Where would you put your money????

[miked2345]

Here's a question probably better suited for a financial forum somewhere, but I thought I'd see what the folks here think of the situation.

My wife had an uncle pass away recently and she's in line to inherit some money. We really are not sure how much, only that the lawyer said he was "A man of means..." We won't see anything for a few months. She wants to put it all away for retirement, which is fine by me, since we are in our 50's and our retirement savings is SEVERELY LACKING!

My concern is this... My big fear is that the SHTF moment will be the collapse of the dollar, or hyper-inflation, or something like that which will make our savings worthless. I'm worried that just putting the money in the bank might not be the smart thing to do!

What would you do? One thought I had was maybe buy some raw land somewhere... It might retain it's value after the SHTF. (I've already been a landlord of a rental house, that was a pain!) Maybe some blue chip stocks? (If there are any left...) Precious Metals? An annuity? More beans and bullets? :)

[Karen]

I'm definitely not a financial expert, but I would pay off all bills, including the mortgage. Then buy better property. After moving to the new property I would sell my current home and set the new property up to be self sufficient and off grid.

[BillM]

After everything is paid for and you are stocked up, buy gold and silver.

I am talking about hard metal and have it in your possesion.

You can't go wrong on the long term investment with Gold and Silver.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Pay off debt first then ditto on what Karen said

[610Alpha]

I would work my way up Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps -- $1000 baby emergency fund, basically pay off all non-mortgage debt first, set aside enough $ for 6-8 month emergency fund, then put in enough $ for both of you to max out 2012 ROTH IRA contributions, then pay off mortgage (some of these steps may not apply depending on your situation). If you have left over then I would look at property and all that other stuff. Once you are debt free including mortgage you have some $ to put towards preps. You could call Dave Ramsey's radio show and he would be glad to explain it to you using God's and Grandma's way of handling money.

Oh and if it were me and since I am a Christian I would make an offering to my church, not a tithe since this didn't come from my labor (first fruits), but an offering because it was extra excess $. The tithe is pre-law, before Moses in case anyone out there didn't know.

[Hidden Agenda]

In order of precedence, depending on your current financial situation.

Tithe. In my humble opinion, it doesn't have to be a church, but give to the trusted charity of your choice. Call it being a good Christian, storing up some good karma...whatever. That "tithe" could be a life changer for someone. You never know.

Pay off/down your debts. I also suggest the Dave Ramsey method espoused above.

Land. They aren't making any more, and there are some great deals out there right now if you do the research.

Precious metals. Silver and gold if you want shiny stuff sitting around collecting dust. As for me, I prefer iron, steel, brass and copper (guns, ammo, blades, tools, etc...)

These are all suggested "assuming" that you have "enough" food, water, medical supplies and communications gear.

[miked2345]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this... I think I'm pretty much of the same mind-set as you all. My family has been on the "Dave Ramsey Plan" since before I ever heard of Dave Ramsey... Although I DO break one of his rules - We have a credit card!! (Oh, the horrors!!) In my defense, we usually pay it off in full every month. Other than a mortgage that is almost paid off, we are debt free.

My wife is open to the idea of moving out of town a bit. Where we are now, we have to many trees for a garden, or solar panels, etc... And I've thought about precious metals too, just have not had much "Risk Money" to put towards it. (It's been going to "Beans and Bullets" so far!) I guess it will depend on how much her inheritance is as to which direction we go in.

[610Alpha]

Although I DO break one of his rules - We have a credit card!! (Oh, the horrors!!) In my defense, we usually pay it off in full every month.

@miked2345 - You are what the credit card industry call a free loader. McDonalds did a study before the implemented the card swipers the avg. sale was $4 and some change after they implemented the card swipers it was $7 and something. So this technology got people to spend more. Studies have also shown that you spend 12-18% more using a Credit Card.

