I visited my first coin shop this past Saturday. We have a little extra cash, and not knowing much about coin investment, we decided to stop at a local shop.
I don’t know if this is typical of every coin shop, but the owner had a variety of collectibles along with coins, such as baseball cards, Americana memorabilia and random toy trinkets.
I was hoping the owner would be able to engage in economics, but he stared at me blankly when I explained myself as a new member of the Austrian School. So, while the shop was interesting, and he seemed to have some interesting and rare coins, he did not give me much hope as a future investor.
Fine, I explained to my wife. We are so new at this, that it will take sometime for us to get our gearing, so to speak. While we didn’t purchase any coins, we did become just a little bit more informed regarding the collection and investment of metals.
We can’t afford gold. What with the price of gold nearing $1,000.00 an ounce, but we may be able to invest in some silver. We would like gold, though. Had I known 7 years ago what I know now, we’d have a good collection of gold bullion coins.
In the meantime, I’ll try my best to learn more about this form of investment. While it is the metal boom time, it is because our fiat currency is finally dying. That is a simple statement with serious repercussions.
While we left the shop without even purchasing a Silver American Eagle, we did begin to think about preparation. We are in the process of obtaining a chest freezer so that we can bulk up on meats and other necessities. We have an area in our basement reserved for canned goods, and household necessities, so if the economy has a true crash, we’ll at least be fine for a few months.
This is not me being a paranoid libertarian. This is just sensible thinking. Our cost of living is lower right now, then it will be in a few months. Plus, it pays off to buy in bulk in the long run, as you spend less time going to and fro the grocery store, which uses gas.
I think I’m starting to become frugal. We are trying to make it a game to see how frugal we can get. While I am riding my bicycle to work, my wife has grown plenty of vegetables in the garden. Instead of buying coffee at Dunkin Donuts, I use the cheap free stuff at work. We switched from disposable diapers to cloth. Believe me, this is a huge savings. And my wife is determined to breastfeed as long as possible, so this saves money on formula (which is horribly expensive).
To end, I think it is time we all lived more sensibly. I personally have a history of living above my means. I think my family will be better off if we live under our means.
Tags: federal reserve, fiat currency, frugal, savings
Arrogant New Englander 
September 29, 2008 at 3:49 pm |
Live below your means?
probably the best thing that you can do. Here’s a tip from a family of 5 that survived a year with no real steady work that netted an income in the low 20k’s. I think out net income for that year on our 1040 was -$9,500
Tithe
Pay your bills…on time
Put extra money in cash savings…just in case
No loans or credit cards
We kept the lights on, the roof over out heads, and made it through better off in the long run
September 29, 2008 at 4:39 pm |
Thanks Eric!
We are starting to tithe more consistently. We have no loans or credit cards, but we do have 1 huge bill (mortgage).
We need to work on those savings…(and investments).
September 30, 2008 at 8:37 pm |
Didn’t FDR make it illegal for people to have gold intheir homes? And didn’t the gov’t raid a private mint that made silver or gold dollars last spring/winter? I wish I had bars of gold bullion- but I don’t have the $ to get it and I hear it’s very difficult to get anyway. I guess I should have acted years ago. O well.
September 30, 2008 at 8:57 pm |
As far as I know, it is not illegal to have gold in our homes. If it is, I doubt they’re going to go after little old me.