Saturday, October 26, 2013

Rant about Wall Street

I've lost so much investing in stocks and options that I feel a rant about Wall Street is in order. Of course, I might not be typical because I am schizophrenic and I have delusions of grandeur. But I feel that Wall Street is such a rigged game that no one has any business investing there.
One of the reasons I used to invest was that I was trying to make money the way the wealthy make it. I felt that making money that way would shield me from taxes and my money would be making me more money.
Of course, being a working class person the only money I had to work with was borrowed money. I always started from a position of weakness. I usually started out well but when things turned against me I would have to sell out of my positions before it would turn around.
 Political decisions have also been disastrous for me. I've lost 100% on my Delphi bonds and I lost thousands on General Motors preferred stock. If I had the inside information about those two things I might be a millionaire now.
When I watch the way that Fannie Mae stock moves it is apparent to me that somebody is trading with inside information on a daily basis. Poor people just don't have access to the information that would really make a lot of money. Hedge fund managers and Pension managers do; and we poor people are betting against them. It's a loser's game. I think I came to that conclusion in 1989; when I lost my shirt, trading commodities. I don't know why I keep getting drawn back in. Maybe I watch Jim Cramer on CNBC too much. There was a time that I doubled my money using his advice. Then I started trading options instead of stocks. I lost everything that I had made in a month. That was what happened to the money from the sale of my house.
I wanted to insert this in here. The information you get on TV or the Internet may be tainted. I was watching CNBC a few week ago and someone was saying that gold could only go down from where it was. I think Goldman-Sachs even said something similar. Then gold went up. I think it was because there are so many people like me who are preparing for the collapse (especially in China and India) that we are driving the prices up. Anyway I have to wonder if people put out lies on CNBC to get better prices to buy at.
The last few years I've been trading on borrowed money. It's been a disaster. I've been trying to pay back what I borrowed a year ago last March. It will take another year to get back to just being broke instead of being in debt. It seems that my whole life has been dedicated to paying off debts.
The last six months or so I've been trying to get ready for the economic collapse. I believe it was last June that I was watching the stock market and the gold market collapse in tandem. The only thing that saved us from a total collapse (in my opinion) was that the news media was distracted by the Boston bombing. It looked to me that the world's economy was collapsing. Since then, I've been buying food, guns, and gold.
I am wondering how much of this is my delusional thinking. Now instead of spending on stock options I'm buying 1/10 ounce gold coins. Is this just my old, sick thinking in a different form?
I don't know but I'm going to keep at it. I've got enough gold for now. In fact I might have too much. I saw something on the Internet where someone said that in a Shit Hits the Fan situation that the last thing people will want is a shiny metal. He might be right. I've spent almost $2000 on gold and silver. Peter Schiff seems to think it will retain it's value but I don't know for certain.
Food, on the other hand will always be needed. I bought a 20# bag of rice last week. I need beans and more rice. If I have a 3 month supply I could survive a pandemic as well as the beginning of a financial collapse.
That's my goal for now. Eventually I would like to have my own trailer and some land to park it on. That will take years to achieve. If I can hang on to my job I should have a trailer in a year or two. A mining claim (where I could park my trailer) might come sooner. Well, it's something to work towards.
Later     


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Am I Basing my Thinking on Fear too Much?

I find myself buying food, guns, and gold in anticipation of the currency collapse. Maybe I'm over doing it.
I was thinking about that, yesterday. I've been reading a book by Napoleon Hill named "Think and Grow Rich". It talks about how your thinking brings what you think about into existence. Maybe I'm thinking too much about the pending collapse.
I also watched a couple of YouTube videos by Alex Ansary and Glendon Cameron. They were on the same topic; how fearful thinking can take you over and mess up your life. My early childhood (which was impaired by an abusive family and poverty) might have set me up for such negative thinking. Also the fact that everything I've ever done to get out of the working class trap has caused me to lose a lot of money. I'm fearful of the future because the past has been so bad.
The only thing that has worked for me has been the welfare system and now both the Democrats and Republicans seem to want to take that away.
They call it cutting out "entitlements". That's just another word for Social Security.
Of course, if the currency collapses, even that won't work. It would be a catastrophe for everyone. I doubt that I can adequately prepare for it. I'll just have to hope that it won't be as bad as I think it will be.
Some things I can do is to get counseling. I was talking with a counselor named Sonja. Maybe I could see if she would take gold coins for counselling.
I also talked with a Christian Science practitioner. I would have to use money for her but it might be worth it.
Of course, I'm thinking that what is in your mind becomes your reality in the external world. This is similar to the "Law of Attraction". I do think the law of attraction works. We bring into our lives what we think about. As Glendon Cameron put it, if our mind is full of fear there is no room for anything else to enter into it.
Anyway, if you are interested in this line of thought go to Glendon Cameron and Alex Ansary on YouTube. They both expressed this thinking better than I do.
Later





