The problem is that if 300 million or so Americans head to the woods to shoot animals, the results are likely to be ugly. For the record - I have nothing against hunting as long as the hunter intends to eat his prey. Trophy hunting is another matter (to me).
You're not going to get every man, woman, and child (many of them babies) out there at the same time shooting like baffoons. A man or woman can provide for their entire family for months in one weekend's outing.
A guy I knew at work a few years back would do just that. Go out get his 2 deer or the amount allowable and make enough food to go a full 6 months to a year. Can always go fishing if you can't swallow killing for it. But then again the water has all been contaminated. Some of these people would shoot their toe off before they would figure out how to use it think Barney Fife. Bitcoin could overtake gold it is gaining momentum., Classic cars will always be worth money and will be what a group of people think they are really worth if you want to believe them lol. Stocks always go up and down you find something you like and buy it and when the price drops you buy a few more and sell when you go to 50%. If you want to play that way. You can buy dividend style stocks and get money or more stocks every year, this is what I did got them reinvesting in their self and this buys more stock and keeps growing in money. Or buy mutual funds and buy more on the dips and hold for a long period of time. In 30 years the dividends pay to you every month for yur extra cash.
He only ate the little balls that came out. Not sure he ate them, rather cleansed his sinuses and ventilated his cranium. Repainted the wall behind him. Sorry if it offends, but I don’t have much sympathy for a fellow with a new daughter, millions in the bank and a job where he can drunkenly and addictedly mumble and groan into a microphone yet get great reviews who ‘can’t bear the pain’ of said success, can’t be grateful for that position in life, and refuses to put that daughter above his own problems and get help. Yeah, I’m not a fan of Nirvana and really not a fan of Mr. Cobain. Patrick
Well, to get the topic off the wall and back something resembling the OTP, don't get me started on the value of money. That is one thing that is not holding it's value, at all. For instance; - an ounce of gold bought you a good suit in 1650. That more or less became a constant. That ratio of what an ounce of gold will actually buy has more or less remained the same since then. In 1919, that ounce was worth $35, which was a good sum to the working man. By 1933 it remained more or less the same and Roosevelt banned US citizens from holding real gold. It really didn't work too well as everyone's grandmother still had gold Eagles and Double Eagles parked in their sock drawers. At any rate, Nixon finally repealed that act and the price of gold started to climb from that $35 and on up. At the same time, what a dollar could by started to plummet. There were a few periods where that golden ratio was out of whack, but it soon corrected itself. Today, an ounce of gold is worth over $2000, - so is a good Hugo Boss. The ratio has remained the same, but the dollar is more like an Italian Lire, worthless. Gold is a great place to park your money and retain your buying power, it's not a place to make money. Sure, you'll make a profit numerically, but what that buys is exactly what it did a year ago. Now, before some of you experts and know-it-alls out there chew my head off, I've simplified things, yes, just for clarity. Of course it's more complex than what I've laid out here. When you graph that "golden ratio", you begin to realize there's an inflation rate, and a real inflation rate. Our beloved governments have told us that the inflation rate has remained low, about 2-5% and as a result, interest rates and the cost of borrowing is low. Now the real inflation rate if you go by the graph dollars to an ounce of gold, works out to an easy 15-20%, and accelerating with every passing year. If you're an average investor, it's very likely that your stock market gains, 401Ks, whatever, have not been able to keep up and if anything have lost ground. The Stock Market is a dumping ground and a tax haven, the only way you make any money is if you're in on the ground floor and sell high. Most of us with mutuals and pension funds get in only after the real money has long gone onto something else. Not many people can buy low and sell high, when I look at my funds and those of most of my compatriots, we've always bought high and either just broke even or lost in a slow decline. Those that did make some huge gains usually got clobbered in a periodic correction, and then took years to rebuild to the point of where it was, only to lose it all again. It has not been a great way to build or preserve wealth. I'm going into retirement a lot poorer than my father did, who still had a defined benefit plan that was indexed to inflation. When they sold us on the defined contribution 401K style plan, they lied. It didn't double in the time frame claimed, and when it finally did, the buying power was halved so in the end I haven't really gained much. And yes, I do have my invested with a financial advisor who is actually pretty good, so I'm slightly better off than some I know. The only thing that has kept pace has been collectible bubbles and for a while, real estate. And this is the thing, the people who have money are always looking for places to park it, and they haven't found anything solid yet. The key is to hit it right and get in on that bubble right when it starts to climb, and then pull out at the right time. Unfortunately for most of us, it winds up just like a teenage love affair, - pull out at the wrong time and there's a growing problem. So they go from thing to thing, inflating and wrecking each collectible market they dabble in, and then leaving the little guy holding a steaming bag of whatever to pick up the pieces. I've seen this cycle in fine art, pottery, books, antiques, furniture, coins, cars and even wine vintages. In each case the Money came in, inflated the value, cashed out and left a lot of shattered dreams. So right now it's vintage NOS auto parts. Good for you guys who have them then, cash out while you can. So to answer the question, what's it worth? Whatever you can get, and whatever the guy wants to pay you for it. But just remember, a year from now that money you generated won't be enough to replace what you sold, because it's lost 15% of it's buying power. And, that fortune you're sitting on waiting for a "rainy day" may not be worth a tinker's cuss a year from now. That's the real nature of money and value. End Rant...
