Financial Info, Please

[Anja]

Real gold; fake gold. Gee, there's one more thing I hadn't thought of!

Oh yeah, the taxing here in MN is nuts. Everytime money changes hands somebody pays taxes on it again. The inheritance tax is pretty irritating to me considering that it was once taxable income. I think that's called double-dipping when it's done by the public.

[Anja]

Hi tENnis.

So what to make of these folks who say everythings's gonna be just fine and keep your money in?

Is it fair to view them as people who are protecting their own investments by giving that advice?

[LostInNerSpace]

Originally Posted by Anja

I think I, by lack or knowledge or expertise in the financial area, need to gather information and consider what others are saying in order to make a decision. It's not so much a matter of having anyone tell me what to do as it is listening carefully and hearing answers in repetitive patterns. Then combining that with the directioon that seems the most comfortable to me.

Good idea.

Originally Posted by Anja

I do agree that the past is the best predictor of the the future.

Actually it's not. The past can only really serve as a useful guide.

What happened in the past? What are the possibilities going forward?

Then there is the possibility that this time we will see something completely new.

[Little Linguist]

Heh. That's what I was just thinking. The German bankers made a huge mistake because they based their decisions on past precedent with regard to the American real estate market. If they had reconsidered their basis on past precedent, they might not have made the mistake. Just a thought.

[Anja]

Okay. The hopeful stance. Guess I can do that. I do know that in relationships that statement that the past is the best predictor of the future generally holds true.

I tend to look at society as a macrocosm of the individual. But yes, there is a qualifier. And that is"without useful intervention." And therein lies the problem. . .

[ptgatsby]

Originally Posted by Anja

Is it fair to view them as people who are protecting their own investments by giving that advice?

No, it really isn't.

Let me put this another way; if you believe the past is the best predictor of the future, gold returns roughly 0% (I think it is about 0.025%, a little higher if you lease it) over time (real returns).

Historically, in real returns, any broad index returned 4-8% over the last century, compounded.

Buying gold now = herd mentality, nothing else.

[Anja]

I don't know that you understood my question, pt.

To reword: people who tell you to leave your money in the bank - are they suggesting you to do the same in the sake of hoping to quell a "run" on the banks.

Because, certainly, if many panic and take their money out that is not going to have good results.

Are we on the same page?

[ptgatsby]

Originally Posted by Anja

I don't know that you understood my question, pt.

To reword: people who tell you to leave your money in the bank - are they suggesting you to do the same in the sake of hoping to quell a "run" on the banks.

Because, certainly, if many panic and take their money out that is not going to have good results.

Are we on the same page?

I thought you were referring to the market itself, not the banks.

I'd only be concerned if you are over the FDIC limit in a bank, or if you actually need tens of thousands in cash for some reason. Neither of which really matters in a bank run itself, unless there is an underlying cause (like the bankruptcy of the bank).

[Anja]

The day, a couple of month ago, when the first bank failed in CA I thought, "Uh-oh."

And I wont even go into what Wells Fargo did to me, but it was unbelievable until I read others were having the same problem. I had belonged to a MN bank which was bought by WF.

(I believe the limit is $100,000.00?)

[ptgatsby]

Originally Posted by Anja

The day, a couple of month ago, when the first bank failed in CA I thought, "Uh-oh."

And I wont even go into what Wells Fargo did to me, but it was unbelievable until I read others were having the same problem. I had belonged to a MN bank which was bought by WF.

(I believe the limit is $100,000.00?)

The service definitely sucks and things can go topsy turvy, so transferring to a more reliable bank makes some sense. I see no reason why you shouldn't do that, if that is the issue... Credit Unions should be the safest, but I'm assuming they are of the same design as the Canadian CUs.

The limit is 100,000, except in special cases, as far as I know.