Nixon Speech - Closing the Gold Window

40 years ago today Nixon closed the Gold Window:



If you really want to know what it meant read King World News with Jim Rickards

Ferdinand Lips and "Gold Wars"

Listen to this video, I learned a great deal from this interview with Lawrence Parks of FAME.

May 2011 Net Worth: Down -1.39%

Sorry I took last month off net worth even though it was one of best months we have had in 2011. That being said we came off last month and had our first down month of 2011 which was down -.97% on our assets and overall our net worth was down -1.39%. This was all because of the surge in silver the month before when it ran up from $36oz. to $49oz. and back down to $33oz. Needless to say that our portfolio has taking a wild ride over the last couple months. Hopefully it has stabilized, but I have a bad feeling that this summer is going to take us for an even crazier ride with all markets. Think we might be on the edge of another downturn and will wait and see what the Fed does once the market heads south.

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: Small growth in cash, we are going to start to raise a little more cash in the next coming months. I think there might be an opportunity to buy some cheaper stocks or that we could see a slow down with the economy. Still trying to get to that 50k mark...

Precious Metals: (Spot : Gold - $1542.00 / Silver - $36.29) (Gold/Silver Ratio: 42.56) Saw a huge hit to this bracket with the run up and then crash. This is good for us as I still believe over the next 3-5 years silver will break $100.00 and we want to keep dollar cost averaging in a lower prices (we are sitting at around $28.00 cost average). So we have done fairly well with this so far...

...we are currently investing mostly in silver which I plan to sell and purchase gold when the silver to gold ratio is 30/1 then 20/1 the finally 10/1 if it make it that far which I do believe it will at least reach 16/1(its historic ratio). I plan on always owning silver and gold bullion to pass along to my kids/grandchildren.

Stocks/Brokerage: Sitting tight with our brokerage accounts right now. Raising some cash to and watching some oil, gold and another rare earth company. Also looking a purchusing some Whole Foods.

Also looking to purchase some oil companies if we get a pullback. My plan is to keep purchasing Mining and Energy companies, as I still believe that Gold, Silver, Rare Earths, and Oil are in a bull market and I will ride the trend until I feel it is not undervalued. Gold and Silver mining stocks are so undervalued right now, my only concern is if we see a big stock market pullback then these stocks will get crushed. Once institutions come into this sector the gains could be huge, so we will have to wait and see which way the wind blows.

The list of stocks we currently own: (FVITF)(SLW)(SVM)(SSRI)(PAAS)(AAU)(DNN)(EXC)(PWE)(PHYS)(EGO)(AUY)((LYSCF)(RGLD)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio being diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This bracket is just both my wife and my retirement, adding money to our retirement funds every month.

Retirement IRA's: (Same as last month) Still having some cash on the sideline and will figure out what this market wants to do and see if I can put it to work. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX, VGPMX)

Real Estate: Couple more units in our new development have sold so this is good. 6 out of 8 homes have sold and they are looking to break ground on a new set of town homes. The plan here is to keep our money that we were going to put down as a down payment in the bank or investments. We will try and hedge our payments with trying to pay off the home in 10-15 yrs depending on what comes our way. This might change along the way depending on kids, economy, jobs and so forth.

Debts and Liabilities -

Credit Cards: Debt from couple monthly purchases - will be paid in full.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. When it hits 3k I might just write a check and pay it off. Will see how the economy and money goes the next couple of months.

Home Mortgage: Mostly paying interest on our home at the moment, so not much of a dent here.

We are almost at the half way mark for the year. We are feeling pretty good about our situation. These summer months the wife will not be getting a pay check so the cash might be a tad bit tough to save as much as we have been. Battling between saving up 50k in cash vs. buying silver while the price is still relatively cheap. Still trying to figure all this out and will remain nimble and remain learning every month. Till next month...

Reminder for days like today

With Gold and Silver taking a huge hit and the main stream media talking bubble bursting around gold and silver I think it is a good time to post this from jsmineset.com

Contemplate what each of the following means to you one at a time. Do not try to do them all at once. You do not want to do this as a routine memory exercise as much as a meditation on why you have bought the insurance you have.

- Gold is a currency with no liabilities attached.
- Gold is competition to paper currency.
- Gold is not a commodity.
- Gold is a barometer of fear.
- Gold is a barometer of confidence in Government.
- Gold is insurance.
- Insurance is not something to trade.
- Gold is money when money fails.
- Hyperinflation is a currency event, not an economic event.
- Hyperinflation is a currency event described as a loss of confidence in the currency.
- Gold in your hand eliminates counter-party risk.
- Gold is the high ground when the global tsunami hits.
- Gold removes financial agents between you and your assets.

Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two

Round 2:

Round 1:

John Hathaway on Paper Money

Mike Maloney Gold & Silver When To Sell? Real Estate-When To Buy?

February 11 Net Worth: 11% Growth

Wow, two months already into the year...time is flying by. Sorry about not posting, but am really focus on doing what I need to set my self up later down the road. I just don't have time with work and really doing research for investments. I'm still not sure how everything still plays out, but I feel good with what we are doing with our money.
Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: Another jump in our cash savings. This would be jumping a lot more but we are currently putting a percentage of our savings in Precious Metals as our insurance of our fiat paper. I feel that PM's are a store of wealth where our cash is only a currency.

Stocks/Brokerage: Stocks jumped this month with some more purchases and that the silver/mining stocks are on fire right now. One of my mining stocks (Fronteer Gold) got purchased my Newmont and the the stock jumped. I sold it with a percentage gain of 65%. I also sold Avalon Rare Metals with a percentage of 196%, this was a speculation buy so figured I should take my gains and reinvest them.

I've purchased SSRI, PAAS, AAU and DNN in the last couple months. I also added to my position of RGLD. Will keep looking to add here...looking to purchase some oil companies if we get a pullback. My plan is to keep purchasing Mining and Energy companies, as I still believe that Gold, Silver, Rare Earths, and Oil are in a bull market and I will ride the trend until I feel it is not undervalued.

The list of stocks we currently own: (SLW)(SVM)(SSRI)(PAAS)(AAU)(DNN)(EXC)(PWE)(PHYS)(EGO)(AUY)((LYSCF)(RGLD)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio being diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This bracket is just both my wife and my retirement, adding money to our retirement funds every month.

Retirement IRA's: (Same as last month) Still having some cash on the sideline and will figure out what this market wants to do and see if I can put it to work. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX, VGPMX)

Real Estate: So this is a new category, based off getting 100% financing, right now its not even an asset based of not having any equity in our home. The plan here is to keep our money that we were going to put down as a down payment in the bank or investments. We will try and hedge our payments with trying to pay off the home in 10-15 yrs depending on what comes our way. This might change along the way depending on kids, economy, jobs and so forth.

Debts and Liabilities -

Credit Cards: Debt from couple monthly purchases from work and such, will be paid in full.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next year.

Home Mortgage: Mostly paying interest on our home at the moment, so not much of a dent here.

There you have it. We remain being blessed and keep making the right moves with our money. I am still keeping a close eye on what all is going on with the stuff going on in the middle east. These oil prices are going to effect our economy and could do even more if the Dollar keeps falling like it has over the past couple months. Until next month, wish us luck.

Purchasing Power of the Dollar

I am a visual person...This pretty much sums up a lot

MUST WATCH - The American Dream (Animated)

Jim Sinclair's Mindset on Federal Reserve

Seriously, it is hard to hide my contempt of this disgusting scene. This band of fools somehow believes that prosperity can be created by printing money without any consequences whatsoever. The US is sinking under a mountain of indebtedness and the Fed chairman tells us that it stands ready to engage in even more QE should the need arise. Flash to Ben – the need shall arise. China is already balking at buying US debt meaning you are going to have to buy it all yourself Ben.

What we are witnessing is the death throes of a debt-based monetary system of which those presiding over it apparently have come to believe their own delusions. The US public is learning what our grandfathers learned as a result of the Great Depression – Debt is something to be avoided – not heaped up and accumulated. That the borrower becomes the lender’s slave and that living beyond ones own means is inherently foolish and dangerous. That saddling one’s children and grandchildren with a debt burden that they did not create is immoral and wicked. Yet, all of this is lost upon the monetary lords who have their noses so close to the ground sniffing out the scent that they cannot see the path ahead leads off the edge of an abyss from which there is no escape. Or perhaps they do see and are attempting to secure their own parachutes before leading the rest of the masses over the edge.

I repeat – if lasting prosperity could be created by printing money and giving it away, previous generations that were wiser and more frugal than ours would long ago have stumbled upon this axiom.

That brings us to the war on gold. I am still amazed that after all these years and notwithstanding all the evidence to the contrary, there are still those obtuse enough to insist that there are no official sector attempts to manage or stem the rise in the price of gold. Gold is the only currency that these debasement thieves cannot pollute by conjuring more of it into existence. It rises when distrust of paper currencies is high and confidence in the ability of those who supposedly manage monetary affairs wanes. Thus it is and always will be in direct competition with unbacked fiat currencies.

