How to survive a bank run?

I am sorry guys, I had NO CLUE where to put this.

I will use myself as an example.
If there were to be a run on the banks, I am guessing I would want my money out before it happens.
Lets say you are able to get all your money out.
Then there is a run or you are able to get it out while it is happening.
What are some things you do:
Do you cancel your direct deposit with you employer?
Do you mail off cash to pay bills like car payment?
Do you move the money to a "secure" bank?

Thoughts?

why would you pay bills if there was a run on banks? Buy food and ammo and stash or convert the rest to gold, or just keep all the cash if inflation doesnt scare you.

reply to post by lardo5150


How to survive? Get to the punch before everyone else! Get it out now! plucky is not kidding! I got my money out weeks ago!

Calm...plucky, calm now.

Indeed get cash out. Gold is retarded.... For example say you are selling a car and a guy pulls up and says I want to buy your car. do you take gold?

What do you do? do you have a way of proving the gold is gold? establishing a standard of value? measuring out a proper amount for value?


get cash. get goods-you can sell these to survive.
Learn a trade. if no one has money and no one is willing to sell stuff fixing a broken car could be worth dinner for your family.

and what do you do when you are due to get paid again? direct deposit right?

So then what you worked two weeks, have no money, and cant get any. Do you quit your job or continue working?

Well, i will start by carrying a gun and gathering cash.


Then I will use forms of electronic payment to buy goods... you dont need cash if there is power and phone lines right?

Good point about the gold.

that is what so many people miss when they talk about gold. That is the draw of the South African gold Krugerrand. This coin is widely accepted as being pure gold (not lead covered gold) and 1 oz. that is why they are openly traded. bullion and bars can be suspect as to their purity. and honestly who knows the difference between gold dust and bronze or other gold colored dust?
Assuming that dust would be the most used type of gold. Look at American coins. Quarters are serrated on the edge because when they were made of silver people would shave the smooth round edge. with the serrations you can't get away with that. This is the same reason we have ornately engraved coins instead of blanks.

in a survival economy goods and services talk and currency and heavy metals walk.

My wife and I are looking at cashing out a new property about 750 miles north of us. This will clear out most of our holdings in the banks. For the last couple of years we have been moving more and more to a cash only program. No direct deposit, pay most of our bills in cash, only use a credit card or write a check if under pressure. We have moved most of our savings into cash in banks and away from stocks and bonds. We have accounts set up in different banks so if there is a problem with one we can still access the cash in the other. We have a few weeks food on hand and enough fire wood to keep warm if the power or gas goes off line.

We have changed our habits to allow laying in some goods. Save $30 bucks a month by not going out to eat once a month. We make our coffee in the morning instead of buying coffee on the way to work. That is enough savings so that we can stock up during the month without much pain. At this point we have only utility bills to worry about but it took a number of years to get here.

the issue with not utilizing the stock market and other financial assets for saving for retirement is inflation. wikipedia for inflation concept

So, if you have not fear of a total bank failure in the next three to six months you money is better left in the stock market.
The five year average for the stock market is still up yahoo finance
Even if we are down in the short term... remember investing is a long term event (more than one year). Anything shorter is speculation...

Now you do have a good point when you point out that short term event can effect long term holdings, such as the AIG failure....

well, this is why you diversify. Also, how much of a market share was AIG? and how much of the dip in the market is due to just that one company pulling out (think the change in water level of the bath tub when you get out. You didn't lose that much water, but it did go down because you left )

So, is you money safe right now in the market... not 100% that is why you expect a return on your money. This is also why you get little to no interest in a regular bank account.

banks, companies, the government; all of these entities pay you for taking the risk of loaning them money... called interest.
the more risky the investment the more you should expect in interest ( same as when you buy a house or car)

I went to the bank to get a little (emphasis on little) wad of cash to eek through a rumored weeklong bank holiday. I will keep out enough to get a little booze and some food. I am set to go fishing this week in hopes of freezing a dozen or two meals before it gets too cold. I will give up the booze if it comes down to it no problem. Food is not so easy to give up.

I will be adding to a little piggybank until the coast looks clear and continue to stock up on the essentials.

Has anyone heard anything about a bank holiday? That would trigger a run unless they announce it on a Friday afternoon. Suprise!