Post by Admin on Jul 24, 2021 14:20:42 GMT -6
Originally posted on FaceBook Jan 16, 2021 - Moved here July 24, 2021
In trying to keep up with a weekly post of some sort, I didn’t really have a feeling for where I wanted to go with things. I’ve talked about federal debt, the Fed, Taxes, the economy and how the Ds and Rs are failing everybody at once no matter which side you are on. I’ve talked about being prepared and at least tried to warn as many people as I can about the coming economic issues and the declines/crashes that may be on the horizon. Something I have not talked specifically about is what you may be able to do to help yourself.
This evolves from a conversation I had with some family members while moving furniture on Thursday. It turns out, that one of my family members has some similar ideas to those I have been posting for a while . . . . or they read my posts and took them to heart . . . and they had done what I did with my investments back before the election. I pulled everything out of the stock market and had them in fixed income accounts while I shopped for a financial advisor that would let me expand my portfolio for my 401Ks that I still had in limited accounts controlled by former employers. They had done the same with their investments on approximately the same time frame as me. However, where I was now rolled over into an account where I could more freely invest, they were still sitting in a safe, but low return fund. They were not sure what to do next. So I let them know some about what I thought and what I have done.
As a side note to the very vague strategy I am about to lay out, let me say a few things. Investments can lose money. Do not take this as direct investment advice. Do your own research and devise your own strategies that are in line for your personal level of risk/reward. These are only opinions that I have based on things I have read/heard/watched and my own analysis. Following this advice directly is no guarantee of success/profit and not a statement of insurance that you will not lose everything you may invest. On the other side of the coin, the strategies discussed below are good to implement on Monday, because most commodity prices fell hard on Friday and it is a good buy low opportunity.
So, what have I done with my investments and why? I subscribe to several podcasts and schools of thought that are Libertarian on the political spectrum and Austrian on the economic spectrum. The items I have talked about in my last 3 long posts are pointing towards inflation and the eroding of the purchasing power of the US dollar. Who does this hurt the worst? Those living paycheck to paycheck with no opportunity for investment or ownership and those on fixed incomes (annuities, pensions, Social Security) . . . those are the folks that have agreed on a fixed dollar amount to be provided to them going forward. While there should be some wage increases as inflation takes over, so those that are working and paycheck to paycheck may see some raise with inflation, it will depend on your individual employer and how quickly/well they respond to the economic situation. In any case, prices are going to start going up and this will be most difficult on those people in these situations.
If you have investments, where are the best places to be? US Treasuries (Federal Debt) and sitting in savings/checking accounts are bad places to be for large sums of money. As the dollar erodes, the purchasing power of your balances there goes with it. However, it’s a balancing act too, because you have to have some amount of those liquid assets to exchange for goods and services in the real world. Determine your amounts to do that and invest the rest if you can.
Is the stock market a good place to be? There are mixed messages on this. Several believe that we are in a stock market bubble and it is ready for a crash/correction downwards. Others believe that the incoming administration’s policies are going to provide plenty of stimulus and that a lot of that stimulus will be placed in the stock market and it will keep rising even as the dollar falls. Which is correct? I honestly don’t know . . . it could be either . . . but with the chance in place that a crash may happen, there are more solid investments to get into rather than going with mutual funds and market tickers.
Well, what are those? With inflation on the horizon, the risers over the next few months and years are going to be commodities. Gold, Silver, Copper, Nickel, Agricultural commodities, Oil, Natural Gas, Uranium and things like that. As prices increase and purchasing power decreases for the dollar, commodity prices rise. There are stock symbols where you can invest directly into these commodities or funds that include companies and commodity based futures that will rise and fall with the prices. There are ways to safeguard your current purchasing power at a minimum and ways to perhaps come out on the back side with a profit from your current levels . . . though that is no guarantee. I won’t go into specific symbols and strategies here and I am no expert, but you can direct message me for more information or to ask questions if you like.
How hard is it to get started? It depends on your personal situation. 401K’s can be difficult if you are still with the employer that you have the account with. There may be fees and time to process associated with transferring to a self-directed account, though there may be commodity based mutual funds available for you to choose from within your plan. Your mileage may vary depending on your company and your provider. Individual IRAs can be less of an issue, because they are generally self-directed already, just speak with your financial advisor about the types of funds you can get into with your particular brokerage company. After tax investments in lieu of checking or savings accounts are simple, just make sure that you can afford to lose what you invest and that you can afford up to 2 weeks to transfer funds in and out from investments to checking/savings one way. I do not recommend any specific app, but there are mobile apps out there like RobinHood where you can link your bank account, transfer money and be buying stocks, mutual funds and ETFs within a few days with no fees. Your IRA provider may also have regular investment accounts for you to take advantage of for one-stop shopping. It all depends on your financial health and your comfort level with combining financials with the internet. Again, direct message me if you have more specific questions or want resources or for me to further expand on these ideas I briefly outlined here.
