The trend going forward during this economic depression is getting back to basics. We often discuss ‘prepping’ as a way to protect your family in the event of an unforeseen catastrophe (natural or man-made). Recently, we’ve seen more financial analysts and advisers recommend shifting from traditional investments like stocks, bonds, CD’s and money market accounts, to tangible assets that will gain value regardless of what stock and bond markets do.
Of course, we’re not saying you should go out and spend your entire 401k retirement account on 5 gallon buckets of rice, but diversifying into hard assets on a variety of levels could be a great investment. As the US Dollar continues its decline over the coming years, the price of essential consumer goods is likely to rise. Certain goods, however, like real estate, cars and anything that is driven primarily by credit expansion may experience a deflationary impact in real dollar terms, while others, like food and energy may see explosive price increases.
Paul Mladjenovic of SuperMoneyLinks.com discusses 3 Things Everyone Needs to Do with Money in 2010:
“OUR GOVERNMENT CAN NOT SPEND OUR COUNTRY INTO TRLLIONS OF DOLLARS OF DEBT WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE.
I am working on my next set of forecasts and seminars but before they are out, I want everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) to consider 3 simple things to gain greater financial peace of mind:
–Diversify away from paper assets.
–Accumulate essentials.
–Re-focus your portfolio with emphasis on “human needâ€.
In Buy Commodities at Today’s Lower Prices, Consume at Tomorrow’s Higher Prices we offered some ideas about how to be a ‘prepper’ and ‘investor’ simultaneously.
“If you are a prepper, for example, who is already stocking essentials foods and goods, you’re way ahead of the game. As commodity prices continue to rise for a variety of reasons, your “investment†is paying off in real terms. Buy 10 pounds of rice today for $10, and when that same bag of rice goes to $20 a year or two from now, you can say you earned a 100% return on your investment! And the great thing about your investment, is you don’t have any counter party risk, for the most part, meaning that you own the physical good and it is in your possession — you take delivery at any time!”
For those interested in investing some of their wealth into real, tangible assets, consider the following as food for thought:
For those concerned with rising energy costs, your options are basically limited to investing in energy stocks and ETFs, or, investing in yourself and create your own supply of energy. Learning how to develop and implement a power grid in the comfort of your own home will not only give you the skills to earn a living in the future, but to provide nearly unlimited energy for your household through use of solar, wind and hydro power. Investments into alternative energies for your home may seem costly, but not if you consider the rising cost of your electric and gas bills over the next couple of decades. Sustainable living investments are not one-off investments, say, like storing a bucket of beans, but rather, pay dividends forever.
It is important to be prudent with where one might invest their money, as it is impossible to say for certain that an inflationary environment is in our future, and which goods will be affected by increased prices. But all signs point to an eventual devaluation, officially or unofficially, of the US dollar. While the aforementioned “investments” are not traditionally accepted and your financial adviser might think you’ve gone off the deep end, they are worth considering and provide you with another option for protecting your wealth.
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Mac,
I hear what you’re saying re: purchasing hard assets now, but it’s really hard for me to let go of my cash. I am prepping on extra cash, so to speak, but have left our savings alone. Will we need it before the crash to make some house payments in case our business goes completely under? There are just too many unknowns right now for me to take most of it and buy groceries, tools, etc.
Lisa
Excellent comment, great points!
I totally agree with holding extra cash. The fact is, that “depressions” can last quite a long time, and there is still the possibility that an inflationary / hyperinflationary scenario does not play out in our immediate future. Dr. Marc Faber, one of my favorite economists to follow, suggests that it could be years before we see it get to this level (or it can happen quickly, of course).
As I mentioned in the article, being prudent with what you do have is the key. Even in a serious crash (not an all out economic and political collapse) you will still have to make payments on your home, your car, and your daily/weekly/monthly expenditures, so having traditional savings is still very important, in my opinion.
What I am proposing is diversifying some of your assets… What percentage one can diversify is up to each individual.
I guess the way I look at it is, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” I do prep, I personally believe this is a great idea, but at the same time, I simply cannot go “all in” with just food stuffs, clothing, precious metals, solar panels, etc. I believe that anyone who suggests that one should take all of their net worth and put it into prepping for a total collapse of the world as we know may be acting a bit irresponsibly. There is still the possibility that…. and I don’t want to get anyone too fired up… but that a collapse scenario does NOT play out as some have envisioned.