Saturday, October 19, 2013

More on buying a Trailer

I priced a couple of small trailers at a local dealer, today. His price was about $2000 lower than the one I priced last week in LaCrosse. They were also lighter; which means more tow able. I really liked them.
They were still $11000. That's several thousand more than what I can afford. I'll wait for a few months and see if the price comes down more. Trailer sales seems to be a seasonal thing around here. I really like the new ones. They are a lot lighter and livable than the older ones. I was troubled by the inside height of the ceiling. I'll be bumping my head all of the time. I'll have to stoop over all of the time.
I'm thinking about trying to enlist Gary T. to help me with my prepping for the currency collapse. He already said that I could keep ammo at his place. He has two houses. Maybe I could keep food there, as well.
If I were to park my trailer there I might be able to justify buying a trailer to my banker who has the final say on my spending because a social worker had me sign over that to him. I figure that I could say I'm saving money. Maybe I could get Gary to let me stay there for free. At least it shouldn't cost more than $100/month. That would save me $185.
I just went to Ebay and priced some mining claims. Somebody is selling a lot of claims in New Mexico at low prices. I'm tempted to buy a mining claim for several reasons:
  1.  Since I believe that the currency is collapsing I want my wealth in gold and silver.
  2.  The temperature should be moderate.
  3.  I'll be quite a distance from large population centers
  4. They are much cheaper than land, especially land in Iowa.
 Of course, there are some disadvantages of moving to New Mexico:
  1.  The weather might not be so nice. Being mountainous, it might be snowy in the winter.
  2.  It would be far from water.
  3. That's why the original miners didn't get all the gold in the first place.
  4. I would miss being around people. 
  5. I wouldn't have Internet access. 
  6. Since it's basically a desert, food might be scarce.
 I'll have to think about this a bit before I bid on one of these claims. Of course, this might be a "once in a lifetime" opportunity. I might bid on one or two of these claims.
Another thing that seems to be going cheaply are Chinese gold Pandas. They are a gold coin from China. I look at the 1/10 ounce ones. They sell at a big discount to other gold coins. I don't know why. Maybe it's because there have been a lot of counterfeit Pandas on the market. Anyway, I might buy another one if the price stays low, tonight.
I just noticed that somebody erased a blog posting that I had about "Is the Coming Apocalypse another way to get us to Spend Money". Maybe I'm on to something. I can't remember all that I said in that posting but I remember complaining about how I feel I need to spend an arm and leg to prepare for the certain financial collapse. Maybe that was just too close to the truth and the powers that be took it down. Oh well, it was probably just a glitch but I don't know.
Later





