UrbanRealtor, yes, I agree. The statistics dont lie and over the last 40 years more people have become wealthy in RE than any other asset or financial vehicle in the USA. It has certainly worked for me. Shelter is a pretty basic need.
However, in this economic situation we’re now in, I would caution anyone at this time to remain as liquid as possible. And the US$ may end-up surprising us all given the world economic conditions we’re now facing. Believe me, I’m not a big fan of the US$ for the last 9 years, but now most all currencies are looking fairly flawed. Which is why I’m becoming a gold bug of sorts lately. It’s real hard for central banks to screw with gold. And history has shown that central banks can get really stupid with their currency when they are scared….like now. It’s important to remember that most paper money is “currency” and not a store of value since it’s not tied to anything very tangible.
As far as having cash on hand…seems like cash is almost not used in our society much anymore. What with credit card, debit/ATM cards, check and wire payments, I almost dont need to have a greenback on me to get anything I want these days. It’s all a digital transfer of some kind. Most banks dont even have more than $10K or $20K on any given day. So if money networks broke down, yes, having cash would count for a lot. Otherwise, we’re a wired, digital world nowadays. If you’re alluding to govt control…if they rationed our access to our own money, welcome to the USSR of USA. All bets are off at that point. Private property right are the cornerstone of free enterprise and libery in general. Take away my access to my money and I’m leaving your country.(Yet another reason to have some of the yellow metal on hand.)
But none of these thoughts are my own. I got this from researching the subject lately. It occured to me a few months ago that this beast is different and demands new respect. So I checked into forecasters by going back over their old records and predictions. Bob Hoye and Marc Faber were two that seemed to really stand out in their accuracy and timing. Of course, they’re both old enough to have seen a lot, but they are both good students of economic history. Steven Keen in Australia seems pretty sharp as well. Check into these guys and see what you think.
No one can predict the future 100%, but I think the one most predictable variable through out the history of markets is human behavior. I think Mark Twain said,”Although history may not repeat itself exactly,it sure does seem to rhyme.”
