Let's say in 3 years, all banks collapse, paper money worthless.....

What would be good to invest in before say that was to happen???

Silver or gold coins?? Guns, etc??

Whats a good invest for this scenario, that would also be good and have fast liquiditiy if this wasn't to occur anytime soon?

[edit on 5-1-2009 by dominicus]

The best thing to have is knowledge and the skills to make or build things.

nahh cash is still good, but ill take all your gold, just send it in a paper envelop to cashforsmooth dot com

bartering it good, and as ohioriver says, if you can make something useful, then your ALOT better off. I wouldnt place a large wager on the price of gold being stablein the long run, but then again, im not a futures trader...

the worst possible bet is to have all your eggs in one basket

I've always felt that if we truly had a global economic collapse that "precious metals" would be as worthless as anything else...Food would be the most precious thing once people are starving.

That being said if we had a really bad collapse of economy and government a barter system would at least for a short time become common. Being able to trade your knowledge and skill to survive would be valuable.

You might be able to use gold, silver or jewelry in general to some things done in post banking system, sell them on the black market and then buy the new currency and hope for the best. But no matter what you'll be taking a loss with them.

Your best bet is be self sufficient and hope that you have enough reserve currency to convert into the new currency again significantly devalued whenever the new monetary system gets going... which eventually it will.

Just look back at history for ideas on how to survive financial collapses, and look at life in the third world, get familiar with how they survive and learn to do without the comforts that we take for granted now.

btw I really hope this doesn't happen in our life time, wishful thinking on my part.....

reply to post by PhoenixDemon


I tend to agree with that. Precious metals are a poor choice in a longer term, total economic collapse.

If a person is going to stockpile, then you're going to be much better off with items that have a use. Food is certainly high on the list. Tools, firearms and ammunition would also excel as trade commodities. And, as you say, your own skills could be highly valuable in such a situation and might be worth more than any tangible object could ever be.

Myself, I've always thought that lowly .22lr ammunition would end up being the gold of the post-apocalyptic world.

reply to post by dominicus


Unopened bottles of name brand booze.
Good for trade or use!

Yes, stuff like food, medical creams and disinfectants, bullets, vitamins, solar panels to provide electricity, water filters (you could make a killing with a deluxe water purification system) and fuel, although it may be very dangerous to store fuel.

It could even be a gamble, maybe TSHTF won't happen for a few more decades, if ever, and you'll be stuck with a crate full of old hat solar panels that couldn't power up a calculator.

Anything that can't be found in the junkyard or the attic by rummagers would be number 1.

Get things that you know would run out if the trucks stop coming to your local grocery shop and things you know your area does not produce, something long lasting, beneficial, yet not that easy to procure in shortage situations.

These will be the high ticket items.

On another note, everyone should know how to grow food, because if the grocery trucks stopped coming it is the item that will run out the fastest with no choice in its consumption.

Eventually the quality and not the quantity of the food you eat becomes an issue to your continued survival, with the danger greatest the nearer one is to major urban centers.

Food would be king, and gold would be crap... well maybe



[edit on 6-1-2009 by star in a jar]

Gold is the universal currency. There is not a nation on this Earth that will refuse to take it as form of payment. It has been used for thousands of years because of it's properties, rarity, and luster.

The value of gold has been going up over the past few years.

Food on the other hand will not last long, and will not be a good form of currency, unless you're using salt or honey (honey is the only food to exist to never rot, and salt is used for almost everything).

[edit on Tue Jan 6th 2009 by DJMessiah]

Originally posted by dominicus
What would be good to invest in before say that was to happen???

Silver or gold coins?? Guns, etc??

Whats a good invest for this scenario, that would also be good and have fast liquiditiy if this wasn't to occur anytime soon?

[edit on 5-1-2009 by dominicus]

We covered this a few weeks ago, most switched on survivalists had laid down items they can barter with, such as fuel, tools, coffee, ammo, medical supplies etc. The best currencies will be things people actually can use so coinage is pretty worthless, but food, fuel, ammo, medicines, seed grain, livestock etc will dominate until promisory notes once again become acceptable.

It would come down to the most basic things and in some cases the primitive things that could sustain you and your familys life that would become the 'new' currency.

People have said gold etc, but 99% of people wouldnt know the value of gold or which carat it was anyway, so could easily get ripped off.

Having the ingredients, means, knowledge and skills to make bread will far outweigh the value of gold.

The best way of seeing what life would be like is to research some of the poorer areas of the world today and see how they live. For some of them, little has changed for centuries.

I agree with bartering for and with items.
Wine and things like whiskey I feel would be great to barter with, along with all those item's mentioned before.
Also learn how to reuse metal, as being able to make panels, knives etc would be more than useful to many people.

Also, if you were near a farm, they may allow you food and shelter in return for farm labour.

Colec