I believe there are ways to come out better on the back side of the coming crisis, but there is risk involved in being wrong to do so.
In trying to keep up with a weekly post of some sort, I didn’t really have a feeling for where I wanted to go with things. I’ve talked about federal debt, the Fed, Taxes, the economy and how the Ds and Rs are failing everybody at once no matter which side you are on. I’ve talked about being prepared and at least tried to warn as many people as I can about the coming economic issues and the declines/crashes that may be on the horizon. Something I have not talked specifically about is what you may be able to do to help yourself.
This evolves from a conversation I had with some family members while moving furniture on Thursday. It turns out, that one of my family members has some similar ideas to those I have been posting for a while . . . . or they read my posts and took them to heart . . . and they had done what I did with my investments back before the election. I pulled everything out of the stock market and had them in fixed income accounts while I shopped for a financial advisor that would let me expand my portfolio for my 401Ks that I still had in limited accounts controlled by former employers. They had done the same with their investments on approximately the same time frame as me. However, where I was now rolled over into an account where I could more freely invest, they were still sitting in a safe, but low return fund. They were not sure what to do next. So I let them know some about what I thought and what I have done.
As a side note to the very vague strategy I am about to lay out, let me say a few things. Investments can lose money. Do not take this as direct investment advice. Do your own research and devise your own strategies that are in line for your personal level of risk/reward. These are only opinions that I have based on things I have read/heard/watched and my own analysis. Following this advice directly is no guarantee of success/profit and not a statement of insurance that you will not lose everything you may invest. On the other side of the coin, the strategies discussed below are good to implement on Monday, because most commodity prices fell hard on Friday and it is a good buy low opportunity.
So, what have I done with my investments and why? I subscribe to several podcasts and schools of thought that are Libertarian on the political spectrum and Austrian on the economic spectrum. The items I have talked about in my last 3 long posts are pointing towards inflation and the eroding of the purchasing power of the US dollar. Who does this hurt the worst? Those living paycheck to paycheck with no opportunity for investment or ownership and those on fixed incomes (annuities, pensions, Social Security) . . . those are the folks that have agreed on a fixed dollar amount to be provided to them going forward. While there should be some wage increases as inflation takes over, so those that are working and paycheck to paycheck may see some raise with inflation, it will depend on your individual employer and how quickly/well they respond to the economic situation. In any case, prices are going to start going up and this will be most difficult on those people in these situations.
If you have investments, where are the best places to be? US Treasuries (Federal Debt) and sitting in savings/checking accounts are bad places to be for large sums of money. As the dollar erodes, the purchasing power of your balances there goes with it. However, it’s a balancing act too, because you have to have some amount of those liquid assets to exchange for goods and services in the real world. Determine your amounts to do that and invest the rest if you can.
Is the stock market a good place to be? There are mixed messages on this. Several believe that we are in a stock market bubble and it is ready for a crash/correction downwards. Others believe that the incoming administration’s policies are going to provide plenty of stimulus and that a lot of that stimulus will be placed in the stock market and it will keep rising even as the dollar falls. Which is correct? I honestly don’t know . . . it could be either . . . but with the chance in place that a crash may happen, there are more solid investments to get into rather than going with mutual funds and market tickers.
Well, what are those? With inflation on the horizon, the risers over the next few months and years are going to be commodities. Gold, Silver, Copper, Nickel, Agricultural commodities, Oil, Natural Gas, Uranium and things like that. As prices increase and purchasing power decreases for the dollar, commodity prices rise. There are stock symbols where you can invest directly into these commodities or funds that include companies and commodity based futures that will rise and fall with the prices. There are ways to safeguard your current purchasing power at a minimum and ways to perhaps come out on the back side with a profit from your current levels . . . though that is no guarantee. I won’t go into specific symbols and strategies here and I am no expert, but you can direct message me for more information or to ask questions if you like.
How hard is it to get started? It depends on your personal situation. 401K’s can be difficult if you are still with the employer that you have the account with. There may be fees and time to process associated with transferring to a self-directed account, though there may be commodity based mutual funds available for you to choose from within your plan. Your mileage may vary depending on your company and your provider. Individual IRAs can be less of an issue, because they are generally self-directed already, just speak with your financial advisor about the types of funds you can get into with your particular brokerage company. After tax investments in lieu of checking or savings accounts are simple, just make sure that you can afford to lose what you invest and that you can afford up to 2 weeks to transfer funds in and out from investments to checking/savings one way. I do not recommend any specific app, but there are mobile apps out there like RobinHood where you can link your bank account, transfer money and be buying stocks, mutual funds and ETFs within a few days with no fees. Your IRA provider may also have regular investment accounts for you to take advantage of for one-stop shopping. It all depends on your financial health and your comfort level with combining financials with the internet. Again, direct message me if you have more specific questions or want resources or for me to further expand on these ideas I briefly outlined here.
I believe there are ways to come out better on the back side of the coming crisis, but there is risk involved in being wrong to do so.