During the Great Depression, the average home cost 3x the average income. Today, it costs 8x as much.
In the 1930s, the average car cost about 46% of a year’s earnings. Today, they eat up 85% of the annual average wage.
Rent, which previously claimed just 16% of yearly income, now demands a staggering 42%.
By these metrics and others, the average person is in a worse position than during the Great Depression, the most challenging economic period in the last 100 years.
Got tired of waiting for the $3,000 or $5,000 or $10,000 gold these buffoons have been raving about for the last two decades. Sold mine over 3 years ago and today's price is only about $40 higher from my selling price.
Excellent observation. The markets are run by the rich and usually only involve about 20-25% of the population. The economy involves just about 100%, rich and poor. The market prices are based on perceptions while the economy is reality.
You could do worse than add to QQQ or SPX (or SCHD) in your ong term IRA every time the market dips and google searches for "market crash" spike. The herd is always wrong IMHO, whether vax or investing. At very least, have a 5.26% no fee, no minimum checking while you wait (see "gift to subscribers" post:)
I have followed gold and silver closely since 1998. The "Brown bottom" era is not coming back. But I haven't suggested any more than 10% of a portfolio in precious metals, as a diversification of currency risk. It's a strategy some people like, but it's not a growth strategy nor is it a speculation.
Junior mining and oilfield stocks still run wild from time to time. There was a nice platinum venture we recommended at Canadian $1.55 in the last quarter of 2004 which ran up to close at C$455 in 2007. That was a nice run. They were right above the underground extension of a known platinum reef and the drill cores looked right when I ran into them at the Blanchard gold show in 2004.
Your mileage always varies. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The lions never colour inside the lines and vice versa.
Agree! I still have a car paid for with junior miners and (believe it or not Zim 100 Million defunct notes I bought for $4 in 2009 and sold for 240 ea during the plandemic peak (when noobie "collectors" had PUA money to blow) I never thought monetary collapse could be so good :) They are going for around 150 now so I may pick up more. Still the highest numerical donomination in history I believe, and Zimbabwe had them printed in Sweden, so they are top notch/no fade, LOL
That's an awesome bit of success, speculating on hyperinflationary currency artefacts. One of my buddies from the digital gold biz is Bernard von NotHaus. He has a briefcase full of history. An actual "Continental" note with the "mind your business" motto. A trillion Reichsmark note from 1923 - only printed on one side.
You know hyperinflation is bad when the time it would take to turn over the stack of notes and print anything on the reverse was regarded as "taking too long."
Zimbabwe, where everyone is a billionaire and nobody has any money. Sad smiles all around.
Thanks. I misspoke. They were the Zim 100 Trillion dollar notes (my kids used one for show and tell for years)
Half of it was luck and literally forgetting I'd put wads of them in a bank box until I got an "escheatment warning" letter from the bank for not checking in for 12 years or something. Best damn letter I ever got :)
Some fun Zim facts.
At one stage the hundred trillion dollar note would not even cover a cup of coffee. There are stories of prices rising so rapidly that a journalist could end up paying twice as much for his restaurant meal if he wasn't savvy enough to pre-pay at the beginning of the meal like the locals did.
Shopkeepers would frequently double prices between the morning and afternoon, leaving workers’ pay almost worthless by the end of the day, and some were given breaks so they could rush out and convert the cash to something tangible before it inflated away.
The 100 Trillion Dollar note would barely buy a banana when the end came.
I believe Zimbabwe is back on barter, US dollar, and crypto for the most part.
I agree it's a mistake not to have some equity exposure. There are a lot of possible future conditions and gold is probably not too useful until we come out the other side. Equities are one of the better alternatives in hyperinflation. Real estate is less good because rents may underperform and there are arbitrary taxes.
The paradox is that US government debt (treasuries) may be the single worst place to park long term.... or not. This crisis will likely be in PUBLIC DEBT if they can't kick the can down the road yet again.
Still, I like rolling the 3 month treasury bills at treasurydirect for now, but still like my "gift to subscribers" with 5.26% % no fee/no minimum FDIC insured online checking idea best.
If you're keeping cash dollars then i agree treasuries are the best method, because there's no counterparty risk. I include them in my own diversification strategy because having liquid cash is important in a lot of scenarios, that are a lot more likely to happen tomorrow than hyperinflation!
Shared with my husband also named Jim, (I call him James because his mother calls him Jimmy) not on substack. He’s on the exact same page with the market. He wants little to do with precious metals or any other commodity. I’ve been watching the price of gold basically flounder. since the hype started years ago to buy precious metals. If we invest in gold it’s a necklace or something.
"Own Nothing - be Happy" 😍🫂
feat. Klausi McSchwabbin'
Watch (it's worth it!!)
https://x.com/snicklink/status/1706662702083661875?s=20
🤣🤣🤣 Klausi (rhymes with lousy) McSchwabbin
Fun Facts (Amaze your Friends!):
During the Great Depression, the average home cost 3x the average income. Today, it costs 8x as much.