Friday, October 18, 2013

Buying Land for the Currency Collapse

I'm still trying to get ready for the currency collapse.
Lately, I've been pricing land to bug out to. I've found some land in the forest of Minnesota, mining claims in New Mexico and land in Northern California. I've been using Ebay to look for land.
I think I need to broaden my search. Maybe I should restrict my search to somewhere within 100 miles of where I live. I would like to find a place near a large body of water so I could fish for food. That could be important if we are no longer able to buy food.
If the Weidermeyers (who wrote "Aftershock") are right, then real estate prices will come down to 1/3 of what they are now. Maybe I should just wait for the collapse and buy land then. I was watching a YouTube video about someone who moved into a forest, living in a trailer. He had his trailer given to him. That sounds good to me. I could afford a free trailer.
I think I'll concentrate on the trailer, for now. I could probably move my trailer to Holstein, Iowa and live with relatives, if I have to.
I'm getting too scattered in my thinking. I need to concentrate on getting the trailer. After all if I have a trailer I could take it anywhere in the country, if I had to.
It would be good to have land so that I could raise a garden and a few animals, but the important thing for now is mobility. Of course, if we won't be able to buy gas, I won't be going anywhere.
I need to network more and get people to share their resources. I don't feel that I can get adequately prepared for the collapse on my own.
Maybe I'm making too much out of the pending currency collapse. After all, none of my friends seem to be at all concerned about it. Of course, amongst the prepper community we refer to such people as sheeple. That's a combination of the words sheep, and people. You get my meaning.
 I do feel that the politicians, and bankers have messed up the world's economy beyond repair.
On that note, I will leave you for now.
Later


            



Sunday, October 13, 2013

More Preparing for the Financial Collapse

I'm still getting ready for the financial collapse. I had a letter telling me that I'm pre-approved for a loan of $6000. I knew that the interest rate for that loan is 23% so I didn't call them. I did ask for an increase in credit limit from my two credit cards. So far I've gotten an increase of $3500. The other card is making me wait.
 I've been spending that money to buy more silver and camping equipment for the financial collapse. I also priced a trailer. It was only a year old and it's small enough that I could pull it with my van. They are asking $13000. I might offer them $8000 and see if they will take it.
 I'm also looking for another job. The Peace and Justice Center is getting on my nerves. I got into a phone conversation with somebody who, apparently, makes up his own facts about fracking for oil. I don't want to work at a place that is so political.
 Tomorrow I'm applying for a job at the community college that I attend. It's a janitor position but it pays better than what I'm getting now. If it works out I should be able to get my trailer by next year.
Some of the reasons I want a trailer is that I'll be able to live "off the grid" a lot easier. These are self-contained. They have water tanks for water. They can run off of a battery (which could be charged by a solar panel). They use propane to heat with. And they have their own shower and toilet. If I had to, I could just go anywhere and have a place to live.
 Having a trailer would work well with my idea of panning for gold. I could just live on the claims where I'm searching for gold. I don't think I'll make much money doing that but I should be able to live cheaply.
 I'm also thinking about getting my own land. Jim's place comes to mind. It's close to the river so I should be able to catch fish, no matter what the economy is like. I could also use the trees to build a house and garage. I'm afraid that I'm too lazy for that. I could also raise chickens and pigs and rabbits for food. It would also have enough room to grow a garden.
 I bought a lifetime supply of ammo, last week. It came on Friday. I'm going to split it up so I don't lose it all in case of a fire or tornado.
I'm also going to be buying more food. That is probably something I should have bought before the ammo, but I'm male so I don't think that way.
I still need to befriend a farmer for long-term security. I guess, if things really go terribly bad I could haul my trailer to Western Iowa and live with relatives who are farmers.
 Thursday, the debt limit will be reached. We'll find out if the politicians are as evil as everybody knows that they are, by then. Even if they raise the debt limit that won't address the real problem which is over spending. We keep getting into wars which we can't afford and bailing out the rich when they take stupid risks. It will come to a screeching halt at some point. I just hope that I'll have my trailer and land before it happens.
Later
Craig

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Thoughts on the Pending Currency Crisis

