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Proteus
Guest
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 Posted:
Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:02 pm Post subject:
Re: gold/metals fund? |
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On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 23:13:05 +0000, Steven L. wrote:
,,
| Quote: | You should have an emergency fund of about 6 months worth of cash (at
least). Convert it from dollars to Swiss francs. Open one or more
accounts at Swiss banks and deposit the cash in there.
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That just seems so Jason Bourne, secret agent and martinis and secret
affairs type stuff (LOL)-- I neve thought of opening a swiss bank account.
I guess it could be done remotely through wiring money, etc.? I definately
have 6 mo of cash, sitting in a Prime Reserve fund at T. Rowe, I guess I
could shift it to something like swiss francs if that made sense.
| Quote: | Even during the height of World War II, with Europe devastated by war,
Switzerland's neutrality ensured its survival, and its banks remained
intact. If any nation's banking system could survive a worldwide
economic calamity, it would be the Swiss.
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Why would that be? (I do not meant this in an accusatory fasion, I really
want to understand why.) I know in WW2 it made sense for the nazis to stay
out of Swiz., but that was an issue of might/force. But why would Swiz.
survive a global energy/economic collapse compared to the rest of us poor
saps (smile)?
| Quote: | In this war on terrorism, it's stupid to depend on the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation to bail out American banks. If al-Qaeda detonated
a nuclear warhead in Washington DC, it could devastate the city and
destroy most Government agencies like FDIC. (Under a program dubbed
Continuity of Government, the U.S. has emergency war plans to save the
Federal Reserve System in the event of nuclear war. But not the FDIC or
Social Security.)
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Interesting.
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Proteus
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:02 pm Post subject:
Re: gold/metals fund? |
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On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 21:12:52 +0000, MichaelC wrote:
....
| Quote: | Anyplace you can get it cheap, like, under 5K an acre with improvements. I
think an acre or two someplace where you wouldn't mind retiring to is an
excellent hedge against serious financial collapse.
... |
My friend thinks I should buy some land to build on, build a home with
solar and wind power, room for a garden, etc, basically a survivalist type
set up. But I am a single professional, and told him I would basically
turn into a crazy man in the woods if I did that! I need people around me.
But I could see thinking of living in a bigger city like Paris, etc. so I
could give up my car and use mass transit, give up owning a home (maybe I
could invest in a condo or whatnot in Paris, etc). |
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Proteus
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:02 pm Post subject:
Re: gold/metals fund? |
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On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 23:14:26 +0000, Steven L. wrote:
....
| Quote: | My first thought would be to purchase a villa in Switzerland and go live
there. Switzerland remained neutral and intact thru two world wars.
Even Osama bin Laden hasn't said anything bad about Switzerland.
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Hey even terrorists can not hate people who yodle on mountaintops! (maybe
they liken yodling to their calls to allah atop their mosques!)
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Proteus
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:02 pm Post subject:
Re: gold/metals fund? |
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On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 02:31:43 +0000, MichaelC wrote:
...
| Quote: | Well, there are Caribbean islands that would likely work too (the poster
mentioned Belize, which is a valid possibility), but if the economy in the
country which is nearly 50% of the world's economy crashes, there aren't any
places where the economy will be good.
|
The interesting thing is my friend bought beachfront on a small island of
Belize, but then I mentioned how scientists are showing how the artic ice
caps are disappearing at an alarming rate-- the ice could be GONE in 20-50
years from global warming-- meaning the sea levels will rise enough so
that his island might be underwater. Bad investment if your beachfront
goes underwater. Bizarre times we live in. |
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Proteus
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:02 pm Post subject:
Re: gold/metals fund? |
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On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 04:50:41 -0700, rono wrote:
| Quote: | Well if you want to guard against complete and total collapse we're
talking more survivalist stuff rather than investing.
However, complete and total collapse is such a small possibility that
I'm not sure it's really worthwhile to do a lot of planning. Peter
Lynch said in one of his books, that 'if everything collapses, we'll
all be fishing from the bridge'....
