Canada's major banks have raised their interest rates. It took one bank to make the move and they raised it 35 basis points. The same day, the other major banks followed suit. The fact that they raised the rate so much in one fell swoop leads me to think this is only the first of many interest rate increases to follow. It is so important to pay down debt.
When I get time, I have been reading on a few different forums. There has been a marked increase of traffic over to self sufficiency forums. People want to learn how to prepare themselves for harder times coming down the pike.
I have noticed discussions about buying gold bullion. Interestingly, people are feeling the need to buy bullion as a hedge against coming inflation. Others think that if there is a large enough catastrophe, having a supply of gold on hand will help them be able to barter for goods.
Have you bought bullion? Or do you have it in a gold IRA? We have not done this, so far. At the present, I am more concerned with making our homestead more self sufficient. Here in BC, we are going to see electricity costs go up 30% over the next 3 years.
I want to buy more hand powered equipment such as a grain mill, wind up radios, flashlights and lanterns. These are things that will not only help if we WANT to reduce hydro costs, but also in the event of power failures. Living in the country, we do have our share of power failures and they can last for several days here.
Are you looking to buy gold bullion? Or are you doing something different to protect yourself and your family against the hard times ahead? What are you doing?
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11 comments:
Interesting that you happened to post this today. I won't be buying gold. I did just have a conversation with my husband this morning in regard to rising food prices and saying that we will need to plant and put away more from the garden this year.
I'm also thinking about coffee alternatives - though I love my coffee in the morning, I really don't need it later in the day. I was shocked at the price of coffee the other, and now it will be going up again. I also have a great hand cranked coffee grinder that I bought a couple of years ago - at $50 it was pricey, but good quality lasts and I can use it during the power outages.
I've been trying to become more aware of shutting of energy drainers - with a 30% increase I really need to find a way to get the kids to shut off the lights! (My pet peeve as it is!)
I can't really see how much help gold is going to be if the world goes down the crapper. But investing in a nice rifle and expanding our garden seems like a very good idea that will pay off no matter what happens in the future.
Hi Annie, I haven't bought any gold and I don't really plan on it.
My dad did by some gold bullion and when he sold it 6 months or so later, he made a nice little profit.
I think that if I had bought it earlier that I'd feel better about it, but if you look at the history of gold prices (just google it) there have been many spikes like the one the charts show we're in. I don't know if, when/if I bought gold, the balloon would pop right afterward. It's not a chance I'm willing to take. Ok to be honest I couldn't really take it anyway, being a poor college kid. ;) I do know that when I'm older and the prices of gold are (most likely, from what I can tell) down again, that I'll be buying. Then when the next spike comes I can sell them, or, if one doesn't come in my lifetime, they can go to family members.
I don't know if my reasoning is good or not, but it seems logical to me. I'm always wary of fads or people telling me what I need. I like to check around first. It worked for my dad but I don't know if it would work for me, at least at this point in time.
Maybe I'm just an optimist, in that I think that everything will right itself eventually. Maybe it won't........! But I'd rather invest in self-sustaining things that could be bartered anyway.
Gold goes up and down the same as the stock market. Stocks are up...gold is down, when stocks go down...gold goes up. So right now would be the best time to SELL not buy. A good rounded portfolio should include some gold stock, but not a magority of it. Right now we are trying to grow more of our own food and cut back on electrical use. I am using seed instead of plants to start the garden. We purchased a wood stove this year to help with the heating. (Thank you Anne for you in put on this.) It took our electric bill down from 175 dollar last winter to 75 this year. We have purchased an on demand propane hot water system.
I am like you, the power goes off here regularly. But fortunately the only time it stays off for days is during hurricanes (2 in the last 5 years). But we are trying to get more hand operated appliances. I recently found a small chopper like my mother use to have for dicing, and a hand crank food vegetable slicer, grader.
Oh and I read a lot of blogs such as yours to learn more.
As someone else pointed out, having some gold to round out an investment portfolio is not a bad idea. HOWEVER, in discussing the sinking economy with a friend over a year ago, she made the statement 'cash is king' ...she was accumulating cash and gold. I told her if people are truly hungry with no relief in sight, they are not going to sell you their edibles for your inedible cash ...not at any price.
If you have a year's worth of food, a good supply of arms and ammunition and all the tools you want (might need) AND gold/silver was a more reasonable price ...I would say sure, go buy some gold to round things out. But at today's prices, you're probably But I would only do so if all your other bases are already well covered.
Just my opinion ...not worth a troy ounce to anyone but me.
: )
I'm not buying gold. Honestly, in a real crisis, I don't think gold is going to do much. I'd prefer to focus on something more useful. I'm focusing on paying off all of my debts and putting away a year's supply of life's necessities. We're investing in our garden, in fruit trees and in things that will allow us to care for our family and be secure if life gets hard.
http://theirlifewastooshort.blogspot.com/
Thank you for popping by my blogfrog community.
Thank you for stopping by my blog at moderndayredneck.blogspot.com
I like your blog and am now a follower. It looks like we share a lot of the same thoughts. I will promote yours on mine the next chance I get.
Have a good weekend and thanks agian.
Don't see much point in hoarding gold.
We will continue to do what we can to reduce our living expenses.
Lee Valley has a solar/hand crank radio that I've been eying for awhile.
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and if you would like free traffic try this
http://blogclicker.com/?username=Theirlifewastooshort
Thank you all for letting me know what you are doing - I am glad you are thinking of trying to cut costs, reducing debt and growing bigger gardens.
I think I'm going to turn these comments into a blog post - there is a lot of great info here. Thanks again
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