Based on the Fox News video, it looks like you are well on your way to being diversified. What I am suggesting is that others follow your model in whatever way they find applicable to them and their finances.
Martin Armstrong, in a recent essay, suggested that the ‘game’ is designed in such a way that people on both sides will be wiped out. He was referring more to trading currencies and stocks and such, but I believe this line of thought is important to consider in all aspects of traditional and non-traditional investing. And that being said, it means we should be diversified in a variety of different ways for a variety of different scenarios — economic collapse, depression, and recovery being just a few.
The fact that you have food preps, some tools, probably reserve clothing and evacuation plans prepares you for a variety of different scenarios that may come from depression or all out collapse.
The fact that you have cash on hand and perhaps holdings in retirement portfolios prepares you for short term emergencies in the current environment and retiring in the long term if all goes well.
The fact that you have a business prepares you for recovery scenarios, and in the case of your blog, may also provide additional income/skills benefits in case of a prolonged crisis.
Sounds to me like you’re right around where you need to be, or working very diligently towards that goal of being prepared for, well, anything!
Mac
Mac, thanks for this great article. Regarding food preps, I’ve completed my homework on freeze-dried foods. There is research that verifies that the nutritional contend does hold up will over time. The downside is that the lining of the cans contains Bisphenol-A (BPA). Hundreds of research studies now conclude the same thing. BPA is dangerous even in the parts per trillion as it mimics estrogen and disrupts the endocrine system. BPA has been linked to childhood behavior disorders, childhood obesity, male genital deformations, feminization of boys, heart disease, early onset of puberty in girls, fertility disorders, and permanent genetic damage. Since BPA mimics estrogen it is especially dangerous to fetuses and children–most especially male fetuses and children because BPA can prevent testosterone from kicking in when it should to guild a male fetuses development. I can find no research online or from the freeze-dried food manufacturers on how much BPA leeches into the food from the can’s lining. The science is now so strong that it’s likely that the FDA will ban BPA in all canned foods within the next couple of years. Canada and many EU nations have already phasing out the chemical. I do have freeze-dried foods in my emergency food pile but have taken a break form purchasing any more until the cans go BPA-free. I will switch to purchasing Eden Foods canned beans and veggies as they are, so far, the only company using BPA-free cans.
Back to what Mac wrote about stocking up on grains and beans. I store whole, organic grains and dried beans in large glass jars with screw on, air tight lids. I purchased a good grain mill and create flour as needed. The effort of grinding grain provides good pectoral and arm exercise, and seems more satisfying to me than just buying a bag of flour from the store.
Please avoid storing food in plastic containers as you are just allowing the food to become contaminated with BPA or other toxins from plastic such as phthalates. If you need to rely on your food stores one day then let the food really sustain you and not slowly poison you and sap your vitality just when you would be under stress.
If kept at about 70-degrees F then whole grains and beans will deep in an air tight container for about 10 years. From all of my research I’ve decided to store more organic whole grains, beans, pastas, etc. because they are unchemicalized foods to start with, will keep for at least a decade, and retain there purity if stored in glass containers kept in a cool, dark place.
To your continued good health!
A guest on the Diane Rhem Show this morning said that “debt is normal for Federal Governments.” He went on to say that he is bewildered that in 200 years of history the public hasn’t yet adapted to this norm. This doesn’t seem like a logical point of view. How can a nation’s debt continuously go up, with interest paid on the debt becoming an ever larger percentage of the budget without negative consequences? If an individual spends beyond his means then there is an eventual personal economic collapse. Seems that this would be the same for a nation, but would just take longer to collapse. I still don’t understand so called economists still saying, essentially, that debt doesn’t matter. This whole economic crisis began from too much debt on all levels of society, so how can the government debt not matter???? I don’t get it. OR, maybe I do understand and the so called economists are either brainwashed or lying.
Mac, that’s really interesting about the latest essay from Martin Armstrong. I went almost “all in” starting a year and a half ago with regard to prepping, then slowly realized that I needed to stop or at least slow down in order to continue to pay the burgeoning bills and taxes that never seem to stop going up. In a sense, I became stuck between what I expected the future to be and what the present was.
Today I am more realistic and have 1-3 year plans either way, no matter what happens. However, I am worried that I may soon need to start selling PMs just to pay for property taxes or other things that continue to outstrip my ability to pay (this probably would have happened whether I had PMs or not). It is odd, because it does seem that the powers that be are purposefully engineering this so that both extremes will be slaughtered, and only the toughest of the tough who have made the smartest possible decisions will prosper into the future.
