As I’ve mentioned a time or twenty, as of late I’ve adopted a three-pronged approach towards money – Some goes into cash, some goes into metals, and some goes into the market.
Cash, obviously, does absolutely nothing but slowly erode in value against inflation. But…thats the price I pay for the security of having actual cash on hand. I’m okay with that. A fat envelope of cash sitting in the safe is the hot asphalt that fills in the occasional pothole on the road of life.
The metals have been doing okay, but I’ve slowed down on them a tad because I think there’s a slump or drop in the pricing coming up. Frankly, despite what everyone pontificates about gold:silver ratios and whatnot, I think silver is a bit high and will come down to the low twenties or lower. It occurs to me I need to start setting goals for how much physical metal I want to keep around. I need to get that in the spreadsheet.
And, finally, the market…which has pretty much recovered, for me anyway, to it’s pre Wuhan Flu levels. Actually, it’s gone way past that thanks to my decision to buy like crazy back in March and April when things were, basically, on sale. How’d that work out? Really well. In fact, I hit my 2020 goals (you do make goals, right?) for my Roth yesterday after the market closed.
Mind you, this is what I do with the money that’s left after all the usual stuff like bills, emergency funds, savings, groceries, and that sort of thing. This year was a mad dash to fill some holes in the Preponomicom but once that’s (mostly) done I can focus on the other stuff like putting away the universe’s ultimate multi-tool – money.
What’s that got to do with preparedness? Being prepared means also being prepared for the world not to end. Or, being prepared for the years (or decades) that come before the end of the world. The world could end tomorrow or it could end in 2040…and if it ends in 2040 you have twenty years ahead of you of bills, car repairs, mortgages, taxes, and retirement.
Planning for the end of the world should also include planning for the continuance of the world.
I almost completely depleted my Roth back in May – and paid off my house, which I had bought in March, after living in a rental for 6 months as a result of moving to central MT. However, I kept up my automatic withdrawals for the Roth, and am maximizing my contributions, focusing on precious metals ETFs
That left me with my 401k from my old job, which has has risen significantly, to well above pre-covid levels – I don’t expect that to last.
But, I’ll count it as a big win, regardless. Not having to pay the bank is a huge thing for me.
The Real Kurt
Love the last sentence.
Commander, your plan is solid, and I have my “excess” funds divided exactly as you do: cash, precious metals, and stock market investments. My goal with the cash and PMs is to have enough so when — not if — the market dips, I’ll have a suitable bridge built with the cash and PMs. When the market recovers and shoots up, you restore your cash and PMs. Your plan, sir, is sound.
We got out of the market entirely10 days too late (but two weeks before the bottom in March), waited 10 days after the bottom and dumped everything back in. We hit our end-of-2023 goals last week (Including contributions we haven’t made yet!). Gonna make a huge difference on the backend. What a great up-and-down-and-up year.
Dumb luck. And we are grateful as hell.
“The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” -Baron Rothschild
“Planning for the end of the world should also include planning for the continuance of the world.” Wise words.
As we age, our world gets smaller. Making our future more comfortable to live in should be a priority. Its why many of us sell unneeded clutter because maintaining / storing it becomes a real pita.
If you got into the market and bought heavy in March/April, I bet you’ve absolutely killed it over the last 3-4 months.
A post on financial preps would be interesting. 401(k) vs IRS vs Mutual Funds vs Whole Life Ins vs Individual Stocks vs REITs vs etc. etc. Go it alone vs use a broker, etc.
Not your standard survivalist fare, but it would make good fodder for a post or two, and I’m always interested to learn more about how other people approach the issue.
“If you got into the market and bought heavy in March/April, I bet you’ve absolutely killed it over the last 3-4 months.”
Well, I don’t wanna brag…but….