Our money masters hate the yellow metal because its rise mocks their absurd assertions and debunks their claims of being able to “manage the economy”. It strikes, dagger-like, at the very hubris of these elitists who think that they are wiser than the collective judgment of the entire market, they alone possessing such keen insight into the nature of these matters that we should entrust our financial health to their hands. Imagine the conceit of a few men who think that by pulling on this lever or pushing on this button, that they can assure continuous prosperity and lasting wealth for all. Every generation considers itself wiser than the previous one which is why history does indeed repeat itself. Arrogant men never learn for they lack the one thing essential to make one truly wise – the ability to admit that we do not know all things nor that we mere mortals can always fix what ails us.

-Dan Norcini

Taken from Jim Sinclair's MindSet

Tony Robbins Economic Warning 1-2

Fiat Designed to Fail

April 10 Net Worth:

Another great month even though we didn't see a huge amount of growth. We didn't see the stock market do it normal routine of going straight up daily. Still pushing through and hoping we don't hit a bumpy road with the stock market and wedding expenses.
Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: This month we took a bit of a hit, mostly because purchases of stocks. I am not sure we will see much growth here the next couple of months, the wedding expenses are starting to add up, and do not see it stopping for the next couple months. This money grows from money directly transferred from paycheck to my money market. I do not see this money unless I have a big emergency. It is the money that we are saving for a downpayment on a house.
This bracket holds the funds for insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA, and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 13-15k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: My stocks seem to perform well for me this month as gold is moving up everyday. With gold movement it is making all the mining and etfs I have go up as well. One of the best performing miner that I hold right now is Eldorado Gold Corp. (EGO) I am really happy with the purchase of this and wish I would have bought more. One of the stocks I have on my watch list is Silver Wheaton Corp (SLW) which some think is easily worth $30/share. As of right now I am holding back and hopefully save up some cash. The list of stocks I own (GLD)(SLV)(EGO)(AUY)(AVARF)(RGLD)(ZQK)(XOM)(CVX).

*As you can see I am heavy in commodities in my brokerage account. This is all based on my thought that over the next decade the best investments are going to actually be in hard assets. My Roth/IRA/401k are in pretty common index funds and mutual funds so I figure I can go more risky with brokerage. I believe these will out perform equities in the next decade and if nothing else I feel more comfortable with my portfolio diverse. I am bearish on the US Dollar and US Economy, I believe that trillion dollar deficits are not going bode well for the USA.

Retirement 401k: This braket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Saw a nice little jump this month with the stock market. I'm not really checking on this bracket(daily/weekly) as it really long term and I just keep pumping money into it every paycheck.

Retirement IRA's: Slow growth here this month. I still think the market is going to correct itself. I will keep cash on the sidelines and just try and max out my fiancés and my Roth's next year. In this bracket I have all Vanguard Funds (VTSMX, VGSTX, VEIEX)

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle under 10K!! Credit Cards done...

Credit Cards: This is just a more wedding stuff purchased with credit (Wedding outfit), it will be paid off before I am charged - I pay off any Credit Card debt monthly.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little, but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next year. We are still saving up for a house so not sure its in our best interest to get rid of our cash sitting to be debt free on my vehicle.

April is now in the bank, I am still extremely bearish on the world economy and the US economy...We are headed for a financial storm and it is very important for all of us to be up to date on current events. It time to be prepared for the worse and pray for the best. I will be saving as much as I can but with the wedding I am going to be running low on cash flow. We will see how it all plays out here...

The Great Con Job: Must Watch

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Another Must Listen: Dr. Lawrence Parks

Dr. Lawrence Parks Executive Director Foundation of the Advancement of Monetary Education (FAME) Topic: Collapse of the Dollar

via: Financial Sense News Hour

January 2010 Net Worth: Starting Off Right

The start of 2010 was a good month for us even though the market was down. We have a lot on tap for 2010—our wedding, honeymoon, bachelor party, 2-3 friends wedding. If we can just keep it up in 2010 as we did in 2009 we will be truly blessed.

Lets break it down:

Cash & Savings: We saw cash savings drop 5k, but that was because we paid off our credit cards which were interest free that had my fiancé diamond and our honeymoon. It feels amazing to know that our honeymoon is paid in full. This is why I was didn't see much growth in this area over the last few months. I also bought some stock at the beginning of the month. Hopefully we will start to see some growth in this area over the net coming months, even though with wedding stuff, it might not grow the way I would like. This bracket holds the funds for my down payment on house(which is pushed back until after the wedding), insurance, auto maintenance, Roth IRA(before I max it out), and vacation. This is why it can be a little deceiving, it also holds my monthly budget in it. It has about 13-15k sitting around as savings the rest are funds that are going to be used at some point over the year. The rest is used on a daily bases for covering expenses, rent, food, auto, etc...