I do know that I would rather have hard assets than cash when push comes to shove, so I still sleep better at night. I guess I will have to play the cash game just a little longer than I originally anticipated.
@Greg, I think the saying goes that debt doesn’t matter, but the interest on debt does. The interest is non-negotiable. Once that becomes untenable, it’s game over. I believe we will live to witness the destruction of Keynesian economics, something many people have been waiting for for almost 80 years now.
Gregg- I was listning to the same interview on NPR .I have found over the last two years their has been alot of questionable information/propaganda from NPR. I was a 4 hour a day listner until recently. I starting researching economic reality when I heard Paul Krugman discussing his ” new ” book back 2004 maybe. That interview was also on the Diane Rheems show, when in my mind it had more validity. I recall threats from the Bush administration for funding the CPB and not long after that voila… I used to consider the BBC a “decsent” source for news also.    Â
Greg, good info on the BPA in canned goods. I am going to contact a couple of freeze dried food manufacturers and see if I can get a response on this from them. I am curious if they are/have taken any steps with regards to using different cans. To be honest, I was not aware of this.
Chris, I wish you the best in your endeavors. I, like you, initially over stretched on the ‘prepping’ and had to snap back to reality a little bit and realize that we could be talking years, not months, insofar as a system bottoming out scenario is concerned. Really, it was more excitement than anything else that was driving me. Prepping is pretty fun! Like any hobby, it started taking up a lot of my time and resources and I had to step back and put everything in perspective and realize that, as Lisa mentioned, I can put everything into food and clothes and precious metals, because come next month, the rent and car payment is due!
It’s good that you do have a precious metals reserve, and I have found that this is actually a great way to put a little money off to the side. The last thing I will do is go to my deposit box to get PM’s to trade for cash. Before that, I will do everything possible to come up with the cash, so the fact that acquiring legal tender requires me to find a middle man kind of works in my favor in that respect.
I believe that you are right on target with your forecast that Keynesian economics will fall apart in short order. Going back, again to Martin Armstrong, what we are witnessing here is not the collapse of capitalism as so many talking heads on TV and columnists in print and online suggest. This is actually the collapse of socialism (in the West, at least), and Keynesian economics has played an important role in getting us to where we are today, so it may very well be on its way out.
Unfortunately, however, I don’t know if socialism, communism or Keynesian economics will ever die permanently. It seems to me that this tug of war will go on until the end of time. There is no perfect system that works for everyone, so it seems to go in this circle over and over again… generation after generation…. it’s all cyclical.
Mac
P.s. — The Armstrong essay I mentioned in my earlier comment can be found here: Creating the Floating Exchange Rate System
And the other one worth reading if you haven’t yet done it: The Collapse of Capitalism, or is it Socialism
Mac,
Thanks for being receptive to the info about BPA. I know people are spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars stockpiling food. I just want people to have the info so they can spend their money on foods that really will help them survive should they ever have to rely on their emergency food supply.
Foods laced with neurotoxic food additives and contaminated with BPA will sap your vitality just when you need all of your energy to survive an economic collapse or some other emergency.
Thanks for checking with your contacts to see if the producers of freeze-dried product plan to go BPA-free soon. I will return to purchasing freeze-dried products when they do.
Here’s my response from Mountain House:
“Greg, we have done studies on 30 year old product compared to new product and there was very little change in the nutritional value.
On the enamel, it does contain BPA as per the allowed amount per kg of food.
Thank you,
Melanie”
I was happy they were are upfront about it. Don’t get me wrong. I love the idea of freeze-dried foods. I have 8 cases of #10 cans in storage. To eat it just gives me a yuckie feeling knowing that there’s also BPA in there. I’m been trying to sort through all the option just like you and try and figure out which ones are the best choices for good nutrition and long shelf life.
For our long term food security, it seems to me that we need the following things:
1) Pure and natural (unchemicalized) foods
2) long shelf life
3) stored in a nonreactive, air tight container
I keep coming up with organic rice, beans, and grain stored in glass containers with a screw on metal lids (the type of jars I think are ideal are called “cracker jars.”) At 70-degrees, in a dark place grain will keep for 10 years.
