I had a breakthrough today with my wife.

mrpaseo

Today my wife and I were talking a little about our finances and the economy and what may lie ahead. I mentioned that I want to start purchasing PMs as a part of our portfolio. I then told her about something I saw on YouTube about a guy that said he equated everything that he bought or was about to buy into the Silver. Basically, when he wanted to buy a five dollar cup of Joe, he asked himself, "Do I want a cup or do I want a silver quarter?". He then went on to explain that he usually chose the silver and his stack grew.

As we went through our day I found my wife saying, "That was three oz of Silver that we just spent" (When we spent about $100 on clothes for her). When we went to eat lunch, she said, "That was two oz of silver".

I hope to keep her to think this way so I can sock away more silver and she understands why I want so much..lol.

Thanks for reading,
Ray

1jester

Ray, you're way ahead of the game if you have a sensible wife who thinks like that! Congrats to the both of you!

Stay safe, bro!

PerryHall

Who needs a $5 cup of coffee? Make your own and save a ton of money. It's good to put away some gold and silver but be realistic about it and realize that you're not going to live forever and that you can't take it with you so you should live a little while you're still here.

mrpaseo

<< <i>Who needs a $5 cup of coffee? Make your own and save a ton of money. It's good to put away some gold and silver but be realistic about it and realize that you're not going to live forever and that you can't take it with you so you should live a little while you're still here. >>



Agreed, on both accounts. We are at ground zero on stacking silver so it's a little exciting for us. That said, we have yet to do our first real purchase. The only stack I have is a roll of dimes (From a fellow forum member).

Ray

slinc

You are one up on me, For the life of me I can't get my wife on board with Gold/Silver being anything more then just shiny metal.

mrpaseo

<< <i>You are one up on me, For the life of me I can't get my wife on board with Gold/Silver being anything more then just shiny metal. >>



I talked to my wife about inflation and how the government can hardly keep up with the interest payments alone never mind the principle. I told her that they just keep making more money to pay the debt which is flooding the market making the fiat money worthless... I then explained that for as long as mankind has been here, PMs have always been regarded as a medium of barter.

Almost daily I use an excel tracker to demonstrate the how money grows over time. Basically, you fill in a few questions (How much do you have, how much will you save monthly, what interest rate will you earn, what is your age and when will you retire) and it tells you how much your money today, will be worth when you retire. So, if you put in that $5 dollar coffee, earn 6% over 49 years (My daughter is 16 and retirement age is 65), her $5 will be worth $86.89.

That same coffee once per month ($5 saved per month earning 6%) in 49 years will be worth $17,447.04

Once I started using this workbook, they both started to understand what saving now will be worth in the future.

mrpaseo

Here is a snapshot of the form, if anyone wants a copy just send me an e-mail requesting.



mrpaseo@hotmail.com

Ray

mrpaseo

I went through the "Financial Peace University" class while deployed to Iraq. The instructor asked us to go home and figure out how long it would take us to make a million dollars. This form is set up to highlight green at a million, yellow at 500,000 to 999,999 and red below that. That said, the form can be used for meany reasons, I like to use it for "What if" scenarios. For example.

What if I want to retire at 50 years old?

What if I save $200 per month?

What if I earn 8% average?

What if you took that XXX.XX that you got for Christmas and invested it earning 10%, what would it be worth when you retire? When you graduate high school?

tneig

I liked buying and spending on everything. Then I noticed the true conversion about 8 months ago, where I realized I equated all other non-PM spending as a waste. Gas, food, bills all seemed wasteful and contrary to my new "Addiction." The exception I didn't mind was the AR and the bullets. I feel the urge to spend coming on again, but I still want it to be metal!
Not a bad addiction when unemployed considering the alternative that almost all other spending equates to lost value. So even with PMs a bit low, I feel like I retained value.

Not a bit of success with the spouse though, Still wants her annual subscriptions from the mint. Few other friends dabbling in the few hundred dollar range, but that's it.

