Buy 1 oz. (or larger) silver bars for physical possession

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Gives you time to pull the plugs!

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

.....

[jonp]

You surely might be right, with your thoughts conveyed in your first sentence.

>>>BUT, you also give evidence to the contrary...meaning, I'd bet dollars to donuts that if that TV thief also grabbed a bag of Cheetos and a loaf of Bread, that he would probably swap that loaf FOR a gold colored chain with his favorite Rapper's moniker on it. LOL

lol, can't argue with that reasoning

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

.....

[RogerDat]

Precious metals move opposite many other investments. So while stock market is strong, with moderate inflation noise to discourage investment then equities will be up and precious metals lower. IOU's (bonds, T-Bills) return or yield more if people are getting out of stocks. Precious metals are a place to "stash" cash during a stock market downturn, they provide a safe harbor. Now bonds might return a known interest but if inflation outstrips that rate you are losing value. Precious metal returns an unknown return but inflation won't outpace it, more likely inflation will drive precious metal prices up even faster as inflation rises.

As part of the investment mix it makes some sense to hold a fairly modest portion in precious metals as a hedge, or as an investment with somewhat moderate downside risk. You might lose some profits, or if you buy high and are forced to sell into a down metals market you lose some but not likely to lose the whole investment. Bonds can default, companies can fold or be hit with negative outcomes or events driving the stock into the gutter. Assuming you bought at gold peak and sold into the valley you would still be better off than bonds paying 20 cents on the dollar or $20 stock that is now trading at $1.37.

Beans, band-aids, bullets. I like that. I can't lose if I buy something I will use in the normal course of events. I eat soup, I eat rice, and chili and canned fruits and vegetables. I use toilet paper. Ammo. First Aid kit. Kerosene and propane and gasoline. Seeds in the freezer for next year bought when they go on sale this year. All stuff that will be used if nothing goes wrong. And if things go wrong enough that having a 5 year supply of toilet paper on hand makes me a wise investor then all I can say is keep the corn cobs after you shell the corn because we are going to a subsistence life style and corn cobs are usable if not great or pleasant wipes. That white pot ash from the fire is useful too.

I have investments intended to supplement retirement. Help me live in the style I'm accustomed to, indoors and with plumbing, lights and amenities like those. Not going to invest much in pretty but non-functional items for shtf scenario. Ok I might make a shotgun dripper and the only excuse I could make would be post apocalypse need to make shot. I'm lying but if it gets the cost past the budget director I'll use it. See having lived through Y2K there is a tendency for me to be skeptical. I want enough cash on hand that if the network which allows debit cards to work goes down I can still buy some fuel and groceries if needed until it gets fixed. In that scenario my silver quarter is worth exactly 25 cents to the store or gas station.

Better off with parts for a still in shtf than you are with precious metals. You can spend gold and silver but you can make a living with a still. Have a shelf full of fish or a fishing boat? Hmmm. You know there is a bit in Game of Thrones during a siege when a leader is explaining that the thing about sieges and tough times is they make the scoundrels wealthy and the wealthy and industrious people poor from buying food from the scoundrels that will steal, hoard, and sell food or medicine on the black market to the desperate for outrageous piles of gold and gems. Not sure that wouldn't apply to a shtf scenario too.

About my only investment in shtf supplies would be lead powder and primers, plus a couple of die sets I don't really need but are very common calibers. Thing is I'll use the components, they provide present day value, plus insulation from future spot scarcities or price increases. Even the dies allow friends or family to come over and load a box if needed, which offers a present day value. I'm not buying 20 year sealed food supply for 6 months. I would be pissed every time I looked at it. Stocked pantry shelf, looks good to me. Especially if I catch a good sale.

[FISH4BUGS]

I think the bottom line of my original post was simply to put something away as a hedge against inflation.
I have plenty of food put away in freezers with 50 gallons of generator fuel backup. Starting to harvest veggies and put them into the freezer.
Plenty of guns and ammo on hand. Plenty of components. Plenty of parts to build a fair number of AR's.
I am surrounded by farmers that I can (and have) bartered with. As their hired woodchuck assassin they are grateful for every carcass.
IMHO, at today's prices silver is a good hedge against inflation. It may go up but it won't go down all that much, if any.
Jeez....I am starting to sound like a prepper. Not a prepper, just covering my butt.
But you never know.

[snowwolfe]

My food prepping consists of keeping a huge bag of rice, beans, and flour in the pantry as well as being stocked with our favorite consumables. That and two full freezers should keep us for months as we have plenty of gas to operate a small generator.

Onto the silver again.............buy a little each month if you can with prices this low. It will average out over time. Take whatever you have that is extra spending money and put the metals in the "bank". Hopefully at some point a nice profit will happen. But if it doesnt you will not lose much buying it in the $15-16 range. With most banks still paying less than 1/2% interest your risk is small.

