Do you consider 2008 to have been a disaster? 2008 would be no more than an inconvenience.  It was very widespread, but its impact was minimal.  Yes, some people had it pretty rough but I don't think "personal disaster" is particularly meaningful. Compare 2008 to Sandy hitting NYC.  And S...

I no longer have my emergency fund as part of my PP. Why:  My PP is entirely within a tax-deferred IRA so there is no good way to get that cash should it be needed. If not for that, I would count my cash (everything but the checking account) as part of my PP. Before I rolled my 401(k) into that IRA,...

Right now delays are typically production related - mints are turning big bars into the smaller products as fast as they can get the big bars and run them thru the mill. I prefer drop ship (where producer ships directly to me instead of to retailer who then ships to me) arranged via a broker, e.g. C...

Larshus, I do not know what you mean by "misnomer." I did not name anything incorrectly. Did I say energy costs did not matter?  Of course not, because they do matter.  However gold production costs have been increasing longer than energy costs. Did I say population caused increased gold p...

After I buy the car, though, I do not have similar options when it comes time to register my vehicle and obtain a license to operate my new vehicle.  When it comes to these services, I do not have any choice; I must deal with the entity that has a monopoly on the provision of these services in my m...

Benko wrote:It is very difficult to talk about any of this stuff both because it CANNOT be understood intellectually, and because much of it is inherently paradoxical

Then is it real?  Or is it simply fantasy of imagination, or worse the delusions of a fractured mind?

I think enlightened people transcend those issues that concern you. The concept of "aloneness" just wouldnt exist for them. Then again, many semi enlightened beings Jesus, Buddha, seemed to have a great deal of connection with other people. But they were spiritual leaders. And you'll noti...

In our recent debates on libertarianism, there seems to be this real hangup about how private property restricts the freedom of everyone else. Whenever we talk about property, we get a lot of responses like, "well, your right to fence off an arbitrary patch of ground restricts my ability to tr...

I have the same issues as the OP. Brokers in Europe are insured up to 100k eur. If you have 1 million to invest it is a real headache, it would be prudent to have as many as 5 brokers from an insured standpoint but terrible from a login/allocation/management point of view. I'd definitely be concern...

I'm still not personally sure why we should expect a positive real return on gold unless its becoming more scarce. Gold is definitely becoming more scarce.  Each oz costs more to mine (ore grades are typically much worse than 50 years ago) and more people in the world wanting gold. Silver has an ev...

MediumTex wrote: It would be nice if you could just wait for one of those huge drawdowns and buy some of those portfolios then.

Yeah, maybe just keep 25% in cash so you are ready to pounce on the deal when they occur!

Oh, wait...

The problem with leverage is you do NOT want to be levered when another event like Black Monday 1987 comes around. Since you are talking about multiple days, you should also consider the big drops the market has experienced over a week or longer. But since you are talking about leverage, if you are ...

On a side note, if I were a trader or market timer, I'd be a tad nervous about stocks right now. The time to buy was late 08 and early 09 when everyone hated them. What I'm seeing on Wall Street these days is a classic case of dumb money chasing hot money. We have had near five years of stunning ga...

90% correct. The only area of your summary where I entirely disagree is that of the "first step."  The first step is for the gov't to issue the debt.  The federal reserve system (not just the fed itself) is obligated to buy that debt in exchange for a credit to the gov'ts account. Yes, the...

I need to BUY something more expensive and as I am 100% PP I need your help: Shall I use the CASH 25% PORTION, it would be reduced to half or shall I close a portion in all 4 assets? Don't overthink it. Use the cash and rebalance if/as needed and convenient. If the cash were not sufficient then you...

You would end up with the same portfolio either way, other than having more transaction fees by selling and re-buying, so why would you do that? This. For the extreme example of "sell first" approach, consider you could always sell everything (going to 100% cash) and then rebuy everything...

I asked and they don't do it  :-\ I would have to close, imagine, half of each position and transfer and open new positions. Many brokers resist PUSHing assets other than cash to a new broker. Instead, ask your new broker to PULL the assets.  They are usually more happy about PULLing assets in than...

I understand that.  I was really wanting to hear why you think it is horrible for a PP strategy. For me, the PP provides peace of mind.  So if you are in all cash for a week, what's the big deal? And why would you need to be in all cash for a week?  Never more than 50% cash, because that is what yo...

If you have a long enough phone line to get your DSL modem plugged directly into the outside phone box bypassing the current wiring, you can determine if it is your inside wiring or not. Instead of a long phone line, I'd recommend a long extension cord and put the router outside by the phone networ...

A relative recently lost a loved one who left her a tax free life insurance benefit.  The relative would like to invest that money in permanent portfolio in an account that itself would be tax free or at least deferred to ultimately leave to her heirs. The payment is tax free because it came from l...

But, not sure I understand why we would want "low (but not zero) resistance and volts between neutral and ground." Obviously "zero" resistance and volts would be a sign of a bootleg job. But, wouldn't "low (but not zero) resistance and volts" imply that the neutral and...

Are you talking about what the federal government could imaginably get away with if all our armed forces and legal structures simply decided to start committing mass murder/genocide? What do you mean "if [they] simply decided" ??  The decision is done.  Those actions have been and continu...

To me its pretty clear. The fiat value of the coin would be higher than the metallic content, so I would see it as a fiat currency that happened to be stamped on gold. The gold content ensures that a counterfeiter would have to spend at least $1,400 trying to create a duplicate. That difference in ...

You are simply making sh*t up. It certainly does feel like that at times! Definitely not making it up. You can read more about the history of money in this book: ... I am not sure why I am getting such a vitriolic response. Because you are making this stuff up: The gold was basically an extra step ...

Historically, many of the previous monies that were issued were effectively fiat money that happened to be stamped on to gold. The gold was basically an extra step in the currencies' counterfeit prevention process, not the driver of their value. That is 100% ignorant of monetary history.  You are s...