A fundamental in all early retirement planning should now include 'preservation of the wealth' as well. Without this part, its meaningless.

mrpaseo

<< <i>A fundamental in all early retirement planning should now include 'preservation of the wealth' as well. Without this part, its meaningless. >>




Exactly! Thank you for sharing.

Ray

ksammut

My son and I go to our local B&Ms and make purchases every week. Occasionally, my wife will join us. The B&M owners know that when they see her, we will be spending more than what my son and I normally do on a weekly basis.

My wife has gone from not paying very much attention to our investments and the economy in general to reading the Wall Street Journal every day. I have not had to convince her that we should be purchasing PMs. She sees what is happening with our government and the economy and is totally on board with how our portfolio is positioned and the percentage PMs in it.

VanHalen

<< <i>I had a breakthrough today with my wife. >>



You are a lucky man!

razzle

mrpaseo, thanks for passing this along. I sent the chart around. Love it. Wish I had learned to convert my purchases to silver equivalents as a teen, early 20's. Back then, I converted everything into how many quarts of Schmidt's beer I could buy (50 cents/qt in those days).

secondrepublic

smart move. by regularly saving and investing you're ahead of the vast majority of Americans.

Darwin

What may be worth a silver quarter today may be worth a silver half in 2 years. Or, a silver dime.

jmski52

A regular habit of socking money away is *always* *always* *always* smart. Putting it into silver on a regular basis over a long period of time will eliminate one type of risk, but not all risk.

Be aware that the total "nominal" value of the silver could be cut in half, or it could double in a very short period of time. This can result in you feeling really dumb on occasion, and really hyper-cool-intelligent on other occasions.

You have to learn to look beyond those reactions in order to focus on the real objective which is longterm accumulation.

It's good to see you back home and focused on saving for the future.

mrpaseo

<< <i>A regular habit of socking money away is *always* *always* *always* smart. Putting it into silver on a regular basis over a long period of time will eliminate one type of risk, but not all risk.

Be aware that the total "nominal" value of the silver could be cut in half, or it could double in a very short period of time. This can result in you feeling really dumb on occasion, and really hyper-cool-intelligent on other occasions.

You have to learn to look beyond those reactions in order to focus on the real objective which is longterm accumulation.

It's good to see you back home and focused on saving for the future. >>



I appreciate it, I am now retired from Active Duty with just over 20 years. With the cut in pay and lots of time on my hand I am learning more about the economy, fiat money and how to secure our future.

Ray

mrpaseo

I just remembered, on the ride back home she said something about shutting off our smart phones. We talked about how we could purchase two oz per month, or 24 in a year with the money saved...lol. Not sure I can live without my smart phone, it's kind of like a drug, once you have it, it's hard to kick...

Ray

Baley

When I think of all the money I spent in my late teens, twenties, and early thirties on worldwide skiing and scuba diving vacations, on nice meals with pretty girls, on clubs and hotels and action sports, on concerts and comedy shows and gambling, as well as all those starbucks coffees (and the tips to barristas, bartenders, and bellhops) not to mention capital consumed foolishly on college tuition, and that I've given to charities and invested in companys that do research, it really makes me sick how much gold and silver I could have bought and still have.

And now, in my late 40's, I find myself wasting cash on mortgage payments, energy bills, food bills, clothes bills, misc entertainment bills, toys, books and immunization shots!

It ain't good, having so little gold in my life

mrpaseo

<< <i>When I think of all the money I spent in my late teens, twenties, and early thirties on worldwide skiing and scuba diving vacations, on nice meals with pretty girls, on clubs and hotels and action sports, on concerts and comedy shows and gambling, as well as all those starbucks coffees (and the tips to barristas, bartenders, and bellhops) not to mention capital consumed foolishly on college tuition, and that I've given to charities and invested in companys that do research, it really makes me sick how much gold and silver I could have bought and still have.

