English Pound collapsing

[citygirl]

Before I forget - true story! - a friend of mine rents out his apartments. One of the tenants asked if he could pay the rent in gold. As in actual pieces of gold. We couldn't stop laughing about it for days.

I believe we have all had this discussion before but gold is only as valuable as people agree it to be. It doesn't have intrinsic worth. It's shiny, it's pretty but it's still just a medium of monetary exchange.

I certainly would not argue that having a balanced portfolio is a good thing. And hedging your bets is always a safe play - real-estate, currencies, stocks, etc. Personally, I would never put 30% in gold but that's just me.

And I also don't disagree that there is a distinct possibility of the dollar no longer being the global currency at some point in the future. However, it's not going to happen overnight. How exactly does anyone think that would work? Is every major currency going to go away overnight to be replaced by some amorphous "global currency"?

 

[argsteve]

I am putting all my money into Malbec!!!!! always a great return on my investment!!! hehehe

 

[malbec]

Thank you argsteve...I will send you the details of my bank account per PM

 

[orwellian]

Is every major currency going to go away overnight to be replaced by some amorphous "global currency"?

Yes I believe that is very likely to happen. The Chinese are already publicly stating that it is what they want. If the dollar collapses there will be a need for it. Your worthless dollars will then be traded for the new currency, similar to what happened here in Argentina with the peso/dollar.

 

[perry]

Quote Citygirl
Before I forget - true story! - a friend of mine rents out his apartments. One of the tenants asked if he could pay the rent in gold. As in actual pieces of gold. We couldn't stop laughing about it for days.

This must go down as one of the most silliest comments I have read here . If you believe that fiat currencies will not collapse you are heading to be a minority . The american dollar has been around for just over 100 years and gold the metal has been used for barter for over 5000 years. In most asian societies gold is highly valued and countries like India and China are converting their reserves to gold at a staggering rate.

Who is silly now?

Just because the dollar , euro , pound and other currencies have not collapsed yet as predicted and written about by many commentators does not mean this will not happen . There is a chain of actions that lead up to the main event .

Currently I would only invest in land. commodities that you physically can hold, foods that have a long shelf life and high quality health products in bulk.

 

[citygirl]

Um.. what was the silliest comment ever posted? You quoted me telling a story about someone wanting to pay their rent in gold. If you are saying that is ridiculous - well, we're in agreement. Somehow I didn't think that collecting the rent in gold in BsAs was the most realistic option, as funny as it was to imagine it

If that was directed towards the rest of my post - I'm really not sure what your point is or what you are criticizing. What is the "silliest comment you have ever read here"? The fact that I recommend having a balanced portfolio - split btwn currencies, physical holdings and stocks/bonds? The fact that gold is only as valuable as the market sets the rate as? Or the fact that while I think it is indeed possible that the dollar will go away as an international standard, it is not going to happen overnight? Because you know - disengaging from the dollar overnight might cause some complications in the global economy. I am hard-pressed to find what exactly in there is silly.

Again, I am NOT saying that one should hold all their savings in one currency (in fact, I diversified back in '07 before moving here based on my concerns about the market). However, running around saying the sky is falling is simply not accurate. The dollar probably will weaken eventually and as I said, I would not be shocked to see movement towards a new international standard. But it is not something that will happen overnight.

PS - The dollar has been around for a touch longer than 100 years

 

[Ries]

I have a feeling I am older than a lot of the people posting here- except maybe Steve.
Because I have heard this same line of "the sky is falling" paranoia EVERY YEAR since the mid 60's.
I had these friends in about 1973 who were so convinced of the imminent collapse of society that they were building their own starship to leave the planet.
The guys I know were in charge of making the new, "non-fiat" currency- they were collecting scrap silver from photo negatives, and making wonderful and beautiful solid silver coinage for interstellar exchange, each coin featured a relief drawing of the solar system, and a hole in the middle, so you could put a string thru it, and wear it around your neck, so it wouldnt float away in zero gravity.

Wish I had kept one.

I have seen Gold go up and down, and, adjusted for inflation, it has been one heck of a lousy investment in the last 40 years or so.
Not to say I dont have a bit of precious metals stashed away under the proverbial bed- I do- but as an investment, gold has been terrible.

My mom spent a couple grand on a couple of Andy Warhol prints in the early 70's. If she had spent the same amount on Gold, she would have made maybe $5000 at most, assuming she sold at the absolute right moment. Instead, the Warhols are worth in the low six figures each.
So, if its the right paper, paper is a MUCH better investment than gold.

One of the things that always amuses me about all the survivalist doomsayers on forums like this is that the vast majority of them cant actually DO anything except type. They all have silly internet or computer jobs, which, of course, are 100% dependent on electricity. Which, if you believe survivalist theology, would be one of the first things to go.

Instead, I have spent my life learning how to do actual things, skills that are transferable anywhere, anytime, regardless of "fiat currency".

Rather than buy gold, your time and money would be much better spent learning how to cook and bake, sew, weave, spin yarn, crochet and darn, cut patterns and make clothes.
Learning basic plumbing, electrical, woodworking, construction, and masonry.
Learning how to repair cars, generators, small appliances, and machinery.
Learning to weld, machine, forge, and repair metal objects.
Learning how to farm, or put in a garden, growing food, and then learning how to preserve it.

The cranky libertarian demigogue, Robert Heinlein, in amongst his Randian screeds, actually wrote one very true, and valuable thing-

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

If you are seriously worried about a collapse of civilisation, the above list is a very good place to start.

 

[orwellian]

I have a feeling I am older than a lot of the people posting here- except maybe Steve.
Because I have heard this same line of "the sky is falling" paranoia EVERY YEAR since the mid 60's.

Well go back a little bit further to the great depression and you'll know what's in store for us. It's not that long ago.
And the U.S almost started a nuclear war that could have destroyed the planet. So yeah, there is and always have been a reason for paranoia.

If you are seriously worried about a collapse of civilisation, the above list is a very good place to start.

I never said I was worried about that. I am however worried that brokers and banks will go bankrupt and fiat currencies will lose most of their value.

 

[Ries]

So you were there during the great depression?
Ok, I bow out in the age competition.

Most of the relatives of mine who lived thru that didnt have any money anyway, and certainly not any gold. But they could make things and grow things and do stuff...

 

[orwellian]

So you were there during the great depression?
Ok, I bow out in the age competition.

Most of the relatives of mine who lived thru that didnt have any money anyway, and certainly not any gold. But they could make things and grow things and do stuff...

No of course I wasn't. But just because it hasn't happened in our lifetime doesn't mean it can't happen now.

And of course we will all get by and survive. But I plan to prepare for the worst so I don't have to suffer.