Safe Haven

we are in a deflationary period, which means holding cash is best as cash gains in value while assets fall in value.
 
Toastie,
Swiss franc, gold, deep OTM index puts as insurance.
Property and land can vary hugely in price and are illiquid; best bought when things are very bad. Having said that, some sectors of UK domestic property have held up very well, e.g. detached four bedders in the South East (of the UK).
Richard
 
It is an extreme example to get a point across, which appears to be lost on people here.

The USD has lost 30% of it's value against the Thai Baht in the time I've been living here.

How extreme does the move need to be before people realise that cash isn't a very efficient way to store value.

Are people OK with a 10% reduction in the value of their currency ?

Inflation erodes your currency holdings - how high does inflation have to be before people realise they are losing money.

In times of high inflation you are much better off to be in debt than to have savings. The value of your debts decreases in times of inflation as does the value of your savings.

The worlds economies are in debt up to their eyeballs - they all know they can inflate their way out of this debt and this is what central banks have done historically. Historically speaking we have levels of debt not seen in the west for a long time.

Germany between the wars is not a bad example. $250,000 for a loaf of bread is a possibility albeit remote.

So where you think all them bhatts are going?

Just saw they've raised rates too. Nice bit of extra carry then eh.
 
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The En Primeur for 2009 as Rath suggested is a good idea. I keep getting emails from Berry Bros on just how spankingly good it's supposed to be in relation to 2001 and 2005 so a case of a good Margaux or Pauillac might be worth a few bob in a while.

:idea: buy 2 cases, let them double in price over 15 years, sell one and drink for free :)
 
pedro,
just stock up on a few cases of water from carrefour every week.
fill your spare room, and sit back for the days ahead when water will the most valuable commodity on Earth
 
I saw a TV programme the other day [c4?], they bought an old mill in the middle of a forest next to a river. While they were fixing it up they stuck an Archimedes wheel downstream - they sell that power for £30,000 pa (I think it was 30k, might have been 60k) back to the grid. Not a bad investment compared to some other types of alternatives.
 
I saw a TV programme the other day [c4?], they bought an old mill in the middle of a forest next to a river. While they were fixing it up they stuck an Archimedes wheel downstream - they sell that power for £30,000 pa (I think it was 30k, might have been 60k) back to the grid. Not a bad investment compared to some other types of alternatives.

That was Countryfile on Sunday.
 
You might want to read up on pre-war Germany.

Let's say you had $250,000 right now and that in 2 years time, a loaf of bread would cost $250,000 - would you still say cash was king ?

It would get me a loaf of bread to feed my family vs.
a certificate that says "BOND" on it = worthless
a bar of gold = useless (no one could afford to buy it from you anyway


If you are looking for something that won't depreciate or will continue to ensure your financial worth then I think your search may be futile. If all major governments/currencies fail then there wil be no rich or poor.

Peter
 
If you want to move off the cheap stuff, try a Chateau Margaux, 2001 or 2005. If you like the Pauillac's I reckon you'll like the Margaux more.
 
After these premium plonks have been enjoyed etc. are the empty bottles worth anything ? I mean is there like a collectors market that scoops them up as a token of what once was sort of thing or do they just go to the recycling bins along with the £2.99 shiraz bottles ?

Just a thought that popped up...
 
Ok cheers, makes sense, almost to preserve the memory of the sense of history and enjoyment of it. Bet there must be wine bottle buffs who like to collect the empties too I expect.
 
Liking wine isn't pretentious but being a proper screaming queen about it is. See post #79 for further clarification on the matter. :)
 
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