Well I'm done trying to get something for nothing on Ebay. Maybe I can find my gold by prospecting for it. It'll be a couple of years before I can give that a shot.
 To get back to title of this posting, I do think that the debt ceiling crisis will be a major event. I expect the currency to take a bad hit because of it. That means gold and silver should go up. Since the stock market will be collapsing, metals might go down a bit in the short term. If they do I'll take that as an opportunity to buy more.
 I bought a lifetime supply of ammo as well as an air rifle, so my prepping buying is pretty much over. I still need camping gear, and of course you can't have too much silver. But I feel that my buying for the collapse is over for now.
 Something I was thinking about today was to go on a primitive camping expedition. I could ask Jim if he would mind if I camped out on his land for a weekend. I could get a tent that attached to my van. I could test out my cooking and sleeping tools. I could also use his place to sight in my rifles and such. Maybe even shoot a rabbit and eat it. I would feel a lot more independent from "the matrix" if I can provide for myself.
 I got another pre-approved loan application for $6000. I think I'll wait for the currency collapse and invest that in silver. I'm tempted to contact Kitco.com and see if I can buy gold or silver on margin. It would be risky but the risk/reward ratio looks good to me. I could also buy gold through Etrade on margin. I hate seeing things happen and not be able to do anything about it.
 Of course, buying on margin is what got me into the hole that I find myself in. It's also why the world's economy took a hit in 2007. It might not be the thing to do.
This is a picture I got off of the internet a couple of years ago. I never get tired of it.
 Later

Friday, October 4, 2013

I can't Seem to Win

It turned out that my hopes of making a lot of money on Ebay, buying gold coins cheaply, was a delusion. Two of the coins I bought were replicas of gold coins, and one was a large, cheap, bronze copy. Apparently it is common to photograph coins next to other, small things to make them look larger. They also reflect gold-colored light off of them to make them look like they are gold. There are even copies of gold coins that look legit on one side; the other side has the word (copy) on it. Sellers are playing on buyer's greed and delusions to get them to spend money that they shouldn't. Today I was bidding on two small coins that I thought would be worth $300 for the pair. It wasn't until I checked the date on them that I realized that they were copies of a gold coin. Fortunately someone else was a bigger fool than I was. The bidding didn't stop until they were over $200. I'm just glad that I wasn't stuck with it. I still have a ring with an apparent gold coin set in it. I have to test the gold on the coin. It might be real but I doubt it since the ring itself is magnetic. I bought a gold and silver testing kit so I'll test it myself. I may be a bit bitter but I feel that the real lesson is that there is no way for a poor person to get ahead in life. The system is just set up to keep us in poverty. I'm really feeling anxious because of the pending currency collapse. I want to be living "off the grid" as much as possible before that happens. The way things are working out, it will take me at least 2 years to get ready.
Of course, nobody is ever really ready for something as major as that. That reminds me, they shut down the government, today. I'm afraid that I might lose my job since it is a grant from the government. I'll send out some Emails tomorrow and try to find out how secure my job is. I might apply for a job at Wal-Mart if it looks bad. On the 17th the government will run into a debt limit. That might trigger the collapse that I've been anticipating. I think Social Security will be alright. At least I live in a cheap apartment; and I found out that I qualify to live there for a while longer. Pretty soon, I'll be shoveling snow for extra income.
I wrote the first part of this post a couple of days ago. Things have only gotten worse, since then.
I found myself bidding on things that I shouldn't have. One auction had a couple of small coins that looked like they were gold. It turned out that they were copies made in 1938. Back then someone made small gold-plated buffalo nickles. Later, in the early 2000's the mint came out with buffalo gold coins. They were identical with the gold plated coins, except for the date. I quit bidding when I saw that they were dated 1938. Someone else paid over $200 for garbage. 
Today, something similar happened. I was bidding on a junk drawer that had a gold coin. This one was a large buffalo. If it was real it would be worth over $1300. There were copies made and sold on television. The only difference was that on one side there was the word "copy". When I saw it I contacted the seller and asked him if the word "copy" was on the other side. He claimed that he didn't know. He had packaged them up for shipment and he wouldn't be able to unwrap it. I quit bidding at $250. Someone else got up to $260 and bought it. later the seller sent me a message saying that the word "copy" was on it. That almost cost me $250. The other stuff was worth about $60.
It turns out that the fraudsters are ahead of the honest people, once again. It reminds me of Wall Street; where the crooks get all the advantages.
One good thing is that I still have a job. I spent 2 hrs. yesterday trying to reach someone at Experience Works. That's the name of the agency that I work for. It's a government grant, and I was worried that it might be shut down. I finally found someone. She said that there is nothing to worry about. We would be notified by mail if there is a shutdown. On the other hand, the place where I actually do the work might shut down. But that is another story.
That's enough rambling for now.
Later