Inflation-Proof Your Portfolio: How to Protect Your Money from the Coming Government Hyperinflation

ISBN-13: 9781118249277 / Angielski / Twarda / 2012 / 224 str.

D Voda

Opis

The must-have guide on how to protect yourself during the coming age of hyperinflation The Petersen/Pew Commission on Budget Reform recently warned that the national debt was expected to grow from 40 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 to 85 percent in 8 years, 100 percent in 12 years, and 200 percent by 2038. In other words, in just a few years the U.S. will owe twice as much as it produces. Since no conceivable level of taxes and borrowing will enable the country to service such an enormous debt, it is inevitable that government will turn to the same tricks its antecedents have been playing since Ancient Rome: debasing the dollar and letting inflation run rampant. Inflation-Proof Your Portfolio: Protect Your Money from the Coming Government Hyperinflation is your guide to understanding the debt crisis and rising inflation, packed with the key tools you need to protect yourself from the fallout.

• Neither an economic treatise nor a collection of specific investment advice, the book is intended as a resource to help empower citizens to take action to protect their money from the coming government-induced hyperinflation
• Essential reading for individual investors and general business readers alike who want to keep their money safe when inflation sets in
• A runaway self-publishing hit, this new edition is fully revised and updated
• Get the information you need to formulate your own plan of action to protect your investments

The U.S. dollar is almost certain to have a sustained run of extremely high inflation over the next decade because of continued huge government deficits and unfunded liabilities, and this book is the resource you need to be ready.