Stocks/Brokerage: Stocks have been slowly growing over the past few months, as I have bought some stocks I have been watching along with with some hedging. I bought some Exxon(XOM) and Chevron(CVX) stocks as a hedge for crude oil prices which I see going up in 2010. I drive around 40 miles to work everyday so gas is a big expense. I bought the stock while crude oil was around 76 a barrel. If crude oil goes down the stock goes down but if it raises my stocks hopefully will raise with it. I also have gold/silver and mining stocks and couple other random ones - (GLD)(SLV)(EGO)(AUY)(FAZ)(ZQK)

Retirement 401k: This braket is just me adding money to my 401k every month. Not seeing much growth here this last month. I not really checking on this bracket as it really long term and I just keep pumping money into it every paycheck. This month it jumped up based of my company 401k match which is nice since the match was suspended in 2008.

Retirement IRA's: Overall I lost money this month with my Roth as I have started to dollar cost averaging in to max it out the rest of the year. I still have a big chunk of cash sitting on the sidelines which will hopefully be maxed out before April 15th. If I still think the market is going to correct itself I will keep it on the sidelines and just try and max out my fiancés and my Roth's next year.

Debts and Liabilities - Vehicle under 10K!! Credit Cards done...

Credit Cards: All the credit card debt we had was from a credit card with a 12 month 0% APR. Last month also I had a balance because we paid for our honeymoon, and it was on the balance but we paid it off before we accrued any interest. This is a great feeling even though I could have paid the other credit card off but we had cash sitting in a high yield saving account gaining a small amount of interest.

Car Loan: I am paying 4% APR on it so I am paying a little but not a ton. Still looking to pay it off early-will probably be a goal this or next ear. I ended paying near $458.00 dollars in interest last year(dang) but still just contemplating paying off early. We are still saving up for a house so not sure its in our best interest to get rid of our cash sitting to be debt free on my vehicle.

So overall January was a exciting month with our credit card debt being gone. Still kicking up the saving as we have the wedding and possibly home owning in our future.

Thoughts from Chumbawamba

Here is some thoughts from (Chumbawamba) poster over at Zerohedge.com:

In a nutshell (because my education took years, so you can't expect me to give you the important background to my argument in one posting, or even several) this system is f*cked. Our debt-to-GDP ration is well beyond what other empires experienced just before their collapse. Our central bank is monetizing thin air to pay off the financial blackholes created by unregulated/out-of-control over-the-counter derivatives that are valued at well over $600 trillion globally, and our government is planning to borrow every last unit of currency under the moon in order to keep from falling into a fiscal abyss. How the hell does anyone expect this is going to turn out anything but very, very badly?

There are now literally tens of trillions of dollars of liabilities stretching from here on decades into the future. Our debt-based monetary system means these liabilities will only increase in cost and interest as time goes on. From where are the revenues going to come? The pace of productivity and wealth creation in this nation will have to inflate accordingly. How is this going to be accomplished? Do you have any answers? Does anyone?

We took a quantum leap from billions to trillions--a thousand-fold increase--in our economic discourse. It follows then that our GDP will have track this increase to keep up with the new normal. Again, from where are the revenues going to come? Are they going to be conjured up again like magic, so that we go from trillions to quadrillions as the new new normal? Or are you going to be expected to magically increase your productive output 1000 times to make up the difference, along with every other American (including children 1 and older, since we’ll also be needing more manpower for the job, way more than we have even if you include the illegals)?

WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR ALL OF THIS?

The answer never comes. Oh yeah, this is simple to solve, they say. They'll just "add liquidity" to the market, then "drain it", as if this was just a matter of doing the dishes, and all the complaining and fussing and fearing and loathing and hemming and hawing was all just a matter of no one wanting to pony up to the sink to actually do the deed. But no, that’s just a cheap distraction. So the question remains:

WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR ALL OF THIS?

I’ll tell you who: Us. As in you. And I. Or at least those of us that are silly enough to file and pay taxes (I don't know about you two, but I do not submit to extortion, otherwise known by the letters I-R-S). And how many people like me do you think there are now? Probably just a relative few. We're the "out there" nutballs. We're the ones that make wild-eye predictions of economic collapse and social chaos to follow. We're the ones who get pooh-poohed. Until the government keeps pulling shit like this. Then we grow in numbers. The disgusted; the disenfranchised; the disaffected. We find each other, learn from each other, and spread the wisdom. We watch as the government creeps upon our God-given freedoms like a depraved predator, one after the other, picking them off until one day we’ll be left naked and defenseless. But we prepare, and in the meantime we keep introducing new people to the mouth of the rabbit hole. And if you’re courageous, and intelligent, you’ll go in. And the deeper down the rabbit hole you go, the more you realize that real money—gold and silver—is the answer.

