[kublikhan]

I am suggesting taking on some debt and buy anything you need now when its cheap and interest rates are low, rather than later when inflation drives up the cost of everything. And take on some debt to invest in areas that do well under inflationary/Peak Oil scenarios.

Saying we're fucked is too cynical. There are investment strategies you can use to help protect your portfolio from inflation. Precious metals, commodities, real estate, etc. I just think hoarding cash is not the best strategy.

[sittinguy]

FoolYap, I think you got it perfect. Anyone who is STUPID enough to think that dept won't matter, might as well get ready to go directly to the FEMA camps. With all the signs we are seeing now, I think this is it, it will be a slow slide into the abyss, unless someone blows off a nuke in the US,,, trust me your dept will follow you FOREVER. I have a friend who is a total sheeple and thinks this is just another phase like the 80s, and is selling me all the silver rounds I want for spot price, I got another 25 tonight, he thinks I'm buying high I'm going to clean him out. I can't afford gold,, but I can afford silver still. I think this is so real that I was saving for a new motorcycle, I had about 6 grand so far, THATS OVER, I am paying off dept, and staying out of dept from now on. The dollar has lost a penny a day for the last few days against the euro, All you dumbasses keep your dept, it will keep the man busy tracking your ass down and they won't be worried about me. You might have supplies, but I hope you can afford to move all your supplies, because they won't REALLY be yours, remember you bought them all with credit. I need more ammo.

[roccman]

A few things:

1) there is no such thing as being debt free...everyone in America owes and owes big...

2) there is no such thing as freedom...

3) as you join the human species on the road to olduvai you will loose everything you have accumulated with each step you take.

Other than that - buy everything on credit then default...It is what the American government is doing not only to the rest of the world, but to it own citizens.

FEMA camps??

Bwhahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahah!!!!!!

[Revi]

If you are taking on debt, make sure that it's for something that's going to appreciate faster than the debt payment. for example, buy silver or something that appreciates quicker than the interest rate on the debt. You have to live somewhere, so investing in land may make sense. Anything else, pay cash. Even better, make a payment plan. Agree on a price and do lay-away. By the time you get done paying for it the price may be double, but you agreed to a certain price.

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('roccman', 'A') few things:

1) there is no such thing as being debt free...everyone in America owes and owes big...

2) there is no such thing as freedom...

3) as you join the human species on the road to olduvai you will loose everything you have accumulated with each step you take.

Other than that - buy everything on credit then default...It is what the American government is doing not only to the rest of the world, but to it own citizens.

FEMA camps??

Bwhahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahah!!!!!!

[sittinguy]

Where do you think all the unprepared hungry sheeple will go after tshtf???. OH and I guess they will just say "oh you can just keep that house and that car" even though your not making payments. Really though where do you think people will go?, OH, I forgot, the die off

BBWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..... die off, rite. I'm sure everyone will just sit around and die. The government will have some nice convienent place to come and get food and water and medicine,,,,, and then , HEY why is this gate locked? oh shit, i'm sheeple.

[bodigami]

if you're going in debt, then do it wisely and buy something to prepare for PO... ie: instead of a hummer one of the new all-electric tricycles, or instead of a 50" TV a solar panel...

[roccman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('zensui', 'i')f you're going in debt, then do it wisely and buy something to prepare for PO... ie: instead of a hummer one of the new all-electric tricycles, or instead of a 50" TV a solar panel...

[Pretorian]

roccy, when you will need your bunker, that coin will lose about 99% of its value, 98 at best.

[culicomorpha]

This is very interesting. I see the logic of carrying debt, since it's value is going to start approaching zero as the dollar is devalued.

That wasn't what I did though. Instead I paid off a huge credit card debt, managed to save some cash, and now want to do something with it before it's toilet paper. Debt-free with no assets doesn't seem like a good position though, so I appreciate the idea of trying to secure items that will be more valuable later.

I think Roccman is right though... it's all coming down with olduvai. Fortunately, I have so little to lose I will hardly notice.

One little thought about debt. I only mention it because I got laid-off from work last week and applied for unemployment. So this is something I've been paying into for years, and have earned the right to collect. Except that they send you this form and that form that says: you must do this, or you will lose your unemployment benefits and will be required to pay everything back. They call all the shots, make no exceptions, and the bureaucrats are exceedingly arrogant because they know they can literally decide if you eat or not. I would not want to be carrying debt into the world we are entering, if only so I can tell the banks: (As I did to Bank of America) FU, I don't need you.