Spis treści

Preface xiii

What This Book Is (and Isn t) About xiv

Time to Take Action xvi

Chapter 1 The Dollar s Shrinking Value 1

Why Governments Love Inflation 1

It Can t Happen Here or Can It? 2

How Low Can It Go? 3

What You Don t Notice Won t Upset You 4

Infl ation Is Already Picking Up Steam 6

A Hope Is Not a Plan 7

Principle 1 Exchange Dollars for Real Things

Chapter 2 Life in the Gold Rush? 13

Gold: Traditional Haven for Nervous Investors 13

Caution: You Are Late to the Gold Party 14

Beware Investors Fleeing Gold 15

Why to Buy Some Gold Anyway 15

Buying Gold Now 17

Gold Supply and Demand 17

How High Will Gold Go? 17

The Easy Way to Buy Gold 20

Downsides of Exchange–Traded Funds 21

Warning: Exchange–Traded Notes = Added Risks 21

Why You Should Have Some Physical Gold 22

What Coins to Have on Hand 23

Why to Avoid Bullion 23

How to Buy Mining Stocks (If You Must) 24

Silver the Other White Meat 24

Why Silver Is Undervalued 25

The Pros and Cons of Holding Silver Coins and Bullion 26

Learning to Like Junk 26

Another Way to Profi t from Silver 27

Key Points 27

Chapter 3 Real Estate: Home Is Where the Hedge Is 29

Why You Should Own Your Home 29

Is Now the Time to Make Your Housing Move? 31

When Renting Makes More Sense 31

How to Invest in Apartment Buildings 33

How to Steer Clear of Passive Income Losses 34

How to Protect Your Real Estate Equity against Falling Prices 35

Invest in U.S. Farmland 36

Risks of Farmland Investing 36

Key Points 37

Chapter 4 Dollar Down = Oil Up 39

Why You Need to Invest in Black Gold 39

Why Proved Reserve Figures Are Unreliable 40

Is the World Running Out of Oil? 41

Will Abiotic Oil Avert a Hubbert Curve Peak? 42

Political and Environmental Pressures Are Pushing Oil Prices Up 43

Shale Gas Energy Bright Spot? 44

The World s Biggest Oil Companies and Their Ticker Symbols 44

The Easy Way to Own Oil 45

How to Profi t from the Oil Supply Chain 45

Should I Invest in Oil Drilling? 46

Canadian Royalty Trusts: Good Investments No Longer 47

Key Points 47

Chapter 5 From Diamonds to Trees: Alternative Assets 49

Another Precious Metal Platinum 49

Why You Should Stay Away from Palladium 50

What about Stamps? 51

The Danger of Diamonds 52

Art: Love It or Leave It 53

How to Get Money to Grow on Trees 53

Profi t Opportunity: People Have to Eat 57

The Copper Shortfall 58

Key Points 60

Principle 2 Future Money Is Cheap Money

Chapter 6 Beat the Banks at Their Own Game 63

Why Fixed–Rate Mortgages Are Your Friend 63

Cut Your Mortgage in Half 64

Don t Get Locked into HELOCs 65

Buy Big Houses and Lease Used Cars 65

If Your House Is in Foreclosure 66

FDIC Insurance May Be Hazardous to Your Wealth 68

Why Your Financial Accounts May Not Be Safe: Bank Holidays 68

Save Your Pennies 70

Key Points 71

Chapter 7 Dueling with the Devil: Credit Cards and Student Loans 73

Why Credit Cards Aren t Worth the Plastic They re Printed On 73

Don t Expect the New Law to Save You 74

How to Outwit the Credit Card Companies 75

How to Be a Bad Credit Card Customer 76

Goose Your Contracts with a Gold Clause 76

How to Use Infl ation to Discount Your Student Loans 77

Beware of Prepaid Tuition Guarantees 79

Key Points 81

Principle 3 Diversify Out of Dollars

Chapter 8 Fleeing the Dollar: Foreign Currencies 85

The Dollar: From House of Bricks to House of Straw 85

The Dollar Near–Term: Temporary Upswing 87

Foreign Currencies: Risks and Rewards 88

Which Currencies Should I Invest In? 89

The Chinese Yuan Is Going Up for Now 89

Beware: China Has Its Own Stimulus Problems 91

The Euro: Slow–Motion Meltdown 92

One Way to Invest in Foreign Currencies: ETFs 96

How to Invest in Foreign Bonds 96

Low–Debt Countries = Good Bond Bets 98

Gold Private Currency 100

Become a Foreign Farmer 101

Key Points 103

Chapter 9 Manage Your Government–Regulated Accounts 105

The Threat to Your IRA Wealth 105

Two Mutual Funds You Can Buy to Hedge against Inflation 106

U.S. Treasury Bonds: Certifi cates of Guaranteed Confiscation 106

Twisting in the Wind 107

TIPS: Inflation Protection or Inflation Fraud? 108

Why You Can t Trust Government Inflation Statistics 109

What to Hold in Your IRA 110

Start a Self–Directed IRA 111

Convert to a Roth IRA? 111

When Not to Convert to a Roth IRA 113

Key Points 113

Principle 4 Prepare for the Worst, but Expect the Best

Chapter 10 Why Your Taxes Are Going Sky High 117

The Numbers Speak for Themselves: Someone Has to Pay 117

Say Goodbye to Bush Tax Cuts 118

Defi cit Lip Service: How to Fool Some of the People Some of the Time 119

The Greek Road to Ruin 119

New Defi cit Reduction Strategy: Taxes 122

Coming Soon to Your Pocketbook: The Alternative Minimum Tax 122

Loophole: How to Turn a $700,000 Tax Bill into $10 Million Tax–Free Gift 123

How to Tax a Trillion Dollars 124

Your New Health Care Plan: Financed by Deception 124

Baby Boom Legacy: Spiraling Entitlement Costs 125

The Next Money–Grab: Value–Added Tax 126

Tax Fig Leaf: Erroneous Economic Models 127

Ouch! Economic Medicine That Works 129

Why the United States Will Never Be the Same Again 130

Key Points 131

Chapter 11 Look for the Warning Signs 133

The Warning Signs of an Imminent Currency Collapse 133

Is the U.S. Government Secretly Engineering a Weak Dollar? 136

How to Be a Billionaire Zimbabwe–Style 138

Is the United States the Next Greece? 139

Got Gold? 140

Wage and Price Controls 140

The Lesson of the Russian Grandmothers 142

Key Points 143

Chapter 12 Looking Up While Hunkering Down 145

Speak Out 145

Another Way to Multiply Your Voice 146

Develop a Necessary Skill 146

Start an Export Business 147

Prepare a Stay Bag 148

Tangibles to Keep at Home 151

Whisky and Pot: Your Depression Friends 152

The Health Care Bomb: Better Have That Surgery Now 153

Consider a Move to the Country 154

Buy a Generator 155

Go off the Grid 156

How to Avoid Snoopers 157

Maintaining Your Privacy in a Facebook World 158

Key Points 159

Conclusion How to Sleep at Night, Whatever Happens to the Economy 161

Notes 163

About the Author 189

Index 191

O autorze

DAVID VODA is a writer, businessman, and investor currently living in Boulder, Colorado. He has written on business topics for the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, was a realtor in Palm Springs, California, and buys and sells real estate for his own account. He was a principal in Yes Yes Productions, which produced the award–winning feature, The Secretary. Most recently, he was producer of PJTV′s business and economics show, Front Page.

Blurb

Your financial survival guide for the coming age of hyperinflation

Government–induced hyperinflation is looming. Huge national debts and unfunded liabilities have become unmanageable, and politicians are preparing to turn to the same trick they′ve been using since Ancient Rome: debase the currency and let inflation run rampant. There are difficult times ahead, but you still have time to act in order to keep your money safe and secure. Inflation–Proof Your Portfolio explains how, giving you the tools to stay one step ahead.

Whether you′re preparing for the worst or just want to make sure that you have some money in reserve, this book contains the information you need to build a portfolio that′s protected from hyperinflation. From investing in art and jewels to going credit card free, the advice in these pages is designed to empower you to take charge of your finances and build a plan that you can put into action today to feel secure tomorrow.