I received this in an email from "The Survival Mom.  She makes a good point.  As money becomes less relevant how are you "taking" care of your family?  There are some on this forum who already do things like gardening, canning etc.  Solar and I have a supply of freeze dried food.  What are you doing to diversify for your future?  Toy


Diversify your assets for the 21st Century

Right now here in America and around the world, people are wondering how to best protect their assets, how to protect their retirement accounts, and how to be better prepared, financially, for the future.

It seems that, perhaps, the ancient wisdom of past financial advisers may not be 100% applicable to our current economic outlook. In the past it was a wise thing to diversify money between stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other types of investments. It was smart and more often than not, it paid off.

However, with dire predictions of a financial collapse in America's future, is the traditional concept of diversifying a portfolio still relevant? And are these investments safe harbors for our money? The citizens of Greece recently had a rude wake up call that reminded them that, no, money is not safe from grasping, desperate governments.

Recently when I was going over our family finances and expenditures, I realized that we were applying the concept of diversification in a whole different way. We've used funds to expand our backyard garden with a goal of producing a good percentage of our own organic produce. We've spent money on classes and training for ourselves and our kids in order to broaden our practical skills. I have a nice assortment of essential oils and one heck of a medical kit, or two.

When we spend money on food and water storage, a Berkey water filter, maybe some farmland, livestock, and other "preps", that's a form of diversifying a portfolio! When you don't have faith in the stock market, when you hear about a possible collapse of the bond market, well, at least you can look out at your backyard or acreage and know that with a stockpile of seeds and your chickens, you have something -- your family won't starve, no matter what happens with our country's economy.

http://thesurvivalmom.com/

What good is 500K in stocks and savings, if a dozen eggs cost more than 100 dollars, or rice, flour, and meat for a week costs 100K.

Inflation's a bitch...

I invest in booze and bullets.  When things really go south you can always barter the two items for what you need to live.

I just remember somthing.  In 1973 there was an artificial oil shortage created.  We waiting for hours in line to get gas.  Paul Harvey, for those of us who remember him said that if we equated the price of a barrel of oil to the cost of wheat the crisis would disappear the next day.  The middle east can not feed themselves and we can.;  That condition still exist today.

Quote from: simpsonofpg on May 29, 2013, 02:33:23 PM
I just remember somthing.  In 1973 there was an artificial oil shortage created.  We waiting for hours in line to get gas.  Paul Harvey, for those of us who remember him said that if we equated the price of a barrel of oil to the cost of wheat the crisis would disappear the next day.  The middle east can not feed themselves and we can.;  That condition still exist today.

Interesting concept. It's called market manipulation, and it's one of the things we try to stand firmly against.

The simple fact is that from around 1960, the international oil market (and it is, and will always be, international) has favored the OPEC countries, mostly crowded in the Middle East. Their arbitrary raising of the price of a barrel of oil -- a serial event that started in 1973 -- is a quite natural act in a free economy. They had the supply, we had the demand -- horrors! Gas lines to buy the stuff at 48 cents/gallon.

In a sense, you might allege that we were "set up" for such treatment by the nationalization of most of the oil fields in the ME countries, and in a sense you'd be right. But in the end, that's how a market works -- them that has it charge all they can get from them than don't.

The sad fact is that, since the establishment of the USEPA, this country has been fighting itself viciously. Oil/gas production was suddenly a BAD thing and it must be curtailed and/or eliminated in every possible way. Congress has done basically nothing to stop this, but the real problem -- one that is now coming to the forefront -- is the runaway, omnivorous power-grabbing of the administrative agencies of the executive branch.

Folks in Norway currently pay US$9.63 for a gallon of gasoline. That price is a direct result of overwhelming government intervention, aimed at curbing gasoline use and at using gasoline taxes to subsidize social programs. Here in the US, we pay something close to $4/gallon, a price far higher than pure market forces would dictate, largely because of government policies aimed at reducing gasoline usage. In Venezuela, folks pay 6 cents/gallon (down from 25 cents a few years back) AGAIN as a direct result of government intervention.

Why?

Politics, plain and simple. We are and have always been and will always be our own worst enemies.

Quote from: TboneAgain on May 30, 2013, 01:28:26 PM
Folks in Norway currently pay US$9.63 for a gallon of gasoline.

Hmm it is now $10,43 
A more funny funfact is that the US paid for the Oil infrastructure in Norway, installed it and provided the expertise for it. When the deal was done Norway expropriated the rigs and complexes through a hidden clause in the contract and bought off the US experts to work for the new state company.

It would be good too see a chart of how much money countries of the world have invested in other countries, socialists would loose most of their arguments against US imperialism.

But to OP, what do you do when the megacorporations in conjunction with government start outlawing private gardening or regulate it to the extent it becomes unprofitable/difficult like the EU is doing?