For protein, a good choice is Brewers Dried Yeast (organic, non-GMO). $25.25 for a 2-pound canister that has something like 24 servings per. Should follow up with a Vitamin B12 supplement. Brewers Yeast is high in all B vitamins except B12. Shelf life: about 2 years. Â Nutritional Yeast is another great protein supplement. It has a cheese like flavor so you can sprinkle it on top of food instead of grated cheese.
Add to this fresh seasonal veggies and fruit, plus what ever you home can in glass mason jars and use over Winter. Store bought canned fruit and veggies in BPA-free cans. Shelf life: about a year to 18 months.
Nuts can last for 6 months to a year depending on how you store them.
Organic Chocolate bars, dried fruit for when you want something sweet.
Add vitamin supplements to fill in the gaps.
Seems that this would provide for sound nutrition and vitality sustaining emergency food preps.
Most prepackaged foods, conventional canned foods such as soups and chili, all the foods with fancy names as though you were ordering it from a restaurant are loaded with neurotoxic food additives that sap your vitality and over time may kill you. Be sure and read the labels. In another post on this site Mac added to my post a link to a list of food additive chemicals and what they do to your body when ingested.
My intent in posting this information is to help people choose foods preps that will keep them strong and healthy when experiencing emergencies–to help people get the most nutrition for their money.
Does anyone have any more ideas?
Mac said: “…those with the ability to think outside the office…”
Huh? C’mon…. outside the Box….the Cardboard Box!
hehe
More seriously, I’m constantly reminded these days of the potential for extreme Govt reaction to any major, long term crisis. Be assured that Govt will do whatever they think they need to do to retain control. That’s not to say the will do the right thing, merely whatever they think is the right thing.
For example, most folks know about Executive Order 6102 that banned private ownership of bullion during the prior Great Depression ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_confiscation ).
However far fewer are familiar with the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 that was upheld by the U.S. supreme Court in Wickard v Filburn ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn ). A farmer named Rosco Filburn was growing wheat to feed his chickens. To implement price supports, the U.S. government imposed limits on wheat production based on acreage owned by a farmer and Filburn was growing more than his limit permitted. Filburn was ordered to destroy his crops and pay a fine. The Supremes ruled that Interstate Commerce was the sole purview of the Federal Govt and that Filburn’s excess crop, although the wheat was for his own personal use only, constituted Interstate Commerce. At issue? 11 excess acres.
My point? Your kitchen garden can be declared Interstate Commerce. Your canned goods can be declared Interstate Commerce. Failing to Engage in Commerce (as was recently discussed along with Wickard v Filburn on The Superfluous Man blog) can be declared Interstate Commerce. Theoretically, anything can be declared part of Interstate Commerce.
So my friends, prepare for stealth as well….
Mark: Great stuff. Wonder why I never heard of you before.
Three  years ago, I downsized my house, utilioty bills, cars, lifestyle. I’ve been into PM for a while, but escalated in 2008 and more at year-end. That has paid off. One year ago, I started stockpiling. If I need a bunker and five years supply, I’m not sure I want to survive that. However, your scenarios are more realistic and practical.
Based on what happened in 2008, your scenario of PM plunging, then bouncing back faster sounds about right. I got rid of some, as it started to plunge recently, but wish I had sold at least half, since we’ll get into a real buying oppty. On the other hand, it could snap back fast and be hard to obtain.
I’m afraid to buy any conventional stocks now.
Wish I had more land to live off and a place to store fuel and water. May get some.
Â
Tom, you make an excellent point: “So my friends, prepare for stealth as well….” — I have repeatedly mentioned this in our ‘preppers’ circle.. If the S really does hit the fan, I would not be at all surprised to see new hoarding laws come into effect, not just for gold, but food as well. Hypothetically, if food supplies were to be cut, the local, state and federal govt would have to blame someone — why not the hoarders? They got more than their fair share. Though I don’t have the room or ability to do it now, I have seriously considered a reserve, underground cache; perhaps 4 – 6 weeks of items. I know it may sound extreme, but consider the effects of widespread food famine and our government’s capabilities and this scenario becomes very realistic.
BTW, Tom, I meant no offense about the office cube! LOL!
Greg, as usual, excellent comments and information. That one got printed and forwarded to my wife. I think you covered a very broad spectrum of food reserves and prepping!
GM, thanks for visiting and for the nice comment. I am also staying away from conventional stocks… I do, however, spend a little bit on purchasing gold stocks/ETFs every few weeks. Nothing crazy, but it’s a good place to park excess cash. If the entire system doesn’t collapse and stock markets survive, I think gold/silver stocks will do very well, even from this point… Even if they sink a bit now, my time horizon is years, not months, so I am not so much concerned with short-term swings.