[Lloyd Smale]

good in theory but now everyone knows you have it. How long can you defend it against say 50 hungry armed attackers. A much smarter thing to do with your wheat then trading it for gold would be to feed enough people that you really could defend your stash against a mob of armed people. Bottom line too is very few of us have a grain bin or a stash big enough to do what you do. Most of us have food for a couple months and will need to either take more by force or by trade and ammo, toilet paper, booze and cigarettes will buy you more then shiny metal will. Especially if theres no end in sight for the situation. Now if your talking something we know we will recover from in a couple months then your gold will buy a lot.

you guys are thinking on too small a scale as to what gold or silver will do if the shtf.

yes, if I only have a couple loafs of bread, I'm not taking any amount of anything for them if my family needs them.

now look at the bigger picture, I have a huge grain bin full of wheat that can be made into a million loafs of bread, do you think I need to trade for something joe blow has, highly unlikely, but if a fellow shows up with a semi and gold or silver he will leave with a load of wheat. think you will just come and take the wheat by force, hope you get the bin that was not just treated with foxtoxin for bugs.

farmer brown down the road is in debt and the bank is foreclosing, do you think the bank will take your loafs of bread to purchase his farm, doubt it, but they would take gold or silver and now you own a farm.

in Colorado they have property tax and if you don't pay they auction your land off, I bet the government will take pm's as payment and let you keep your property.

[rancher1913]

we have more than enough "fed" people to defend it already, anybody that thinks they are just going to "take" if the shtf will be dead early on, yah you might take one or two houses but there is always a butcher for every bull.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Like so many threads, this one went far, far afield didn't it? There is a great deal of truth in what almost everyone has said here. Personally, although I have some gold and silver coins stashed away, I am not seeking more. I considered my financial circumstances, likely remaining life span, and anticipated needs and quit acquiring at that amount. I put it somewhere and put it out of my mind, and really don't think about it. If it increases in value so much the better, but it's just there in case I should need it. As for the food supply, I've also taken care of that for about 5 years. Stocked up on primers, powder, and lead on the theory that a boolit caster will never be out of ammo, and a moderate amount of manufactured ammo as well. But the truth of the matter is that you can only do what you can do, and there's always the unexpected. You can't eat silver or gold, but just maybe it will buy you something to eat. Maybe not. But isn't that what life is all about? You do the best you can and try to cover the eventualities.

[Big Tom]

I bought and still buy "a few" silver bars and Silver Dollars - I buy them in sealed plastic packages with certifications on them, so selling should be a non-issue. For me, not so much about SHTF, but an easy way to save some money that I have full control over, without the risk of losing it all.
Agree with the "be cautious" warnings here when it comes to high value coins and non-standard bars.

[mold maker]

If your knowledge of collector coins is lacking, stay away. Common silver rounds and bars are rarely faked, and the value is tied to spot price. It still pays to stick with recognized mints.
Everyone brings up the SHTF and while it isn't impossible, it is highly doubtful that anyone here will see it. We might have to travel some distance to find work or better our position. Transporting that silo full of grain or multi years food supply may be impossible. Having a mattress stuffed with $100 dollar bills will only cause a sore back and an empty belly.
there is no easier way to take your savings with you than precious metals and gems unless you can still trust the banking system. But remember they can only exist as long as it is profitable off of you.

[bangerjim]

If your knowledge of collector coins is lacking, stay away. Common silver rounds and bars are rarely faked, and the value is tied to spot price. It still pays to stick with recognized mints.
Everyone brings up the SHTF and while it isn't impossible, it is highly doubtful that anyone here will see it. We might have to travel some distance to find work or better our position. Transporting that silo full of grain or multi years food supply may be impossible. Having a mattress stuffed with $100 dollar bills will only cause a sore back and an empty belly.
there is no easier way to take your savings with you than precious metals and gems unless you can still trust the banking system. But remember they can only exist as long as it is profitable off of you.

Don't count out the SHTF happening in our lifetimes!.............

Just read where the park services closed down part of Yellowstone due to a huge 100 foot gash opening up very unexpectedly. And the earthquake activity up there has been increasing significantly over the past months. Yellowstone has no gone off in over 650,000 years and it due.

If it did blow, 87,000 people around there would be killed immediately and over 1/2 the US would become uninhabitable in just a few days!

That is a lot of "S" hitting the "F" in my book! Mabe you in NC might not see it immediately, but the ash cloud would block out the sun globally and lead to a "nuclear winter" for quite and extended period. The Midwest would cease grain production. Most crops everywhere would die. Not a pretty picture.

And look at what is going on in Hawaii and other locations on the Ring of Fire around the Pacific. Those plates are shifting (or NOT) and something is brewing. Mabe not tomorrow.....or even 100's years from now, but it is a potential disaster waiting to happen. Some day.

So the doom and gloom scenarios are not just nuclear bombs, gamma ray bursts, meteors, etc. Earth itself is a pressure cooker waiting to blow.

banger

[mold maker]

Do you have faith? Eventually all things will end. At that time all the wealth, food, and planning in the world wont prevent the inevitable. Infinity is just a dream of short sited people.
Every morning I awake on the green side (while it still exist) I am grateful, but I do not fear the end or obsess over physical possessions.

[Mr_Sheesh]

The Yellowstone gash is landslide related, I'm told. Not close enough to go check it though. Problem nowadays is that there are so many "Iffy" data sources that finding out what the heck is actually going on, is next to impossible, seems at times.

[snowwolfe]

Back on tract.................the price is still dropping. Thinking seriously of adding some more to the stash. Current spot is $15.29. I might hold out for the $14 range.

[JimB..]

Heard on NPR yesterday from a Democrat that so long as the economy holds they do not believe that they have a candidate that can get the WH away from Trump. If that thinking becomes pervasive I think a $14 target for silver might not be low enough.

[mold maker]

Never for short term gains but purchasing 5-10 oz on a regular basis as long as its falling is wise. Eventually it will be profitable regardless and a wind fall is always possible. It's a poor mans stock market and more fun then a piggy bank.