Bullion? Anyone hoard precious metals?

Gold and silver will always have value, I agree. They are "real" in every sense of the word, unlike numbers in a computer or paper. But will you be able to extract the value for your daily use? Will the future value be greater than the current value? There is no guarantee of either of these.

Not many lost 50% of their investments unless they sold at the low. If life circumstances required that they sell at the low, then that is pretty rough, I agree. But most who "lost" did so because they chose to sell.

May I suggest you research Precious metal ETFs? There are several out there that invest only in gold bullion (or silver, or other commodities, whatever you want), and have significantly lower fees than you are looking at with your plan. At Schwab (for example) they can be traded fee free. So buy small amounts each week or month, and once a year sell it and go buy the real gold or silver that you want to hold. It is kind of a middle ground, but over the 30 years you are planning you will likely do much better, and your risk is lowered in several ways, and your cost is greatly reduced.

There are also services like Perth Mint, which will hold the metals for you, and can deliver. Again, some added risks, some reduced costs, some reduced risks.

And don't forget land, another "real" asset of value. And equities (stocks), which are ownership of real businesses, which hold real assets, and sell real stuff to real people. Some will get through bad times fine, and come out the other side shining.

Since you are talking a 30 year time frame, I suspect you missed the inflation of the 1970s, the market crash of 1987, and the dot.com bust. It has always been tempting to buy gold and sit it out. Those who didn't sit it out, but remained invested have been well rewarded for it. No idea if that will continue to be the case, but I suspect it will be for a while. There is a lot of risk, but gold and silver are risky as well.

You make your choices, of course, but ammo and antibiotics are even lower on my list than gold. Antibiotics are cheap to make, so they will always be available. I don't see a high and sustained demand for ammo when the world falls apart. It will not be like the movies, Mad Max or something, but rather everyone trying to eke out an existance, trading with one another, trying to produce something of value that they can use or barter. And, though I don't know anything about it, I think ammo is pretty easy to manufacture as well, isn't it? These are cottage industries that individual or small groupos can do, and therefore will not have great value.

Unless, of course, there is open warfare and rioting, in which case good luck. I'll be keeping my head low.

Do you own the land you are living on? I would make that happen before anything else, I believe it will pay off whether times are good or bad.

BTW, I am a crazy anarchist (really). But this is the world we are living in, and I do the best I can working within its parameters. I do what works today, and in the future I will do what works then. There is huge risk in being "right" 20 years too early.

Enough rambling, don't take offense, I just wanted to give you more to think about. I am likely quite wrong on some aspects of what I wrote, so take it or leave it at your own risk.

 

forget about a hurricane. they forecast a dusting of snow here and its a milk sandwiches free for all

As for the electrical grid - its a bit more robust than the prepper shows would lead you to believe

 

that's why the risk is only 1 in 100 years... I am not a conspiracy world's ending prepper... just a finance guy that try to see what the real risk is.... and get insurance per to cover that risk... both in investments and in life... the old boy scout moto be prepared...

example cousin lives in south Carolina and got stuck in that ice storm in Atlanta a few years back... I laughed at him... I was like you grew up in Vermont... ya can't handle a half inch of ice? his response was no one uses snow tires down here!! for his birthday I bought him a pair of disposable tire chains for his car 20 bucks delivered... with this note ... hey stupid cousin hang on garage wall.. if looks bad throw in trunk installs in 5 minutes... ya better not have northern plates on that car!

always in car truck in winter 2 candles couple matches a winter hat and heat packs granola bAR etc... if ya go off road 2 candles will keep you from freezing if windows are up.. 80% heat loss thru head .. not expecting chit to go wrong.... just if it does ...

 

I have read about such instances in Africa where stuff can cost eleventybillion dollars or whatever. Many times caused by counterfeit paper money. Perhaps no one had used metal in your case because they didn't have any?

I have a few of the skills you listed above. They assist me almost daily.

Your assumption that the animals will quickly be killed off in shtf scenario is incorrect I believe. The mass human casualties coupled with the high percentage of folks unable or unwilling to hunt food should leave plenty for the rest of us. If the city folks think they will just come to the country and have unlimited food, they are in for a big surprise.

So there is nowhere non electronic that is a good monetary investment? Wow. That really sucks.

 

After the 2011 derecho, the southern line crews that came up here to fix our stuff were appalled with the condition of our transmission lines and grid in general. Almost disbelief.

 

Soooooooooo....where is everybody buying their bullion? Do you go for coinage or bars?

 

I don't buy or own any precious metals except on paper, which would not acheive the safety that you are seeking. If I bought physical precious metals, I would buy in whatever form has the least markup from spot, probably bars. I would probably buy online from a reputable dealer, so that nobody local would be aware of my purchases, and maybe get a better price.

But like I said, I am not buying or holding precious metals in any form other than paper, so take my suggetion with a grain of salt.

 

The non-electronic investments are already within you in the skillsets and self-sufficient lifestyle you believe you can lead.

I think it's been explained before but precious metals are unlikely to be a good retirement vehicle.
A close friend of mine bought ~$25K in silver as political speculation post 2008 market collapse ginned up fears (he also divested all his stock holdings during that time against my advice)
He retired in 2013 with a pension from a former job but a fraction of what he'd have had if he'd just stayed the course in his 401k - he's living comfortably and giving those silver quarters to his granddaughters every time they come to visit as they are worth probably a 1/3 what he bought them for

That's a life lesson that even non-electronic investments can be bad monetary investments

 

I was in Zaire, Africa, aka The Democratic Republic of Congo. The country has significant gold within its borders, as well as other valuable commodities.

They claimed at times that there was counterfeiting, but I don't think the counterfeiters created the 30 million Z note!

Hyperinflation is universally caused by governments creating money, these days by printing press or financial wizardry. But it is nothing new, the ancients did the same.

Good times or bad, basic skills and tools are helpful.

Large human populations in desperate poverty leads to the destruction of wildlife, you can count on it.

Invest in yourself, real estate, a business, or something local, if you don't trust the markets.

 

I think used tractors and similar equipment are a good investment. They keep their value or can go up if you buy them right and with no title no one can prove who owns them. Get sued and that tractor is your son's not your's

 

I buy all my bullion in cubes. Small, easy to trade, simple to carry and the choice of silver or gold is personal opinion. I like a combination. Not every day do I want or need to use only one kind. Just remember that silver is the beef bullion and the gold wrapping is on the chicken bullion cubes. Yup I is a sarcastic piece of hillbilly PWT.