Six Months on... Global Collapse Destinations?

[jimking100]

And, Jim, if people want to make fun of us when we are older, rafted up alongside, sipping rum, eating a nice meal, on a hook by a white sand beach off some Caribbean island, telling each other our old sailing yarns and of the experiences they never had, as the warm evening sun sets over the horizon...

...then good luck to em. Like I will care?[/quote]

Well said. Hopefully, we'll meet up down there and the sundowner is on me.
jim

[MoonlightShadow]

I'll drink to that. See ya in a few thousand miles.

[Spammy]

MoonlightShadow:
I also agree with you. Life is a journey, an adventure. Finding a good route on one's way is a challenge, but one to be relished.
I did not wish to be too gloomy in my view of current events. It's just that my eyes are open. I'm quietly getting my personal affairs in order. If all goes well, and world economic conditions improve, so much the better. But having the resources and ability to survive and flourish independently just make good sense to me.
And yes, if things are not good in one spot, a boat is a great way to sail to a friendlier horizon!
The Caribbean is a first destination, but I feel the call of some of the remoter destinations in the South Pacific. My hope is that these will be places where time moves more slowly, and people are closer to the land and sea around them.
Some of my best friendships in recent years have been with other cruisers. There is much common ground, and a sense of community. This is why I hope to make some acquaintances here that I will eventually meet and share food, drink, and pleasant times with when we are "out there".

[MoonlightShadow]

Yeah, me too Spammy. Me too. I just cannot think why I left it so long to make the decision !!!

B***** the economy. I'M off !!!

[capcook]

Anybody buying Gold... I was thinking about it... I am not sure any other currency will be able to sub for the dollar... my guess is that they will cut off those hoping to profit from the derivatives... but remember this, if somehow "they" were able to pay off those claims, there would be 600 Trillion dollars looking to buy real estate in NYC and Boats out the ying yang... in other words it would be a huge reallocation of wealth but just a reallocation... reality is no one is going to pay off those thousands of derivatives holders...

Now if you assume that problem goes away, than the outlook is not so bad...

cheers

[rexposeidon]

the proble with buying gold is that as everyone flees the stock market they buy gold driving the price up, when the market recovers everyone sells off their gold and its value drops quickly leaving you with a pretty rock worth half or less than what you paid for it. The only way to buy gold is to do so when it's a bad investment, when stocks a re a good investment. Better to go to the thrift store and try to find a "nuggett" you can resell for more on Ebay.

[Spammy]

Re: gold
It is NOT an investment. It is a means to store wealth. Price does vary, unfortunately. I buy 24-carat bullion coins from a reputable dealer. Gold cannot be subject to inflation, because its supply is relatively fixed. It is vulnerable to speculation, but in uncertain economic times, it is solid. Putting your net worth in U.S. dollars makes you vulnerable to inflation. What would you be willing to bet that the current "bailout plan" will result in severe inflation due to a huge expansion of the money supply? The U.S. government has always create dollars when they need to spend then in large quantities. Gold gets my vote.

[Ram]

I also beleave gold is a good place to store your wealth- I bought some in late Oct of last year and its up around 25-30% - wile the stocks ive bought -lost more that the gold gain- uggg-just wish I would have put more in gold - I also bought bullion coins- it took 2 months after I bought it -to receve it-
and I keep it in a safe deposit box at the bank
I beleave gold is going way up in the next year-
Good time to buy gold soon - its dropping now-
Silver is now a good buy-

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Ram

I also believe gold is a good place to store your wealth- I bought some in late Oct of last year and its up around 25-30%...
...I believe gold is going way up in the next year-
Good time to buy gold soon - its dropping now ...

That's what commodity and mineral prices do. They go up, and they go down. Where's the majic in gold?

In 1971 Nixon ended US dollar convertibility to gold, and the dollar and gold floated. In January 1980, the gold price hit a record of $850 per ounce against a background of an international crisis arising from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
The price of gold gradually declined from that point, bringing it to an all-time low, since floating, of just under $253 per ounce in 1999.
In 2006, the value of gold reached about $715 per ounce, which was another high point for the precious metal.
Gold then reached an all time high again on March 17, 2008 at $1023.50 the first time ever over the magical $1,000 mark.
In inflation adjusted US dollars, the price would have to reach about $2,200 to break the record ($850) in real terms.

[Trim50]

Hold on guys...DOW down to 6800! Looks like we are blowing past that recession and straight for a depression.

Where are we going to sail to is the question?

[Ram]

Buy TZA as the market goes down and you will have it "Made"

[Trim50]

Buy canned food, dried fruit and fishing lures! ;-)

[MoonlightShadow]

Hmmm. Yup. I think Trim has it !

Strangely (to me anyway) I had to go to the supermarket on my way home from work tonight, and it dawned on me that food prices have actually shot up considerably. Some items are three times the price they were when I last noticed. I can't remember when I last noticed what food prices were, but it can't have been more than a few years.

[capcook]

Originally Posted by MoonlightShadow

Hmmm. Yup. I think Trim has it !

Strangely (to me anyway) I had to go to the supermarket on my way home from work tonight, and it dawned on me that food prices have actually shot up considerably. Some items are three times the price they were when I last noticed. I can't remember when I last noticed what food prices were, but it can't have been more than a few years.

Yep, as they say, you can wear last years clothes but you can't eat last years food... you are always exposed to inflation in the cost of food...

Cheers

[Tspringer]

Originally Posted by Spammy

Re: gold
It is NOT an investment. It is a means to store wealth. Price does vary, unfortunately. I buy 24-carat bullion coins from a reputable dealer. Gold cannot be subject to inflation, because its supply is relatively fixed. It is vulnerable to speculation, but in uncertain economic times, it is solid. Putting your net worth in U.S. dollars makes you vulnerable to inflation. What would you be willing to bet that the current "bailout plan" will result in severe inflation due to a huge expansion of the money supply? The U.S. government has always create dollars when they need to spend then in large quantities. Gold gets my vote.

I am not a fan of gold.

While gold is a good inflation hedge and a historically good place to protect assets, gold does you nothing from a cash flow standpoint.

With an eye toward going cruising.... having a bunch of gold stashed away does nothing to help me buy fuel and food.

But investment real estate does and I have never seen a better time to buy than now. If you put $65K into gold... how much will that pay you monthly? But you can put $65K into a fully renovated rental house and it will pay you $850 per month. It may not be as liquid and it may not be as passive but I'll take that trade off for the cash flow benefits any day.



Terry