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I am not so sure how small the possibility is, one thing that really
worries me is predictions that world oil supplies could go dry in 20-30
years. Imagine no gasoline for cars, no heating oil, no fuel for
factories. Now I really hope those predictions are wrong. There is
uncertainty because the Saudis do not want to reveal how much oil they
have. But oil is a non-renewable resource, and we have been sucking it out
from its pools for almost a century now-- at some point we have to hear
that familiar sound when you suck on your straw to get the last drop of
the Mister Misty (frozen beverage) at the bottom of your glass! I hope to
live another 30-40 years, so I would hate to be an old geezer right when
the world goes down the crapper! |
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MichaelC
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:02 pm Post subject:
Re: gold/metals fund? |
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"Proteus" <proteus@uselessemail.net> wrote in message
news:pan.2005.09.30.11.58.32.78990@uselessemail.net...
| Quote: | On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 21:12:52 +0000, MichaelC wrote:
...
Anyplace you can get it cheap, like, under 5K an acre with improvements.
I
think an acre or two someplace where you wouldn't mind retiring to is an
excellent hedge against serious financial collapse.
..
My friend thinks I should buy some land to build on, build a home with
solar and wind power, room for a garden, etc, basically a survivalist type
set up. But I am a single professional, and told him I would basically
turn into a crazy man in the woods if I did that! I need people around me.
But I could see thinking of living in a bigger city like Paris, etc. so I
could give up my car and use mass transit, give up owning a home (maybe I
could invest in a condo or whatnot in Paris, etc).
|
Well, being a wildeyed survivalist stereotype is an extreme, but living in a
condo in a big city with six hours food and money on hand is the other.
Again the New Orleans lesson is that if you view preparedness as a
continuum, where the guys in the cabins with generators and food and guns
are on one extreme, then the way most of us live (in a big city, with six
hours food and money on hand -- IOW, not prepared at all) is the other
extreme.
Mike |
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MichaelC
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:02 pm Post subject:
Re: gold/metals fund? |
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"Proteus" <proteus@uselessemail.net> wrote in message
news:pan.2005.09.30.12.02.53.288773@uselessemail.net...
| Quote: | On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 02:31:43 +0000, MichaelC wrote:
..
Well, there are Caribbean islands that would likely work too (the poster
mentioned Belize, which is a valid possibility), but if the economy in
the
country which is nearly 50% of the world's economy crashes, there aren't
any
places where the economy will be good.
The interesting thing is my friend bought beachfront on a small island of
Belize, but then I mentioned how scientists are showing how the artic ice
caps are disappearing at an alarming rate-- the ice could be GONE in 20-50
years from global warming-- meaning the sea levels will rise enough so
that his island might be underwater. Bad investment if your beachfront
goes underwater. Bizarre times we live in.
|
Well, yea. I saw an article the other day where some scientists were
claiming that we had reached the "tipping point" of global warming, where
now the trend is irreversible. I thought that was great news, since it means
we don't have to argue about it anymore :-)
Mike |
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Proteus
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:29 pm Post subject:
Re: gold/metals fund? |
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On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 12:21:01 +0000, MichaelC wrote:
...
| Quote: | Well, being a wildeyed survivalist stereotype is an extreme, but living in a
condo in a big city with six hours food and money on hand is the other.
Again the New Orleans lesson is that if you view preparedness as a
continuum, where the guys in the cabins with generators and food and guns
are on one extreme, then the way most of us live (in a big city, with six
hours food and money on hand -- IOW, not prepared at all) is the other
extreme.
... |
(hurricane) Katrina, and also the impending global pandemic from Asian
Bird Flu, at least made me wake up and decide to store some food, bottled
water, some medical supplies, and cash to ride out a month without help
from anybody. But yeah I am like most, living in the city, and can not
see myself living out in the woods. |
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