And now, in my late 40's, I find myself wasting cash on mortgage payments, energy bills, food bills, clothes bills, misc entertainment bills, toys, books and immunization shots!

It ain't good, having so little gold in my life >>



My wife and I converse about wasted money of the past all the time. When we were courting we wasted about $36,000 a year... (Two Years) with nothing to show for it (Silver oz was under $6, gold was $384 oz... SMDH). Just for S&G, let's assume we bought silver with half the money we wasted in one year, $15,500 / $6 = 2583 oz of Silver, the value today would be: $74,451... If we did this for both years we would have $148,903 (Depressing). Mind you, we both lived in the barracks (Army), as a lower enlisted we have no bills as housing and food is taken care of, the only bills we have are our own such as clothes and vehicle... I wish I knew then what I know now (Just the importance of saving and investing, I'm not talking about what Silver would go to).

Ironically, our best saving years seemed to be when we had a loss in income. For example, my wife decided to stop working at a job, this caused us to evaluate our budget and if we could afford to live without her income... As it turned out, we were able to... but at the same time, we realized we were not saving enough so we raised our savings/investments.... This happened a few times.

Sadly, this is the first year where I feel we have our budget in order... And I am unemployed and looking for ways to save/invest more... lol... just how it works.

nibanny

<< <i>When I think of all the money I spent in my late teens, twenties, and early thirties on worldwide skiing and scuba diving vacations, on nice meals with pretty girls, on clubs and hotels and action sports, on concerts and comedy shows and gambling, as well as all those starbucks coffees (and the tips to barristas, bartenders, and bellhops) not to mention capital consumed foolishly on college tuition, and that I've given to charities and invested in companys that do research, it really makes me sick how much gold and silver I could have bought and still have.

And now, in my late 40's, I find myself wasting cash on mortgage payments, energy bills, food bills, clothes bills, misc entertainment bills, toys, books and immunization shots!

It ain't good, having so little gold in my life >>



You forgot this , right?

I spent 90% of my money on women, drink and fast cars. The rest I wasted.

Downtown1974

My wife has about as much interest in my PM purchases, as I do in her shoe and pocket book purchases.

fiveNdime

<< <i>When I think of all the money I spent in my late teens, twenties, and early thirties on worldwide skiing and scuba diving vacations, on nice meals with pretty girls, on clubs and hotels and action sports, on concerts...

And now, in my late 40's, I find myself wasting cash on mortgage payments, energy bills, food bills, clothes bills, misc entertainment bills, toys, books and immunization shots!

It ain't good, having so little gold in my life >>


i have similiar memories and doubt the investment versus all that enjoyment could have been better spent.
i don't think that i would trade them.

i wasted the most money on a divorce, which at the time would be about 25oz of gold.
i did manage to keep the collection, except what she had already sold(stolen).

she never understood "spending money to buy money"

i only have 1.5 oz of gold, but a fair amount of silver.
& i've been debt free for over a year now (mortgage only)

mrpaseo

<< <i>I've been debt free for over a year now (mortgage only) >>



Awesome, this is a good way to live. Imagine when you have the mortgage paid off...

fastrudy

I had a 'breakthrough' with my first wife and it resulted in my second child. I bought him a gold coin when he was born.

cohodk

<< <i>

<< <i>I've been debt free for over a year now (mortgage only) >>



Awesome, this is a good way to live. Imagine when you have the mortgage paid off... >>




I never had as much debt as I do right now.

mrpaseo

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>I've been debt free for over a year now (mortgage only) >>



Awesome, this is a good way to live. Imagine when you have the mortgage paid off... >>




I never had as much debt as I do right now. >>



This is not a good way to live. That said, we are all there before we are debt free... just the roller coaster of life.

cohodk

Depends what the debt is used for. Just as an example, some people think gold will double or triple in the next 5-10 years. This implies a 7-14% per year return. If you can borrow money at an interest rate much lower than this, then debt can be used extremely effectively. Debt is also a necessary if one is consider building or expanding a business. For example, a trucking company might take on $200,000 in debt to buy a new truck if that truck could generate $200,000 in profit. The use of debt is also highly effective if it is used to acquire income producing assets.

