Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Collectible Knives. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.)

Precious Metals:

Ira Epstein’s Precious Metals Video: Dec-27-2017. JWR’s Comment:  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a chartist, but I always find something of interest in Ira’s videos.

Stock Markets:

London stock market hits record high but bitcoin wobbles – as it happened

Charitable Giving

Since we are rapidly approaching New Year’s Eve, a lot of folks are thinking about charitable giving.  One fully tax-deductible charity that I have personally endorsed for more than seven years  is Anchor Of Hope Charities.  They support 110 rural schools in rural Zambia. Most of these are for orphans. They do a great service, and their overhead costs are negligible. One interesting aspect of their ministry is that they encourage the schools to plant large scale gardens and row crops, so that they can become self-sufficient.  That fits in nicely with the “teach a man to fish” philosophy. Please consider supporting this Godly ministry.

Cryptocurrencies:

In a recent interview with Owen Shroyer on Infowars,  I was quizzed about my predictions for Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies.  (You can start at the 7:22 mark on the YouTube clip.) I went out on a limb and said that Bitcoin might touch $50,000 in the next two years.  And I also predicted great volatility with all of the cryptos, and urged their listeners to keep their cryptocurrency holdings small (as a percentage of their net worth.) I stressed: Be ready for some wild gyrations in valuations. The day-to-day price swings could be enormous. When that happens, having a diverse portfolio of at least three cryptos) will be your best protection. I also mentioned that there is increasing risk of larcenous hacker attacks on the the crypto exchanges, and even schemes to identify individual passphrases. After all, we do live in the Age of Envy–and envy often leads to larceny. If Bitcoin goes north of $30,000, then there will be plenty of envy among hackers who will feel vengeful about not getting in to Bitcoin early enough. Count on it.

Tangibles Investing (Collectible Knives):

One good hedge on inflation is investing in collectible knives. As with other tangible investments, you need to research the market before you buy, and limit your buying to top quality items that will not just hold their value, but appreciate in value. It all comes down to finding knives of true quality, with long term buyer appeal.  Do not buy the widely-marketed commemerative issue knives. And do not buy cheap knives from China. Rather, concentrate on hand-made knives from both well-known makers, and up-and-coming makers that you find in your research. It might be worth the time to attend a few knife shows, and a subscribe to Blade magazine.

Provisos:

SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. So please see our Provisos page for our detailed disclaimers.

News Tips:

Please send your economics and investing news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who particularly watch individual markets. And due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” investing news. We often “get the scoop” on economic and investing news that is probably ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!