case you are looking at it the same way my parents did. When I was a kid my dad tilled his garden every season. We had to constantly pull weeds, and he spent more money on miracle grow than he got out of his harvests' worth. He eventually quit saying gardening was more expensive than just buying food and it was too much work. I stayed on him for years to get back into it. He said he couldn't work a tiller or squat down to weed anymore. He can hardly stand up after he sits down and sometimes needs help to get back up. I took him on a tour of my current set up and i saw the light of inspiration in his eyes. I invested in something called a greenstalk garden tower, I've bought several of them and grew massive amounts of just about everything in them. He had to see it to believe it. Then I bought him one for his birthday to get him started. I'm also gifting him growbags, something else that works wonders for me. I needed the greenstalks because of my limited space. But they are also a very easy way to garden. Keeps everything up off the ground which lowers the chances of pest and disease pressures, and no bending over. I make compost tea with my bunny poop and it adds tons of nitrogen, micronutrients and microorganisms to keep the soil healthy and the plants thrive. The urine is a natural pesticide. You can get 150lbs of meat a year with just a few rabbits and they don't eat much at all. Nor do they need a lot of space. I also have them up off the ground and they are very easy to care for. I bought compost tumblers that make compost to feed my plants in less than 3 months. This lets me recycle all of my kitchen and garden scraps and put it right back in the garden. We are collecting water in big rain barrels and have a berkey with backup filters if we need to rely on water from outside as drinking water. I've also learned that canning water is an option as well if you have the space for the storage. Canning meat was the first thing I learned because I don't want to rely on a freezer.
I could go on an on but I hope I have encouraged you to change your mind. ;)
Thank you so much for your encouragement... we will consider it, honestly..
I made a bio-reactor out of a 55 gallon garbage can and a 4 inch PVC drain pipe. The sucker makes dirt in 3 months. All you have to do is get a 1/2 in spade bit and drill a bunch of holes in the garbage can. A can on wheels is best. That way when doing large amounts of weeding I can just roll it along with me. I even throw the dog poop in it.
If you have the capital now, I would be buying that acreage NOW. Visit some of the prepper sites to get an idea where there is land you don’t need to travel far to from your current location but in a somewhat isolated area where the ‘starving hordes’ cannot stumble upon you. If you have the ability now to buy an acreage you should be getting that established. Fences, water supply, gardens etc. I’d be looking for a clean, good condition portable home that you can move onto the land immediately. Forget about running electricity- best to go off grid but even that needs planning. Family will be everything. Community - but family first. Get that plan underway now. Are you aware that the DEFCON level is at 2 in Africa, Europe, Middle East and Asia and USA in the last week have moved from 4 to 3?
Moving after SHTF will be impossible. Look at what you have done. Look around at your achievements! . How could you pick that up and move it overnight? You can’t. The rabbit hutches, the tools, not to mention the rabbits. That should already being transitioned to your land now. Maybe not the rabbits, but they need to be housed quickly when you arrive with stored food, hutches etc. remember there will be predators in a rural area so their housing needs to be secure and safe.
The idea of a bug out location is to have it READY at this critical time. If SHTF you need to have plans in place to move as soon as the danger has been assessed. Is it nuclear? An EMP? Biological? Stock market crash? If it’s an EMP, that means no cars - unless you have a vintage one free of electronics. That means walking to your location! Do you have bags for everyone sitting ready to go? Do you have an alternative route off major highways? What do you need in those bags? If you have children, have you sat down and spoken to them if there is XYZ scenario where are they to go? Imagine the scenario if the teachers refuse to let them leave? Have you discussed what to do in this situation? Can they walk home from school on their own? What if you work on the other side of town? Could you get to them quickly on foot?I don’t mean to scare you but we are living that reality today.
I’ve been prepping for a long, long time. I know many preppers that have already pulled their children from school and are homeschooling and have been living off grid at their bug out location since before covid. A great scenario would be to live at bug out location, but still one of you commute to work. BUT. If there are just 1 family you cannot do this. Safety has to be paramount. When looking for land, be ‘mosey’ about the neighbours. This is why the real estate websites for preppers is good. They do exist! Search online while you can. Everyone should be making copies of important documents now. Hide a set at the bug out location but also have one with originals with you at all times.
Expect fuel to skyrocket as OPEC yesterday reduced their production down 2,million barrels a day. That’s huge. And while the likes of CNN, MSNBC et al are screaming that’s going to backfire, China TODAY ends lockdowns. What will that mean? They will need oil. Lots of it. Things are changing by the minute. DO NOT listen to MSM etc. Seek out those that tell you facts and the TRUTH. Pray for discernment! Start pouring over the prepper forums. Ask questions! There are some great people on them willing to help but there are those to that can be negative but happens in all walks of life. Most of all pray. Pray and prepare. God Bless.