In the 1930s, the average car cost about 46% of a year’s earnings. Today, they eat up 85% of the annual average wage.
Rent, which previously claimed just 16% of yearly income, now demands a staggering 42%.
By these metrics and others, the average person is in a worse position than during the Great Depression, the most challenging economic period in the last 100 years.
What is your take?
Yeah but look how cheap video streaming is now!
Got tired of waiting for the $3,000 or $5,000 or $10,000 gold these buffoons have been raving about for the last two decades. Sold mine over 3 years ago and today's price is only about $40 higher from my selling price.
Excellent observation. The markets are run by the rich and usually only involve about 20-25% of the population. The economy involves just about 100%, rich and poor. The market prices are based on perceptions while the economy is reality.
You could do worse than add to QQQ or SPX (or SCHD) in your ong term IRA every time the market dips and google searches for "market crash" spike. The herd is always wrong IMHO, whether vax or investing. At very least, have a 5.26% no fee, no minimum checking while you wait (see "gift to subscribers" post:)
I have followed gold and silver closely since 1998. The "Brown bottom" era is not coming back. But I haven't suggested any more than 10% of a portfolio in precious metals, as a diversification of currency risk. It's a strategy some people like, but it's not a growth strategy nor is it a speculation.
Junior mining and oilfield stocks still run wild from time to time. There was a nice platinum venture we recommended at Canadian $1.55 in the last quarter of 2004 which ran up to close at C$455 in 2007. That was a nice run. They were right above the underground extension of a known platinum reef and the drill cores looked right when I ran into them at the Blanchard gold show in 2004.
Your mileage always varies. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The lions never colour inside the lines and vice versa.
Agree! I still have a car paid for with junior miners and (believe it or not Zim 100 Million defunct notes I bought for $4 in 2009 and sold for 240 ea during the plandemic peak (when noobie "collectors" had PUA money to blow) I never thought monetary collapse could be so good :) They are going for around 150 now so I may pick up more. Still the highest numerical donomination in history I believe, and Zimbabwe had them printed in Sweden, so they are top notch/no fade, LOL
That's an awesome bit of success, speculating on hyperinflationary currency artefacts. One of my buddies from the digital gold biz is Bernard von NotHaus. He has a briefcase full of history. An actual "Continental" note with the "mind your business" motto. A trillion Reichsmark note from 1923 - only printed on one side.
You know hyperinflation is bad when the time it would take to turn over the stack of notes and print anything on the reverse was regarded as "taking too long."
Zimbabwe, where everyone is a billionaire and nobody has any money. Sad smiles all around.
Thanks. I misspoke. They were the Zim 100 Trillion dollar notes (my kids used one for show and tell for years)
Half of it was luck and literally forgetting I'd put wads of them in a bank box until I got an "escheatment warning" letter from the bank for not checking in for 12 years or something. Best damn letter I ever got :)
Some fun Zim facts.
At one stage the hundred trillion dollar note would not even cover a cup of coffee. There are stories of prices rising so rapidly that a journalist could end up paying twice as much for his restaurant meal if he wasn't savvy enough to pre-pay at the beginning of the meal like the locals did.
Shopkeepers would frequently double prices between the morning and afternoon, leaving workers’ pay almost worthless by the end of the day, and some were given breaks so they could rush out and convert the cash to something tangible before it inflated away.
The 100 Trillion Dollar note would barely buy a banana when the end came.
I believe Zimbabwe is back on barter, US dollar, and crypto for the most part.
On a long enough time line, or across enough alternate realities, every thing that can happen does. Zimbabwe is trying a gold standard. ikr?!
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2023/5/9/zimbabwes-new-gold-backed-digital-currency-all-you-need-to-know
Interesting! tx
I agree it's a mistake not to have some equity exposure. There are a lot of possible future conditions and gold is probably not too useful until we come out the other side. Equities are one of the better alternatives in hyperinflation. Real estate is less good because rents may underperform and there are arbitrary taxes.
The paradox is that US government debt (treasuries) may be the single worst place to park long term.... or not. This crisis will likely be in PUBLIC DEBT if they can't kick the can down the road yet again.
Still, I like rolling the 3 month treasury bills at treasurydirect for now, but still like my "gift to subscribers" with 5.26% % no fee/no minimum FDIC insured online checking idea best.
If you're keeping cash dollars then i agree treasuries are the best method, because there's no counterparty risk. I include them in my own diversification strategy because having liquid cash is important in a lot of scenarios, that are a lot more likely to happen tomorrow than hyperinflation!
Shared with my husband also named Jim, (I call him James because his mother calls him Jimmy) not on substack. He’s on the exact same page with the market. He wants little to do with precious metals or any other commodity. I’ve been watching the price of gold basically flounder. since the hype started years ago to buy precious metals. If we invest in gold it’s a necklace or something.