Markets like stability, not uncertainty. The global landscape became much more unstable late last night.

IMO, you don't need to worry about a buy/sell spread if you own physical gold. It's something you should never sell unless things go really bad and you have to. Otherwise, physical gold is something that should make your kids very happy when they open your safe after you've died.

Nothing wrong with ETF's but I have the same fear with that as I do with digital coins. If the internet goes down, there's really no way to access those funds.

Again, IMO, a better way to invest in gold is through gold miners. Get the timing correct and you'll see exponential returns. As gold prices rise, fixed costs to mine that gold remain relatively the same. A 10% rise in gold prices could raise a miner's earnings by 50% or even more. If you're not comfortable picking individual miners then there's the GDX and GDXJ ETF funds. Timing is key when making any precious metal investment.

. . .

If the internet goes down, whatcha gonna be able to do with those gold coins in your safe? As someone else posted upthread, ammo is going to be a lot more valuable than gold if the SHTF. No one is going to care about gold. Only food, water and ammo.

When you invest in gold miners, you are investing in a company, not a commodity. It's not the same. But to each his own.

False. The average interest rate on the U.S. federal debt is approximately 3.3% as of the most recent data from late 2024 and early 2025. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and other sources, the average interest rate on the total marketable national debt was reported at 3.28% as of December 31, 2024, and 3.3% in October 2024, with similar figures cited in other reports. While rates have risen significantly in recent years, they have not reached 3.6% on average for the total federal debt.

https://x.com/maxjanderson/status/1904566653851173255

Couple things worth mentioning.

I've been reading a couple of news/financial/political blogs for over a dozen years and I always find it interesting that most people seem to think of SHTF scenarios in the most stark, Mad Max-type terms. The Great Depression wasn't like that neither was the massive inflationary period of the 70s or the more recent "Great Recession". There can be longish periods (years) where many things are scarce and plenty are without jobs, incomes, etc. But, it isn't an end-of-the-world dynamic like they imagine.

It is quite literally impossible to ever be ideally invested (minus sheer luck) but, some people like to diversify and hedge in ways that cover the most possible or likely bases. Especially when the writing is on the wall, in capital letters. U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time

Well said! Thank you.

Except during exactly none of those time periods did you not have access to your investments other than perhaps a few days. The economy may have been awful, but life was just unpleasant. That is not SHTF.

SHTF is when there is no internet, no cell service, all the stores are closed, all the banks are closed and there is limited access to resources for survival. I maintain that no one will want gold, and if they do, they will take it from you by force if you can't protect it. Hopefully, we will never find out which one of is correct.

If we're dwelling on your perception of what terminology you deem allowable, how about putting spacing between fidelity,vanguard,etrade and using capital letters on those proper nouns.

Yes, I have removed money from some accounts and there isn't any other way to slice it. You can apply the jargon that you wish but it's been removed.

[QUOTE=HappyTraveler;2438819]Couple things worth mentioning.
I've been reading a couple of news/financial/political blogs for over a dozen years and I always find it interesting that most people seem to think of SHTF scenarios in the most stark, Mad Max-type terms. The Great Depression wasn't like that neither was the massive inflationary period of the 70s or the more recent "Great Recession". There can be longish periods (years) where many things are scarce and plenty are without jobs, incomes, etc. But, it isn't an end-of-the-world dynamic like they imagine.

If the dollar and world money systems collapse, you won't just see reduced buying power. There will be no method of exchange unless we go back to trading beads, shells, furs, etc. It would be reestablished eventually, if we haven't canabalized each other in the interim for sustanence and survival.

I will follow the explicit instructions as specified.

:clap2:

Regarding comments #88 and 90.

Sigh...dwelling on that unlikely Mad Max scenario again. I can't know for certain but, I don't think most people buy gold anticipating THAT. They have other and varied reasons.

I also don't know why there are those who seem threatened by the fact that some people choose to own precious metals. Who cares? They have their reasons.

Now, if someone would like to explain to me how quite a few people are comfortable owning crypto currencies as "investments", I'd be interested to hear the thinking on that.

Vanguard has IRS approval for no cap gains conversion from mutual funds to ETFs process, and other custodians are tagging along. .

So old information :)

I own GOLD, $IAU ETF, and have 80% appreciation. Bought after the pandemic spending ballooned the deficit, and didn't expect anyone to be able to do anything about it. Expecting the debt bubble to erode the USD, making gold more expensive, maybe even a Zimbabwe moment. . . aka Minsky moment.

a higher tax rate is just part of the deal, owning physical gold, but at the end of the day, any investment choice is about the aftertax gain, which means a 28% tax on a 70% gain is still more profitable than tax free on an 8% munibond. If you don't talk after tax gains, you don't have a clue.

ETFs are more tax efficient in TAXABLE accounts
Mutual Funds vs ETFS are returns after expenses measured in TAX DEFERRED accounts.. .

Taxes on TAX DEFERRED account WITHDRAWALS are not a fixed percentage, but is based upon your entire income from your portfolio. So everyone will be different, which means ya'all talking out your buttholes about other peoples' tax situations of which you know nothing. . .

I remember when withdrawal was a form of contraception!
Deposits were considered very high risk.