Heirloom Seeds
Lead
Silver
Gold
And LOTS of lead too
What happened to God knows what he is doing? Your money will be safe no matter where you bank or save. Cash will be fine but so will your bank accounts. When you post the fear factor you are doing Satans work, Fear not for I am with you. Your doubts are working against you. Amen
Yes I know that God is ultimately in charge. But we also have to be prudent. After all, the parable of the Master, his servants, and entrusting them with 'talents' in his absence comes to mind. The best servant protected and even GREW the master's talents. Economics is not some made-up thing that we can dispense with.... it is an integral part of the human existence. Trade and barter has always existed in the human experience, going way back before ancient Sumer and Babylon.
So I'm just posing a question here regarding what we should do with our 'talents' (or in this case, dollars) if we think a collapse is coming.
I hear what you are saying, but God also helps those who help themselves, and preparing for a time of tribulation by taking steps to protect and honour our loved ones does not seem to be a fearful approach to me.
cuz god protects bankers...yikes!
I think gold and silver are worthless. You're not going to walk into a grocery store with gold shavings and buy bread. I would suggest stocking up on tangible things you WILL need like food, water, and guns. Have a 6 months stockpile of everything you and you're family need.
"I think gold and silver are worthless."
Meaning you don't have any, right?
"You're not going to walk into a grocery store with gold shavings and buy bread."
This is exaggeration for effect. No one expects to use gold for tiny purchases.
Gold, silver after you burn thru the 6 months of food will buy you food and anything else you need. You don’t have to have 1 ounce gold, you can buy fractional gold - 1/10 ounce. Another thing. What if your neighbours or friends that have nothing hear about your stored food? Cooking smells among hungry people travels far. And if you have to flee, gold and silver can help you establish in a new location. And yes, until this thing work’s itself out, people will trade in gold and silver. It’s been money for thousands of years. What’s to say there will even be grocery stores? When SHTF, there will be some A grade predators about in gangs. The police will be nowhere to be seen because they will be overwhelmed. Gold and silver are insurance. You can flee with it quickly.
The grocery stores will be bare within a day, and all your stored food is gonna just be some much crazier persons loot, unless you live on a farm. Any population center is gonna be complete chaos.
The idea behind having gold and silver is that there will be people in places that are stable and they aren't just gonna give you stuff for free, or for paper that's worthless. The Amish will trade you bread and corn and beef for silver.
Plus if the scenario goes the other way and it doesn't descend into chaos, but the current system dies then silvers historic value will come back and it will be worth a ton, and you will have a bead start rebuilding.
Even in this current system more and more technologies are requiring silver. So if somehow this system staggers on for a few more years itll still go up in value. So in every scenario silver will be useful.
Great points.
Yup, I've done that. Just wondering what will happen to bank assets when TSHTF.
In Europe, a few years back, anyone with a cash balance in a Cypriot bank lost it in what they called a bail-in, which used customer deposits to pay the banks debts, The customers got IOUs.
Did the IOUs ever pay out? And if so, how soon after?
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets-economy/090716/why-bank-bailins-will-be-new-bailouts.asp
This article explains what happened and suggests that this will be the way that the Banks try to stay afloat.
It seems that the Cypriot customers lost 47.5% of their deposits, they don't mention it, but IIRC the customers were given shares in the bank, but had to keep the shares for a period of time before selling them.
Thank you for the added info.
You are most welcome.
so what will you be using to buy your bread ? Gold can be clipped by weight and will command more purchasing power that most other assets, even for bread.
By clipped, I mean that a 1 ounce coin or bar can be cut into smaller bits, for transactions, same with silver. Precious metals will be universally be accepted as payment in times of major unrest, as it is in peacetime.
For what it's worth, I've read switching over to a credit union may be safer than the regular banks.
Even given what major banks charge you to do business with them, you'd be far better off at a local credit union.
Most CU are owned by the larger banks. Read the small print. No banks or CU will be safe if there is a crash.
Same with the smaller "community" banks, I was looking at some and they're all part of the same machine.
I did not know that, thanks. I went with Navy Federal Credit Union, I'll have to check that out.
You eat what you have, hopefully a large stockpile, or you starve. If you are lucky you will get some kind of insect food from our corporate controlled government. If the banks and the dollar fails, our entire society falls apart. No one is going to go to work only to be paid with worthless money. No trash pickup. No grocery stores. No police or fire services. Nothing. Welcome to the suck.
I personally think its a good idea to know how to live off the land in a truly mad max scenario. Learn what wild edibles can be foraged and how to harvest proteins. If our trade delivery system fails, you will need to think local.
People used to use plants and animals as wealth. A store of grain is wealth. An established orchard is wealth. A flock of chickens is wealth, and a heard of cattle is enormous wealth. Literally live stock.
All these forms of wealth naturally multiply, giving you interest, and have real value in food and materials.
Sit back and watch every one eat each other