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Doing Small Things With Your Money
I try my best to stay up to date with the political scene, the economic scene, and the financial scene. They are all related. I read some things that I can barely find anything to agree with. Most of this comes from the so-called mainstream media. I also read other libertarian authors. I learn far more there, even if I find places where I disagree.
One thing I find that is common is that it is hard to get good advice for someone who simply doesn’t have a lot of money. I will read articles or blogs by libertarian authors (or at least people who have somewhat of an understanding of the free market) and they oftentimes offer some pretty good advice. The problem is that the advice is geared towards individuals with a high net worth.
I read suggestions about how to prepare for a coming financial armageddon or some other disaster. I see suggestions like buying a safe property in a foreign country, opening a foreign bank account, or having gold stored overseas. Again, the problem is that this is geared towards the rich. You often need substantial minimums to do any of these and this would be after keeping some liquid assets available to you now.
Even buying an investment property in your own area requires some money, although this is far more realistic for many people.
If you have a few million dollars to your name, then you probably should consider some of this advice like buying a property in another country and storing some financial assets elsewhere. But realistically, this is not the case for most people. The large majority of people are not millionaires. The average American probably doesn’t even have a 6 figure net worth, and most of those who do, have it in real estate or retirement accounts.
If you are like most Americans and simply do not have a lot of money to invest, then I encourage you to take baby steps. Don’t be intimidated and do nothing. Save money where you can. Keep some in a savings account for emergencies. Take a little and buy some precious metals. If you can save $100 per month, you can buy about 3 one-ounce silver coins right now. If you do that every other month, it will add up after a while.
I am also an advocate of buying extra supplies. This is good preparation in the case of an unexpected emergency. If there is a weather disaster or some other unforeseen disaster, then you will have that extra bottled water, toilet paper, etc.
In addition, buying extra supplies is a good inflation hedge. You are buying extra things now before they go up in price. It is unlikely that prices will go down and you will lose from it.
It is easy to accumulate extra things you need over time. The next time you make a trip to Walmart (or wherever you shop that is relatively inexpensive), pick up a few extra things, particularly if they are on sale. This could include things like paper towel, toothpaste, shampoo, razor blades, bottled water, toilet paper, and even some food items. Just make sure they are things that you will use and make sure they have a long shelf life. As long as you have some extra storage space in your home, then this is really easy to do. The worst case scenario is that prices don’t go up and you use the stuff. (Actually that is probably the best case scenario.) It is not like you are going to miss that .02% return that you get in your savings account right now.
The point is that virtually everyone can take action steps to accumulate wealth and hedge against trouble ahead. Even if you are only able to save a very small amount each month, it is still better than nothing. Don’t just throw up your hands and say that it is impossible. If you can just buy one silver coin per month, that is better than many other people are doing. You have to start somewhere.
2012-08-20 21:59:27
Source: http://libertarianinvestments.blogspot.com/2012/08/doing-small-things-with-your-money.html
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