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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Advice You Won't See on TV or in Newspapers, August 23, 2011
This review is from: The Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit from It: Make a Fortune by Investing in Gold and Other Hard Assets (Paperback)
The Collapse of the Dollar is written by two prominent and well known experts in the field of finance and money. James Turk founded GoldMoney.com and publishes an investment newsletter which he has been working on since 1987. He has also made many appearances in the media including on CNN, CBS and the Wall Street Journal. John Rubino is a well known author and he has written many books. He also writes for the CFA. The prominence and experience of these authors gives the book much more credibility and value.
It is clear that the authors know a lot about the subject they are writing about. The information contained is in depth but easy to understand. They explain everything that you need to know about the current situation and provide clear alternatives to avoid the mess yourself.
The book gives the reader a complete understanding of the problem and ends with a solution. The book is very well structured and begins by explaining why the US (and many other western countries) are experiencing the problem they are currently suffering from. Although you might only be interested in learning how to profit from the problems the world is experiencing, there are actually very good reasons to learn about the exact cause of the problem.
It's written in a very easy way without talking down to you. This makes it very easy for anyone to understand the problem and also find the solution. There are plenty of facts and figures included which make further analysis possible if you're interested in learning more about the subject.
This book should give you a good all round understanding of the problem and the possible solutions. The authors go to a lot of trouble to explain why investing in gold is a viable alternative to investing in stocks and shares. They include lots of facts and figures which can be used to explain and understand the differences between the two types of investment. They also give some historical statements showing that people have hidden gold in safe places for centuries to improve financial security.
The authors also suggest investing in gold mining stocks and highlight the challenges in choosing the right mining companies. The amount of profit a gold mining company can make will depend on the price of gold and their operating costs. However, they also highlight other lesser known areas you might not realize. This includes environmental concerns and workforce exploitation which could also affect the values of the stock. There is also a lot of discussion about how to build a strong portfolio of mining stocks.
While gold is certainly the most popular precious metal to invest in, the book then goes to look at several alternatives including Silver. The book also includes some very interesting facts about Silver, including pointing out that there is a deficit in silver production and this can make investing in silver even more profitable.
The authors provide a complete picture of the reasons behind investing in silver and gold. They also make comparisons between the housing market explaining that although investment in real estate is normally a good option, investing in gold or silver is normally cheaper. Silver is often seen as a worse investment than gold. However, the authors show many different places where silver stocks are used. It's used much more than gold and because it is more affordable stocked in larger quantities.
Advice
There is also some very useful advice in the book. This includes information about helping you to choose a gold or silver bullion dealer carefully. There are plenty of people out there who will try to con you and extort money from you. It's essential you buy real gold or silver which actually has a real value.
Other Precious Metals
Although Gold and Silver are the two most popular and best known precious metals the book then looks at the alternatives including Palladium and Platinum. They highlight the reasons for investing in these metals, including pointing out that Palladium and Platinum can both be used in catalytic converters, which makes these metals very desirable.
Traditional Investments
Most of the book is concentrated on gold and precious metal investments. However, Chapter 17 looks at more traditional forms of investment including Stocks and bonds. It highlights the reasons why many people need to look at different types of investment such as Gold and Silver because of the state of the American economy. There are many reasons for this which are highlighted, including people borrowing against the increasing value of their homes which is causing a major problem with negative equity in the real estate market.
Should I read it?
The book is a comprehensive list of strategies which can be used to safeguard your family's financial security. By investing in traditional stocks, real estate and anything else backed by money you are leaving yourself open to the collapse of the dollar. If you are serious about protecting your wealth no matter what happens then you will want to read this book and learn some of the secret tips.
The information contained in this book is certainly something that everyone needs to know. However, it's the sort of thing that you will never see on TV or in newspapers. The only way to discover the secrets and protect your family's finances is to read this book.
Other recommended reads?
If you like this book, I also highly recommend Crash Proof 2.0 and Bring On The Crash! A 3-Step Practical Survival Guide: Prepare for Economic Collapse and Come Out Wealthier
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bail outs may lead to Collapse of the Dollar... Buy Gold/Silver Now!!!, September 24, 2008
This review is from: The Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit from It: Make a Fortune by Investing in Gold and Other Hard Assets (Paperback)
If you understand the fiscal situation this country is in, the place the elected & non-elected officials wanna take it, and what will happen after that has taken place, this book is dead on.
Monetary policy in this country(USA) has been flawed since the inception of the federal reserve system in 1913. The Monetarist economists(Widely known as Anna J Schwartz & Milton Friedman) blame the fed's lack of action as the cause of the great depression. They believe if the fed had intervened and created a little more inflation at the time the deflation was occuring(aka Deflationary Depression), the Great depression would have lasted only 1-5 years. Ben Bernanke (current FED Chairperson) believes this theory, that's why he's currently inflating that debt away through bail-outs.
