Comments on Mokuren Dojo: Helpful handful: Smart investment in hard times

If everyone is just going to get bailed out, then ...

2008-09-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

If everyone is just going to get bailed out, then I wish I had maxed my credit to the gills buying a McMansion and a new Dodge Ram 4X4 like everyone else I knew back home.

What the heck are we teaching people these days? Make incredibly stupid financial choices and you don't have to pay the price?

I thought the question was, if you've paid the bil...

2008-09-27T20:28:00.000-05:00

I thought the question was, if you've paid the bills and have a few dollars left over, how should they be used? And I say that paying down loans early may be a mistake. I do not say that anyone should default on their financial and ethical obligations. I may be a townie but I'm not a cheat. :)

My take on it is that if things go bad (very bad) ...

2008-09-26T23:52:00.000-05:00

My take on it is that if things go bad (very bad) I'd rather have a place to sleep and land to grow a garden than a fistful of dollars.

But, like you, I'm no financial guru.

I am not an intelligent investor, and this should ...

2008-09-26T23:04:00.000-05:00

I am not an intelligent investor, and this should not be mistaken for advice. But I am willing to share a theory, and if my thinking is in error then I hope someone will correct me.

This bailout is advertised as a move to restore confidence. The government cannot or will not disclose how truly dire our circumstances are, because that would erode confidence.

Congress knows far more than we do, I am sure. At the same time, those millionaires are arguably in less danger than we are.

Putting 700 billion additional dollars in circulation would certainly lower the value of a dollar--which suggests we should NOT hold dollars in savings. But are depreciating assets preferable to illiquid assets?

For the next few months, or longer, it may be difficult to secure a home equity loan. Likewise, it may be difficult to sell a home if cash is needed.

In these times, who can guess the likelihood of a near-term personal emergency? Job loss, for example?

So, in the absence of extortionary interest rates, I would pay off outstanding loans no faster than necessary, and keep that cash in hand just in case. Or maybe invest it in commodities?

Again, this is just a theory. I know less about economics than martial arts, and I don't know much about martial arts.

I dunno. Splain why this would be the worst time t...

2008-09-26T20:35:00.000-05:00

I dunno. Splain why this would be the worst time to own your property and not have to pay the bank for it every month?

Pay off or pay down your home and your credit c...

2008-09-26T19:30:00.000-05:00
Pay off or pay down your home and your credit cards ASAP

Generally this might be a good idea, but isn't now the worst possible time to do it?

Patrick, I am in complete agreement with your post...

2008-09-26T12:10:00.000-05:00
Patrick, I am in complete agreement with your post. Poor, rural people faired much better in the 1930's Depression than big city folk. This is largely because they canned food, killed chickens and grew fruit and vegetables.
I also agree about front tine tillers. They are fine for small gardens. I have seen gardens that also use the no-till method, layering straw mulch, alfalfa, and other nutriants. plant seed in the mulch and continue mulching. Easy.
I tend to be a doom-and-gloomer, but we've been expecting "hard times" for a while now. Thirty years of the wealth of the nation being transfered upwards to the richest people in the world. Bridges, and levee's and water systems collapsing around us.
We need a new "New Deal".
D.R.