Excellent points Mac and Tom on the stealth hoarding. I would also say don’t tell anyone you have it, and when I say anyone, I mean your kids especially (if you have them). They tend to blab a lot at school to their friends. If your wives are particularly locquatious… be careful. I’m not recommending anyone hide stuff from their wives but you get my point. They have to be completely on board with what you’re doing before you share such vital information.
Chris, excellent point about the kids!
If one was to actually go through the extraordinary steps to bury a 4 – 6 week cache of food and supplies, the important thing to keep in mind is that this is the absolute last resort reserve. you’re certainly not going to be out there digging it up to gain access every other week. If/When you ever have to use something like this, it is because everything else you had is gone. So, it needs to be classified at above Top Secret.
This is one of those ideas that may seem waaaaay out there for a lot of preppers, but I think it is excellent that the topic has been brought up. If I had the means to do it now, I would. Because, well, it seems kind of fun to be able to have a secret like that… heh.
Genesis 47:
13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is used up.”
16 “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”
etc.
True, the people “offered” their money, homes, land, and freedom … but the net result is the government ended up with quite a lot of power and resources.
Â
All of the buy gold hucksters require CASH for their gold!!!!!!CASH!!!!!!!
Try going to Walmart with gold to buy food!!!!!
And to all you food hoarders who are causing food prices to inflate, you better also hoard ammo because when the SHTF there will be gangs looking for your food and your little 9mm won’t match 20 thugs with their weapons!!!!!!!
This all sounds like a repeat of the Y2K bullcrap. I know people whose 10 year old food storage stash has turned to moldy mush.!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck and keep spending money for gold,food and ammo for the SHTF times. It helps the economy!!!!
Steve, thanks for your comments. I understand your analogy, but I think there is quite a difference between the prepping and investing ideas described here than the prepping one may have done for Y2K. (I won’t lie, my roommates and I had a room full of water bottles, canned goods, dry goods and batteries)
Y2K was a one time event, and those that prepared for it were preparing for a single event, scheduled to occur at, more or less, an exact time.
The idea behind this article is that you are not only preparing for disaster/emergency response, or the unlikely event of a hyperinflationary collapse, or a long-term depression, you are preparing for a variety of economic scenarios which may occur on a broad level or even a personal level.
This article has been designed as a primer for those who realize that the economic crisis we are currently in is not over, and that it will be a protracted event that can last not months, but years. There is no single target date as there was with Y2K.
If you disagree with the assessment that our economy is in shambles and that we are in a severe depression or recession, then the strategies outlined here would not really apply to you.
If, however, you also subscribe to the thought that we are in a paradigm shift in how our economic system is going to function for the next decade or more, than any ideas for preserving wealth or preparing for this would be appreciated.
In regards to gold and buying goods at Walmart, one could also ask, what good is buying a stock or bond? Or even a house? You can’t trade those goods for food either. But you can trade that ‘money’ for other money which will allow you to acquire food, ammo, etc. So I am not sure I understand your reasoning with that argument.
I thought I would respond because I want to stress that this article is not designed to incite fear, but rather, is designed to allay any fear that people may be experiencing.
Comments…..Hi, Thank you for the wonderful insight and info. As to food prep and the bpa issue, I have been very concerned and have donated much of my canned food. According to the information I have read, mylar does not contain bpa; therefore, placing your storage foodstuffs (grain, wheat, rice, etc.) in mylar bags, adding oxygen absorbers and sealing, seems as though it would be acceptable.Â
Any thoughts? Thanks again!
Comments…..Thanks for the input guys. I’m a regular visitor to JWR SurvivalBlog. That’s where my survival instincts were seriously awakened.   Beans, bullets and bandaids, what more can I say? What’s your take on relocation away from big cities? I am currently checking out small towns with adequate growing seasons adjacent to a large river. I am seeking a community of like-minded folks who maintain a philosophy of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility. I do pray for guidance every day.Â
Comments…..I have been getting ready for what is to come for the past ten years and the first thing that I did was to get out of CA and into the woods of Oregon, love it.
I coined the following……abour PM and anything else
“If you don’t hold it, you don’t own it”… Ponce
About being ready…… always something else to do.
“To be ready is not”… Ponce