[kingofbeer]

Originally Posted by Aces4

If it's withdrawn, it's removed. Geez..

Check with fidelity,vanguard,etrade. You withdraw money from your account. You take a distribution. You do not remove money from your account. IRS calls it a distribution or rollover in some cases. It is important to use the proper terminology. Geez means nothing to me. Not offensive to me.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by kingofbeer

Check with fidelity,vanguard,etrade. You withdraw money from your account. You take a distribution. You do not remove money from your account. IRS calls it a distribution or rollover in some cases. It is important to use the proper terminology. Geez means nothing to me. Not offensive to me.

I agree that proper terminology is important. But, the proper terminology is to call it a distribution, not a withdrawal. Withdrawal is not the proper terminology because you could have your IRA assets in more than one financial institution. You could withdraw IRA money from one institution and deposit it into the other institution. This can be done using a rollover or a direct transfer. But it would not qualify as an IRA distribution because the money is still in an IRA. RMD stands for "required minimum distribution". I have a Vanguard account, and when I make an IRA distribution, I don't "withdraw" money from Vanguard, I just transfer it from my IRA to the non-IRA portion of my Vanguard portfolio. I never withdraw money directly from Vanguard. If I want to spend money from Vanguard, I transfer it to my Truist checking account, and then I write a check.

[manaboutown]

Looks like Morgan Stanley is buying E*Trade.

https://carpenterwellington.com/post...2Dstock%20deal.

[kingofbeer]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I agree that proper terminology is important. But, the proper terminology is to call it a distribution, not a withdrawal. Withdrawal is not the proper terminology because you could have your IRA assets in more than one financial institution. You could withdraw IRA money from one institution and deposit it into the other institution. This can be done using a rollover or a direct transfer. But it would not qualify as an IRA distribution because the money is still in an IRA. RMD stands for "required minimum distribution". I have a Vanguard account, and when I make an IRA distribution, I don't "withdraw" money from Vanguard, I just transfer it from my IRA to the non-IRA portion of my Vanguard portfolio. I never withdraw money directly from Vanguard. If I want to spend money from Vanguard, I transfer it to my Truist checking account, and then I write a check.

"Fidelity uses the terms "withdrawal" and "distribution" interchangeably to refer to the removal of funds from your account, including retirement accounts. Withdrawals can be made from various accounts, and the specifics of the process depend on the type of account and the type of withdrawal. For example, normal withdrawals from SIMPLE IRAs are treated as taxable income. "

[kingofbeer]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

Looks like Morgan Stanley is buying E*Trade.

https://carpenterwellington.com/post...2Dstock%20deal.

Morgan Stanley acquired ETRADE Financial Corporation on October 2, 2020.

[tophcfa]

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

[lkagele]

Originally Posted by Pugchief

True, sort of. Do you store it yourself? If not you have counterparty risk. And storage costs.

If you self-store, you have storage risk.

Both ways, you pay excessive spreads.

I prefer Gold ETFs for those reasons.

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.

[Boomer]

. . .

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by lkagele

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.

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.

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.

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.

[SoCalGal]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

FYI. Average interest rate on Federal Debt is ~3.6%

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

[HappyTraveler]

Couple things worth mentioning.

Originally Posted by Pugchief

If the internet goes down, whatcha gonna be able to do with those gold coins in your safe? Sell or barter them locally, if need be. There will always be buyers for precious metals.Can't do the same with stocks/funds or money in the bank, if the bank is closed for awhile. As someone else posted upthread, ammo is going to be a lot more valuable than gold if the SHTF. FOOD and potable WATER will be the most valuable, followed by ammo to protect it. No one is going to care about gold. However, see below. Only food, water and ammo.

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

[DaveZ]

Originally Posted by HappyTraveler

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.

[Pugchief]

Originally Posted by HappyTraveler

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.

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.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by kingofbeer

Check with fidelity,vanguard,etrade. You withdraw money from your account. You take a distribution. You do not remove money from your account. IRS calls it a distribution or rollover in some cases. It is important to use the proper terminology. Geez means nothing to me. Not offensive to me.

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.

[Aces4]

[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.