With the deteriorating financial climate it is wise to be prepared for any eventuality, whether it is inflation or an economic collapse leading to hyperinflation. Inflation is the most damaging factor affecting the modern financial society. Having a nest egg that is external to the banking system is a good way to be prepared for the worsening financial crisis. There are many ways in which you can create one which won’t be affected by Dollar depreciation or government intervention.
One of the best ways to hold assets is in the form of gold or other precious gemstones. Gold and silver are a form of currency which will survive inflation and hyperinflation. When the Dollar is devalued to the extent that it is worthless gold and silver will still have purchasing power.
As the value of the Dollar decreases the cost of gold and other precious materials increases. This makes gold a valuable source of finance in any economic situation. As gold is a rare commodity its worth is likely to rise with the decrease in the value of the Dollar as a result of inflation. A decrease in value will rarely be extreme. For example, a gold bullion bar weighing one ounce priced at $900 could potentially increase by 30% in a year making the gold bullion bar worth $1,170. According to goldprice.org the net value of gold has increased by 534% in the last 15 years. This correlates to the inflation of the US Dollar and is proportional to its value over the past 10 years. The ‘R’ of gold, which represents its base constant value, is between 0.85 and 1.15 (wikipedia.org). This means that statistically a gold bullion bar with an R-value of $900 will never be worth less than $765, which is a 15% decrease in value. Evidence shows that in the last 10 years there was a net increase of 519% in the value of gold. In a sentence, as inflation or hyperinflation occurs the value of gold and other precious resources increases proportionally.
As of March 2013 the global debt was set at $50.3 trillion and is rising exponentially (economist.com). Providing this trend continues, it is likely that the value of the Dollar will continue to decrease due to inflation. This means that the value of gold and other hard assets will continue to increase. Gold is not the only substance that will increase in value due to the substantial depreciation of the Dollar. This is true of almost all commodities that are limited in amount. Oil like gold will increase in value exponentially within the next 15 years. Unfortunately due to the volume of space required for storing oil, it may not be feasible for large amounts to be stored by members of the general public. Precious metals and gemstones can be more easily held making them a valuable way to store money for the future. Primary hard assets such as land, fuel or precious metals should be purchased before any economic crisis such as when inflation or hyperinflation occurs. These assets possess a constant intrinsic value independent of the economy. Fewer Dollars will be required to obtain them before any worsening of the current financial state. Once held these assets should be stored outside of the banking system to avoid government intervention such as in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina when martial law was introduced.
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Another important way of preparing for inflation or economic collapse is:
Buying large amounts of essentials. Stockpiling food is often associated with survivalists and conspiracies. This is not the only use and motive. A man in America became entirely reliant on his stockpile last year and lived almost nine months mostly using his storage supplies of food in the basement when both he and his wife lost their jobs. They also had to take on a family member who had lost their house and moved state in the same year (Survive!:Episode 1095). Most cases will not be as severe as this but having a small storage supply of food can help in many economic situations from losing your job to not receiving a paycheck and being short on cash for a limited amount of time. It should be noted that, when storing food, hard assets or liquid assets, government influence should be avoided. Money should be withdrawn and stored in the form of gold or silver in segregated safe deposit boxes outside of the banking system as this will prevent government confiscations such as in 1933 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Using these methods allows for a financial safety net that can help in almost any economic hardship from inflation to economic collapse.
