which place to lose money?

WHICH PLACE TO LOSE MONEY?

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Where is the best place to lose money? In the bank or at your house? There is something to be said for either one. What we have here is a conundrum. Or, how can you pick the least suck-ass way to save your money, because either way you will lose it. We all need a money stash, because of various factors. Right now, as everything is all peachy hunky dory and the unicorns are prancing in the fields and the water nymphs are splashing in the brook amidst giggles and sprinkled rainbows dot the horizon, we save cash for the super deluxe buy one get one free sales or sales of case items. Hell, two weeks in a row and Kroeger is beating Wal-Mart ( would you just stop embarrassing yourself and just declare bankruptcy, already? ) in bags of flour, case wise or a three-fer. A hundred bucks would lay in a bit of white flour to double up your supply of whole wheat kernels. Even in a partial meltdown, we need cash for when the inevitable pink slip comes ( if you think ANY job is secure, you haven’t been paying attention ) or, although it isn’t the greatest idea, last minute stockpiling. If the grid is down or the banks are imploding, cash is the only way to possibly transact any business ( say, for instance, the Yuppie neighbor wants your gasoline for his generator to keep his frozen shrimp from spoiling and he gives you something actually helpful to survival such as ammunition, that is great for bartering. But most established businesses will think Greenbacks are actually worth something besides very sharp edged toilet paper, until the collapse is right in their face ). Too much cash is silly to save, given inflation, but NO cash is even worse. Hence, the problem of needing it, but also the inevitability of its theft. You have to be prepared even if it is futile.

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If you keep your money in the bank, when ( not if, but when ) the bank closes its doors in an indefinite bank holiday ( translation- your money isn’t worth guldang spit to begin with, but we are keeping it all the same since we pissed it away on leveraging derivatives a hundred to one and we simply don’t have it to give back ), you can say goodbye to it. Any FDIC pay back will be only to those banks that crash first, such as the last few years. A widespread crash means you’ll never see your money, since the seizing up of commerce means no fuel processed or delivered to semi drivers to deliver more cash ( I sincerely doubt anyone will want to take the new ObammyDebit card digital cash. Even if paper is crap, it is somewhat limited in availability and can’t be hyper-inflated as fast as computer digits can ). On the other hand, if you put all your savings into cash, it will either be stolen by thieves or burn up in the house fire ( most homes will burn, given the fire department budget woes fixin to get a heck of a lot worse ). If you think crime won’t be a problem, consider the lowly species the Crack Head. They will cheat and steal and at times kill for five bucks worth of crack ( I actually have no idea what crack is selling for now. When it got all the media circus WAY back in the day, I think it was $5 a rock. With inflation…? ). As serious survival issues replace simply getting high for its entertainment and suicide value, home invasions and torture to find home stashed cash will explode. I don’t want much money in my home if this starts to be a problem. I want all my cash tied up in ammunition.

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I look at it this way. If the banks fail, the economy is failing. If the economy is failing, I think individual people will revert to barter very quickly. As most people realize now, with low inflation, that money is a suckers bet, they usually spend it as quick as they make it. As much fun as I poke at mortgage holders, they had the right idea, they just bet on the wrong horse. A fixed rate debt isn’t the worse way to manage your money. Rent goes up with inflation, your house payment does not ( leaving aside the issue of debt to begin with, or overpaying for shelter. I’m talking conventional Yuppie finances ). I think everyone pretty much “gets it” that money is crap. I think barter will not take long at all to reestablish itself ( and you will find very few professions actually are in demand ). So, if this is going to happen, money at home does no good at all. It is as vulnerable to becoming suddenly worthless as it is vulnerable to a bank holiday. Sure, have a little money at home. I keep one months bills worth. Not one months expenses, if you have items that are discretionary. Just one months absolutely necessary bills. This gives you time to relocate or keep the lights on until the solar panels are hooked up, or enough for a few trips in the car, or whatever. Any more is just a liability ( this is just a general rule- if you go case shopping every three months three hundred miles away, you would have more saved up ). Money in the bank, if a bank holiday lasts more than an extended weekend, is most likely gone. But it is also a very strong indicator that it is all over, the fat lady is singing.

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You are going to lose your paper cash, better it be in a non-dangerous way. It isn’t worth wiping your ass with, nor losing your life for. Between your two savings places, have just that bare minimum of cash, what amount works for your situation. Everything else, invest in tangible wealth. Cash currency is just a necessary evil, don’t over do it. It is just one of many insurance policies you have ( remember, insurance is an expense, not an investment ).

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