Post by jimcobb on May 3, 2023 23:29:14 GMT
From time to time, I have people ask me about precious metals. Specifically, whether I feel investing in them make sense from a prepper standpoint.
This is my basic position on precious metals. Caveat – I am not a financial advisor, a banker, nor an attorney.
1) They make a decent investment, IF you can afford them without sacrificing other needs. Should you go that route, I would encourage you to seek out reputable dealers and do business face to face whenever possible.
2) Throughout history, gold and silver have always had value. However, that value or worth is at least partially determined by what it can be exchanged for on an individual level. To put a current day spin on it, if you don’t know how to easily convert a bit of your gold into, say, a mortgage payment when you’re in a bind, what is that gold really worth to you? Or to dip into the collapse angle a bit, a pocket filled with gold is going to be worthless if nobody has any food to give you for it when you’re hungry.
3) Sticking with the major disaster scenario for another moment, should you need to spend some gold or silver to obtain needed supplies or whatever, bear in mind that the person at the other end of the transaction may not have the ability to make change. If all you have is a gold coin and all they have is a loaf of bread, then that bread costs one gold coin.
To add to the above, I recall reading or hearing stories about some families who made out like bandits, in a manner of speaking, during the Great Depression, as they were able to trade food and other necessities for precious metals, valuable art, that sort of thing. They accumulated a fair bit of wealth during that time and later invested it when times were better. Just something you might keep in mind, should that time come and you’re in a position to share some excess produce or whatever.
At the end of the day, I don’t know that I’d look at precious metals as being an absolute necessity when it comes to the overall prep plan. But, they could certainly be part of it.
This is my basic position on precious metals. Caveat – I am not a financial advisor, a banker, nor an attorney.
1) They make a decent investment, IF you can afford them without sacrificing other needs. Should you go that route, I would encourage you to seek out reputable dealers and do business face to face whenever possible.
2) Throughout history, gold and silver have always had value. However, that value or worth is at least partially determined by what it can be exchanged for on an individual level. To put a current day spin on it, if you don’t know how to easily convert a bit of your gold into, say, a mortgage payment when you’re in a bind, what is that gold really worth to you? Or to dip into the collapse angle a bit, a pocket filled with gold is going to be worthless if nobody has any food to give you for it when you’re hungry.
3) Sticking with the major disaster scenario for another moment, should you need to spend some gold or silver to obtain needed supplies or whatever, bear in mind that the person at the other end of the transaction may not have the ability to make change. If all you have is a gold coin and all they have is a loaf of bread, then that bread costs one gold coin.
To add to the above, I recall reading or hearing stories about some families who made out like bandits, in a manner of speaking, during the Great Depression, as they were able to trade food and other necessities for precious metals, valuable art, that sort of thing. They accumulated a fair bit of wealth during that time and later invested it when times were better. Just something you might keep in mind, should that time come and you’re in a position to share some excess produce or whatever.
At the end of the day, I don’t know that I’d look at precious metals as being an absolute necessity when it comes to the overall prep plan. But, they could certainly be part of it.