As more people discover the answer, the dollar takes one step closer to irrelevancy. Once it reaches that point, you have hyperinflation. Once the dollar enters hyperinflation the game is over; or rather, it just begins. But then that's a matter of perspective :)

Will the dollar cross that line of confidence? After all of my study, I sincerely believe it will and am convinced beyond a shadow of doubt about that conviction. I’ve been waiting for someone to come along and explain how I’m wrong about this. Despite my rhetoric, my eyes and mind are open. Convince me. Anyone?

In short: follow Austrian school of economics. I'm not saying they have ALL the answers, but so far it seems they have pretty damn nearly all of them.

----------------------------------

Ask yourself these questions:

1) What system is collapsing? The one in the US? I.E. the dollar?

1a) If the dollar collapses, what does that mean domestically?

1b) What does it mean internationally?

2) Is the FDIC solvent?

2a) If not, how safe are your bank accounts?

3) Are the firms in which you have your various retirement accounts solvent?

3a) Really? Are you sure? Did you check their balance sheet?

3b) Including all their hidden liabilities?

3c) If not, how safe are you accounts with them?

4) Does America strike you as a financially strong country?

4a) If not, do you think America will remain the world's sole superpower indefinitely under these conditions?

4b) If not, what does that mean for the dollar, the world's reserve currency, and the unit of account upon which all other world currencies (except gold) are based (again, domestically and internationally)?

Mull that over.

But here's a spoiler. The answer to all the above is:

Don't wait until inflation eats away your savings. Every day you wait is like an ounce of silver slipping out of your hands, lost forever.

History is your teacher. All others are substitutes. Including me.

I am Chumbawamba.

This might seem extreme, but he does ask some tough questions...cannot say I disagree and yes I tend to ignore what he says but doesn't mean that I don't feel this way down deep within my beliefs.

Person's Financial vs Government Risk Viability

When calulating an individual person's financial risk and viability, we look at his/her debt to income level (DTI), but when talking about a country we always look at debt to GDP.

However, is this valid?

Every dollar government borrows and spends makes the GDP go up.

This is akin to looking at an individual person and counting everything he has purchased with his credit cards as "income".

(Also, the GDP is not the Government's income. It is ours. As soon as the government starts creating something of value and selling it at a profit, it can count it as it's income.)

Gold Thoughts: Arnold Bock

The following is Copyright © 2009 Arnold Bock and can be found over at Financial Sense.

So why am I so optimistic about the eventual price of gold?

It is because an affinity for and an understanding of the political mindset causes me to understand what decision makers will do…and why. Because a politician follows the political calendar, s/he only concerns himself/herself with the time horizon leading to the next election.

Anything requiring decisions beyond the date of the next election will be the responsibility of whoever is on the next watch. If the politician in office today is in office after the next election, a shrug of the shoulder indicates that worries of that kind can be dismissed for now to be dealt with later.

So major and difficult, but necessary, decisions are inevitably deferred. In their place spending money gives the appearance of concern and of doing something to fix the apparent problem. Aren’t those elected officials doing what we elected them to do? It certainly looks as if they are.

More cynical observers would characterize these actions by the political class and their senior bureaucratic minions as buying time hoping that something positive might magically emerge.

Those who are super cynical would even conclude give-away programs are designed simply to bribe the voters in order to curry goodwill for another term at the levers of power.

What all this means is that there is no discipline or inclination to do anything of real value in fixing the core economic and financial problems. That being the case, new programs, more spending stimulus and money creation will always be the order of the day. Hence the currency will devalue and investors will find gold as their best safe-haven refuge.

The dollar will devalue because massive dilution caused by incessant money creation allows future obligations to become more manageable – for government – because it is the only way that it can meet its future obligations for employee pensions, accumulated debt, Medicare and social security.

A nominal dollar which buys much less in the future than it does today is still a dollar. Unfortunately the holders or recipients of those devalued pieces of paper will find they are essentially fraudulent promises.

These realities make gold the closest thing to a sure-bet investment. They are also the reasons why gold will go much higher than most of us allow ourselves to contemplate.

Buckle your seatbelts and enjoy the ride ahead!

I still think Gold is overbought, it is always a good reminder to keep myself honest by reading stuff like this. I have a lot of events coming up this year wedding, honeymoon, trying to buy house, etc...With all these I am going to need liquidity and not sure holding on to bullion is going to be my best option. I am looking to buy some on the dip (if that ever happens) think I might as well get into som Sliver and Oil.