That is great to hear about being debt free except the mortgage...guess it comes down to if you need to beef up your emergency fund, pay down the mortgage or _______... Good luck

[All Talk]

I'd bet the majority of extra spending that comes from credit card users is from folks who are spending money they don't have (or have coming), not "free loaders" like miked2345. By the way, credit card companies are also happy to have users who pay off every month; it is a common misconception that they only make money off of interest. They make money on every transaction and do quite nicely with that. If you spend a lot on credit cards but pay it every month, you will find you have clout with your issuer and you will find them offering you, unsolicited, better terms/status/deals.

Credit cards, when used as a proxy for your cash, are a great invention. They allow you to avoid carrying large amounts of stealable or losable cash, they allow internet shopping (I had to go to stores, and there aren't a lot of prepper stores in my area, for instance). Just remember, your loved ones may not be imbued with the same disciplined mental miodel of credit cards as you, and could quickly get into a bad place of debt.

[610Alpha]

Studies have been done where they hooked you up to a machine that showed how your brain was processing purchases. Cash registered as pain, debit card less, credit card way less. I don't want to give business to Credit Card companies so I cut them up, they break federal law on a daily basis by bullying, intimidating, and violating privacy. I can purchase online without a credit card, my Visa Debit Card has the same protection as a Visa Credit Card but I can't go into debt with my card :)

I highly recommend "My Total Money Makeover" to learn about some money myths about spending and credit cards.

[miked2345]

We also have a debit card tied to our checking account that we use.... However, I have heard some warnings that debit cards carry more risk if they are lost or stolen. Apparently, your exposure to loss of funds is greater with a debit card than with a credit card. Just google "Debit card risks" to see what I mean.

Also, as for paying my credit card in full every month, I usually don't buy much unless I find a sale. So my reasoning is that I lose the benefit of the sale price if I make minimum monthly credit card payments and pay all that interest. But I have heard the "freeloader" term before. We have a friend who explained the whole thing to us.... and this same person makes the bare minimum monthly card payments every month and thinks nothing of it... (Ouch!)

[610Alpha]

There is that risk if it is stolen. To me that is an acceptable risk vs doing business with a company that I KNOW BREAKS FEDERAL LAW on a daily basis (read up on how investigative reports have CC companies breaking the law by intimidating people especially the elderly). For me that is a huge issue, if you choose to do business with them that's up to you. I am with Dave on this I want to see those companies go out of business. Find an FPU class and see if you can watch the lesson "Credit Sharks in Suits".

I will run the risk of me not being stupid enough to put my pin# in my wallet and/or have my debit card stolen, however if it is stolen and they use it like a credit card I am 100% protected if it is a Visa or Mastercard Debit card. You have just the same protection when it is used as a credit transaction as you would a CC. Every time you use your debit card with your PIN# it is basically an ATM transaction. I use my debit card as a credit transaction all the time and I check on my account enough to know if something was out of whack granted there are people that don't.

Besides I figure if Dave Ramsey, who runs a multimillion dollar company with 322 employees, uses a debit card for his company and his personal life that it must be safe cause this guy knows risk. I use cash as much as possible, cause my name is elittle and I like stuff, but it also can be used on big purchases as a signal to a salesman that this is an immediate transaction. Cash is emotional, i bet if you go into a furniture store with a fist full of 100's and fan yourself with them that you will get a salesman's attention and that you can get a deal...if not leave.

[All Talk]

That is a powerful haggling technique. After going back and forth on price for some big ticket item, say you're at $1,400 and he's at $1,800.

Without saying a wrod, lay fourteen $100 bills out, one at a time, into a neat pile on the counter. (It should go without saying that he should observe you taking these out of a wallet or envelope containing additional bills!).

"That's $1,400. Do you want it or not?"

If he says no or says nothing for too long, scoop up the pile and head straight for the door. If he throws $1,700, keep walking, and so on. If he calls OK (like when you're opening the door, turn and hold him to it. There is no tax, etc. It's the 14 c-notes, that's it.