Thanks Kbg, I appreciate the info. I'm not a reader or fan of ZeroHedge but other sites use them for source. This is the page that got me thinking about this:

http://demonocracy.info/infographics/us ... osure.html

Since I've only contributed questions, here's info on what I've done to minimize exposure to general calamity. I've closed all accounts with big banks and deal exclusively with a credit union. I carry no debt, including no mortgage. I've opened a Perth Mint account and am slowly filling it. I keep i...

Most of us on these forums are prudently taking care of tax planning, bad investor behavior, and inflation (where we can). I don't consider those pressing issues for conscientious folks like us. I asked about derivatives because they are the ultimate black swan. The PP was designed with black swans ...

One downside to gold coins in a SHTF world is, most people are completely ignorant about gold. The coins have a face value of $50 and that's probably what you would be offered for it. Someone said to me the other day, "How much is gold worth these days, like, $200?" They had no idea what t...

Search is rejecting all my terms for being too common. Anyways, you must mean inflation. Yes, I failed to mention that and it can be significant. I can't think of anything else though.

A nice benefit of bonds is the guaranteed return if held to maturity. You receive interest payments while you hold the bond and get back the initial investment when it matures. A bond fund like TLT behaves the same way if held until the average or effective duration. No matter what happens with inte...

Bonds seem to be the asset that will offer the most "buying opportunities" over the next economic cycle. That's fine with me, as I'm 15 years out from retirement. At that time, I should have amassed a huge pile of bonds for cheap. Just in time for them to start going back up.

I've been considering Perth Mint for physical gold holding. They're just a phone call away from shipping the bullion or a plane trip away from getting it myself (google says 26 hours travel minimum!). In theory, it sounds good. I just hope the logistics of it all don't prove to be a problem.

I don't really understand what derivatives are but I know they're big bets that could go very wrong. Smart and wealthy people like Buffett have warned against them. I would like to know the risk to the PP if the derivative market crashes. Would it be like 2008, or more like Mad Max? Is there anythin...

I went through this info in early 2016 and decided to create stand-alone PPs within each account (RRSP and TFSA). Rebalancing is simple and tax-free, and reflects the sentiment behind the PP in the first place-- keep it simple.

eufo wrote:Needless to say, I really chose the wrong moment to buy gold.

The odds of an asset going down as soon as you buy it is almost 100%. The PP is a "cover all bases" portfolio. Something is always going up and something is always going down.

I was looking for something like this recently and was satisfied by the Wikipedia list. I'm sure it's not complete but it's pretty comprehensive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullion_c ... lion_coins

RIP Prince David Bowie George Michael Nancy Reagan Carrie Fisher Debbie Reynolds and Permanent Portfolio Forum I know, I know. One of these things is not like the others. I also lost my grandfather this year (at 96 years young). Now that my youth is officially gone, it's time to look forward. I thin...

I have a pie chart in google sheets with the 4 assets in percentages. changing the numbers around gives a quick visual of the math. I just did a test and gold would indeed lose half it's value (drops to $600) to reach 15%. But that's with all other assets staying static, which should never happen. N...

...that is a lot of angst you've got to sit through watching it drop to those levels! I believe Harry Browne chose 15/35 because that reflects the typical amount of downside/upside of the volatile assets before they start to swing in the other direction, thus buying low and selling high. edit: I've...

what if This is the reason why we invest in the PP to begin with. What should happen is not the same as what does happen. These forums are littered with dead and gone predictions that went nowhere. I can agree with your logic but it doesn't help me make a better decision. Continue questioning the P...

Johnny, interesting story that it bothered you enough to sell. Try silver? I love silver, in any form. I'm embarrassed to say that I was suckered into silver in 2011 at the peak. I wasn't aware of Jack Bogle or Harry Browne (or common sense) and I was convinced that silver was finally repricing its...

I've heard people say that holding your first gold coin is quite an experience. I bought my first coin in the summer and brought it home to see what the fuss was about. Disappointment would be a mild word. I gave it some time, thinking I just need to let it sink in but nothing happened. After severa...

I've always believed prosperity is in the cards for 2016-2020 but weird things can happen that derail momentum. It's why I invest 4x25 regardless of my beliefs (with some VP on the side because its fun).

Taylor at BH posted this excellent link and I thought it was worth bringing over here. Just another reminder to ignore the noise.

http://thereformedbroker.com/2016/12/15 ... year-ever/

Canadian long term bond ETF popped +1% on the rate hike news today. Canada should be following the trend shortly. To show what it's like trading in a non-reserve currency, gold dropped -1% but the CAN dollar dropped -1% too, so even-steven.

I wanted to bring this thread back and see where people are at with their contribution methods. I'm currently adding to the lagging asset, but I can see why equal contributions would be beneficial. A rising tide raises all boats and equal contributions raise all assets. This maintains the AA 'drift'...

I ran across this interesting bit, discussing the possibility of India shifting more of their gold purchasing to silver. Could mean big changes to the silver market if it materializes.

http://qz.com/851315/is-silver-replacin ... 100-years/

Cortopassi, why do you have silver? I like silver myself but I don't know how to classify it as an investment.

PeteKoziar wrote:Instead, I made up my own "fund" of individual stocks that have a low PE and high profitability.

This was what Harry Browne originally recommended before index investing became much easier. As long as you can maintain sufficient volatility of the stock quadrant, I think it's a fine idea.