And debt today is very cheap. Those thinking inflation is about to explode may consider the possibilities of using debt to enhance ones investment portfolio.

Debt is only evil if used inappropriately. If we listen to many on this board, interest rates are about to explode higher. So would you rather lock in low rates today, or wait for higher rates tomorrow? Microsoft has mountains of cash, so why did they issue debt? Surely they dont need more money.

If you have debt that is at a 15 or 20% rate, then yes, you should pay it off. But it might be foolhardy to pay off debt that is sub 5%.

mrpaseo

True, at one point in my life I have about $30,000 on credit cards... I also had the money to pay them off in the bank. Why didn't I do it? The credit cards were 0% interest for 12 months at a time (I transferred the balance from credit card to credit card for about 18 months). I had the $30k in a savings account earning 4% (INGDirect at the time). At the end of the year I claimed about $400 in interest from this and a few other similar money generating adventures.

Ray

secondrepublic

those who want to loan you money often talk about "good debt." but debt just means you owe someone else money. there's nothing "good" about it.

sure, debt can be necessarily evil -- to buy a house, to go to college -- but you're best off not owing anyone anything. if you owe anyone money, it's best to pay it off. there are circumstances where perhaps you can borrow money at below the rate of inflation or below what an alternative safe investment can provide; but those are rare. the last time that happened was between 1974 and 1982 when there were huge swings in interest rates which allowed the savvy to profit at the expense of lenders. however, banks and lenders usually win the lending game.

cohodk

but you're best off not owing anyone anything

I dont agree. Debt helps to spread risk. Debt also allows one to leverage their capital. Problem is that most people dont understand debt and misuse it.

VanHalen

<< <i>...And debt today is very cheap... >>



That's a huge thing and the primary reason why debt can be used very effectively if we are prudent.

bronco2078

In my mind I try to subtract the rate of inflation from what a lender is asking and if the answer is less than 0% its a no brainer.

You could take out a 0% balance transfer on a credit card and deposit it in a cyprus ban paying 7%


On second though

VanHalen

<< <i>In my mind I try to subtract the rate of inflation from what a lender is asking and if the answer is less than 0% its a no brainer.

You could take out a 0% balance transfer on a credit card and deposit it in a cyprus ban paying 7%


On second though >>



That's the right track!

Subtract the rate of return from what a lender is asking and if the answer is greater than 0%, it's a no-brainer.

If I can get a 6% return on money I'm borrowing for 4%?

Jinx86

See this is why I come here. Smart conversations where I can actually learn. Before I got laid off from work I was getting my paperwork together to refinance my mortgage to a better rate. A few friends of mine told me I should try to take out an additional 30K. Seemed like a lot to me at first but I have much more then that in equity after owning the house for only five years.

I had planned to use the 30K to do minor work on the house to bring up its value. Just updating and new windows/doors, frame basement walls and insolate them also. Making my house much more efficient for our cold winters. Most I would have done myself. And with the remainder I had no immediate plans for other then some PM's.

jmski52

I haven't made a special effort to pay down my mortgage because I'm fine with paying it off in cheaper dollars. On the other hand, I'd feel a little differently if I didn't have enough to be able to pay it off.

It's one thing to play the interest rate vs. inflation rate game when you have it under control, but quite another if you are walking on the ledge between being able to make the payments and not being able to make the payments.

To anyone under the age of 50, I can't stress enough the importance of staying with a job that has a reasonable income. To anyone under the age of 35, I can't stress enough the importance of getting yourself educated and trained in order to be able to compete for that job.