[Dukat_Reloaded]

Ah the fun of hyper inflation....You know in Zimbabwe I don't think anyone's position is better off, even if their debt was hyper inflated away and they got to keep their house the country is so crap you wouldn't want to be there, it would be like hell, in that situation gold would be the best asset to keep bar none, but even with that gold people probably would not have the goods or ability to provide the services you'd want. Gold is great if you want to flee to another country, it's a compressed form of wealth. In Zimbabwe those who had gold have probabably already fled the country, whats comming up soon, there is no place to flee, no where to run, no green pastures on the other side of the hill.


If you had gold you would beable to trade for paper notes and buy something.


Later on the goods and services disapear.


Later on the scraps from the goods and services disapear.

I won't go on with anymore pictures, we know how these things end, but whats interesting about zimbabwe is that I think this is very much likely the situation would be in the western countries in the not distant future. In zimbabwe, the fuel supply has dried up, schools can't feed the kids and when they do get food it's mazie which needs to be boiled, well they don't have electricity so they have to cook using wood, guess what, wood has become scarce, what happens when wood runs out?

I don't know, I have saved alot of money in the form of gold and silver, I don't want to blow my money during the last few years of a functional society buying stuff, traveling etc, to be frank the reason I save so much is I have a very boring life (from a 3rd persons perspective anyway), the mass media and businesses have nothing of interest to offer me, they are unable to seduce me into a life buying and consuming, simply I would rather not have than have what they have on shelf in their candy store which others seem hopelessly unable to resist.

In the future, I'm not going to be one of those lucky people who are able to afford food and comfortable lodgings, I could not live with myself being well off while others are starving and dying. I'm going to join my fellow man on the streets, use what money I have to feed and help people, when the money runs out, I don't know, I guess we die if we don't work something out or we live simply because we outlived the others on the streets.

Anyway I have a recent video of Zimbabwe, it was on dateline last week, a semi undercover reporter went in and documented alot of what is happening there.

http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/zimbabw ... ate_133873

Watch it from the link there.

[venky]

I think some debt can be a good hedge against rapid inflation. Ofcourse I wouldn't put all my chips in it.

[Golgo13]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dukat_Reloaded', 'I')n zimbabwe, the fuel supply has dried up, schools can't feed the kids and when they do get food it's mazie which needs to be boiled, well they don't have electricity so they have to cook using wood, guess what, wood has become scarce, what happens when wood runs out?

[dohboi]

For those of you hoarding gold, aren't you concerned that the government will simply confiscate it? Didn't they do that in the '30's?

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dohboi', 'F')or those of you hoarding gold, aren't you concerned that the government will simply confiscate it? Didn't they do that in the '30's?

[sittinguy]

They can start with the Gangsta's,, HeY BOY ! gimme them gold teeth

[SpringCreekFarm]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') think it is better to have a valuable medium of exchange then a closet full of canned soup.

[Pretorian]

Hoarding canned soup is by far a better deal then hoarding gold.

1) Government is less likely to confiscate canned soup;
2) you can use subsidized products to make canned soup ( such as corn, cornfed beef, and others);
3)you can eat canned soup;
4) you dont have to worry how to get a fair amount of change from bartering a big 700-pints can of soup;
5) In case of starvation cans of soup will bring much, much more % return than any gold or silver coin;
6) (should I put it as 1?) There is no political or financial organisation which holds 60-70% of canned soup reserves and manipulates its price;
7) I could go on for hours on the subject:

[GreyGhost]

Typically when there is high inflation, the central banks try to control it by raising interest rates. That is what most (Europe, Australia, UK) are doing right now, much to their respective governments' chagrin. The only major one not doing it is the US Fed --- resulting in, suprprise, surprise, inflation, hence the falling dollar. Maybe the US govt has a unique control over their particular central bank, in favour of big business at the expense of the little man. Did I say "maybe"?

So the point I'm making is, at some point the fed will have to raise interest rates to combat inflation, at least a little bit. Then you really want to be a net lender, not a net borrower.

[Battle_Scarred_Galactico]

Hoarding canned soup is by far a better deal then hoarding gold.


Exactly.

Someone has to be prepared to buy it from you at a huge price for it to be any use at all.