If you buy stocks or mutual funds based upon solid recommendations, include in your picks companies that pay dividends, HOLD those stocks and buy more with the dividends, you’ll beat the banks and inflation over time. When you buy stock, you’re betting that the companies have success as their core mission and have hired and planned to do that. (You can believe their stock price is a buyproduct or the only goal, but either way you benefit). Jumping from idea to idea, category to category of stocks or anything else is a recipe for failure. Slow and steady with something you know (and/or the advice of someone who’s job is to know) is the better plan. The challenge is to not spend all you earn so that there is a surplus to invest. A lot of young people don’t realize this and think they’re required or entitled to buy new cars, new phones, expensive clothes and such, and rent by themselves, drink Starbucks and eat out while complaining about being broke. No one ever told them about the time value of money. That works out for the smart investor who buys shares of Vans parent company VFC instead of sneakers, buys both Kraft MacNCheese and Mondolez instead of WholeFoods’ grab and go Mac, and maybe a Nissan Leaf or used Corolla instead of a Tesla so that he can buy some Tesla stock. Nobody guarantees the economy or a person’s financial future. As participants we can bitch and moan that it’s not fair, the good old days are gone, and vote for people (many of whom have never earned their own money in the private sector!) who promise to fix it while they continue suckling from the government’s teat, or we can do something about it for ourselves. End of counter-rant. Patrick
There's a reason they call them "Brokers" is because they are usually the only ones making the $$$$ with the so called "Advisory" fees. They don't care one way or the other as they make the $$$$$ wether they/you win or lose. For them there is NO DOWNSIDE.
Bullets and bourbon is what I invest in. When the **** goes down a stock, or a piece of worthless currency ain’t gonna get me food, but I guarantee I can trade some bourbon for some beef right?
I would expound on what I believe to be the major cause of inflation (or if you prefer , the decline in value of the dollar), but the responses would be guaranteed to turn this thread political.
Hi Tom, The above can be and often is true, but there is a remedy for it. We have an investment broker/financial advisor. He gets nothing for any transaction, but he does get a flat percentage of our investment returns each year. If he makes us more money he gets more. The reverse is also true. It's the only way to go. He has done quite well for us.
Avoiding all brokers because some are crooks is like avoiding hiring the professionals on here because the Assmonkeys on TV are hacks. Patrick
As I said guys, I simplified it. You're all correct; the key thing in dealing with stocks is education and time. You have to know what you're doing and have the time to do it right. For the brokers and the investment advisors there is no downside because it's their job. For the rest of us working stiffs who have to spend the day working for a paycheque and not paying attention to the markets, we're forced to trust others, often with predictable results. And yes, I didn't go into why the buying power of a dollar is dropping because it would get political. They're entirely at fault. Enough said.
I doubt it. I think that if 100,000,000 Americans with rifles took to the woods at the same time the results are likely to be bad. You need to remember that pretty much all of us will run out of food at about the same time. As I said earlier, I have nothing against either guns or food hunting.
John, how much food do you have "stocked up"? You really think it's the same as me? Or anyone else in this thread? Your thoughts about how things would go is a very simplified approach with no common sense involved. It's quite obvious you've never really been hunting or been anywhere outside of the cities back east. As I said, one weekend can provide for months. We'll only be out there 3 or 4 days hunting out of the whole year. Well, those of us that know what we're doing I guess....be scared all you want. We'll be just fine "out here" when the convenience stores, Wal-Marts, and grocery stores close. And I'm quite sure I'll be able to go hunting and fishing just like I always do with no fear of getting shot by a moron in the woods.....Maybe it'll be different where you're from. Maybe you're surrounded by a bunch of idiots that would end up shooting each other on accident. I guess I hadn't considered the difference between me and the people where I'm from and you and the people where you're from....
I wonder what events like today’s news will do to the value of Bitcoin? https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/depa...rrency-paid-ransomware-extortionists-darkside Patrick
