This article has been contributed by Kevin, proprietor of 20smoney.com and the Neo Survivalist blog.
Today was an incredible day for those of us that pay attention to the world of finance and more specifically, the stock market. After slowly moving lower, the stock market all of a sudden hit panic mode, with the Dow losing several hundred points in a matter of seconds. In fact, at one point the Dow was down over 900 points. The culprit apparently is the computer-based programmed trading that trades based on algorithms. Hit a certain level and you get an incredible amount of sell signals going through resulting in a plunging stock market. Yes, welcome to the 2010 stock market.
With such activity driving the market, it seems silly to even start talking about actual fundamentals of individual stocks. Investment strategies? Throw them out the window. How can anyone trust a market that is driven by computers and that seems to make no sense? Need an example? Apparently, Accenture (ACN) trading around $42, during the plunge apparently hit $.01 a share. Check the chart yourself.
So, with such a day fresh on our minds, it’s crucial to remind ourselves that we should be skeptical of paper assets and be investing in real assets. This is the main premise behind the Alpha Strategy.
What are the real assets that you should be investing in? Well to start, consider the things you need such as food, water, and maybe even ammunition. After taking care of the necessities, consider purchasing some bulk quantities of some consumer goods that you will need over time like razors, soap, toothpaste, etc.
Lastly, to protect your wealth, consider investing in precious metals. Sure gold and silver will have volatile movements, but take a long term perspective with precious metals. Also, consider it a way to store wealth versus getting rich.
Invest in real assets over time and it’s a great way to protect yourselves from the insanity of the U.S. economy, the lack of credibility of the U.S. stock market, and the horrific forces like inflation that are sure to be painful in the future. Today is a reminder that paper assets are risky and can lose incredible amounts of value in a matter of minutes.
Kevin is the author of the following websites:
Neo-Survivalist
20smoney.com
It was fun to watch.  My gold went up, my silver went down a bit (back today though), my land is still mine, my guns are still mine and so is my lead.  Safe and sound!
I have all the food and supplies I need for a year. I was wondering if anyone can recommend where to get small gold pieces or which ones are best. I have some silver but no gold and live on a fixed income.
Greetings Tina ~
You are right to be interested in the smaller denominations of gold bullion coins. In a SHTF scenario, nobody is going to be willing or able to make change for 1 oz. bullion pieces. The downside to investing in the 1/10 or 1/4 oz. gold coins is that you will pay a much higher premium per oz. than you would buying the 1 oz. gold coins.
Gold is primarily an instrument for wealth preservation or a hedge against extreme inflation. Unless you have a hell of a lot of money sitting around, you may want to stick with your silver or even accumulate additional supplies to be used for barter. We may see a day in the not too distant future when a roll of toilet paper is worth a lot more than a $20 bill.
If you still want some gold, don’t buy unline using a credit card, buy only from a local coin shop using cash. Don’t store it in a bank safe deposit box either; you may not have access in an extreme emergency. I would suggest either the US Gold Eagle or Gold Maple Leaf (Canadian), more people will recognize them. 1/10 oz. or 1/4 oz. would be your best bet.
Just one old fool’s opinion. I have been prepping for over 25 years. My own family used to make fun of me until after Hurricane Wilma hit and they were all coming over to my place for a hot meal and cup of coffee.
Check out Gerald Celente (Trends Institute) and his most recent forcast. He figures that the economy is going to go ‘tits-up’ prior to the end of 2010. Gpd Bless & good luck to you and your family.