On the other hand, Hard money Economists (aka Ludwig von Mises' Austrian school of economics) blames the fed completely for the Great Depression. Since their inception in 1913 the fed has fueled massive credit bubbles and the roaring 20's were no different. From 1913-1919 the fed increased the money supply by around 50% leading to the credit induced boom known as the roaring 1920's. When they finally called in all the inflationary credit they had put out, it killed the economy. Instead of letting the money stay out, they kept deflating the bubble which fueled the longest economic downturn in US history.
Today our economists and financial leaders will make sure not to repeat that mistake again. The system will not be allowed to go broke, almost everyone will get a huge bailout, and when they do, the countries who hold our short term US debt will begin dumping it, due to its losing value thanks to the bailouts.
If you believe the dollar is gonna take a hit over the next 5-10 years, then dedicating some of your portfolio (10-25%) to precious metals and watching what happens is going to be very exciting. If you paid attention to the 60s & 70s, you would notice some odd but scary similarities, huge needless wars followed by inflationary downturns in the economy. The 1970's bad economy was the price for the 1960's vietnam war. Remember, Nixon took us off the Gold Standard in 1971 when gold was only $35 an Ounce(today its ~$900). During the 70s the DOW Jones only gained 10 points but gold jumped almost 24 times, silver more. This time its gonna be a lot worse. I think physical silver is the best deal, as long as you can find some quality physical without a high retail purchase fee.
James turk is a pro and this book ranks high on the list of profit from the coming gloom & doom books. If you want to implement a section of your portfolio into precious metals this book is a great way to learn some very helpful tactics. He writes about what types of Precious Metals investments you can buy: Physcical(keep@home&vault), Paper(futures/options), Mining stocks, Numismatic, but doesn't really mention his world-renowned service called GOLDMONEY.com located in British Jersey,UK. I personally have an account with GoldMoney.com and I feel its a one of a kind service. It keeps part of your wealth outside the US, which is very important. My say is Pick up the book and Partake in the Precious Metals bull market that will last for the next 5-10 years minimum, and create some wealth during the bad times we're gonna go through :)
I also recommend the book CRASHPROOF by Peter Schiff (he recommends GoldMoney.com)
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Smarter than your average Bears, April 27, 2010
This review is from: The Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit from It: Make a Fortune by Investing in Gold and Other Hard Assets (Paperback)
This book, like many others written in recent years, documents the problems currently facing the U.S. economy and the U.S. dollar; the reasons behind them; and the rationale for the almost inevitable collapse of both that economy and the dollar. And, like the others, this book offers a number of recommendations as to what its readers might be able to do to protect themselves from these eventualities. But this book is different in one happy respect.
It tells this economic story as a historian might tell it, in simple easy to understand language. Presented in this way: The major domestic and international economic decisions which led to today's crises can be seen to have been quite logical at the time and to have quite naturally followed one another. When placed in their proper context in this way, the decisions made down through the years and the rationale for those decisions are much easier to grasp. This makes it possible for the average reader to easily see how the United States in particular, and the world at large, got into this dreadful mess and why. The book is so well written, in fact, that, before checking to see what the authors' qualifications might be, I had almost concluded that they must surely be professional writers, and most likely historians, rather than experts in the fields of economics and investing. I was wrong.
After checking them out, I recalled something I'd learned years ago: When someone attempts to write about something about which he (or she) knows too little or is in doubt, he will invariably go into inordinate detail in an attempt to explain it; but when that same person writes about something he fully comprehends, he can capture the essence of the subject without resorting to great detail. Knowing their subject well, these authors have clearly captured the essence of America's economic and the U.S. dollar's troubles with few large and no wasted words. Their resulting recommendations, particularly those concerning the intricacies involved in investing in gold and precious metals miners, are likewise just as well reasoned, in-depth, and easily understandable.
A few things, in particular, caught my eye while reading this book. Perhaps they'll catch yours too. Here are some of them: (pg. 42) One gram of gold today buys roughly the same amount of wheat as it did in the Middle Ages. (pg. 57) In 1883, Germany became the first welfare state (instituting national health insurance, followed by social, accident, and unemployment insurance). It was soon followed by much of Europe, but the United States held out. [until FDR, LBJ, and then BHO came along] (pg. 62) From the time the gold standard ended in 1971 to the time this book was published, 2005, the U.S. dollar lost 90% of its value. [I.e., a 1971 dollar is now worth less than ten cents] (pg. 87) One of this book's authors derived an indicator, termed the "Fear Index," which, using "M3," the government reported money supply, as an element, was able to predict turning points in the gold exchange rate (up or down). [Note: According to the book "Crash Proof 2.0," for unexplained reasons, the federal government ceased reporting M3 in 2006.] (pg.89) To conceal the fact that the dollar's value has been declining, the U.S. Treasury and the world's central banks have systematically dumped gold on the market over the years to suppress the gold exchange rate, but their remaining reserves are thought to be no longer up to the task. (pg. 147) Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) may not be all they're cracked up to be. [Caution is advised] (pg. 191) As the chart on this page clearly shows: Although the price of oil has skyrocketed in dollar terms, except for minor fluctuations it has remained relatively constant in terms of gold since 1945. (pg. 214) The author's hold out hope for a rational return to a gold standard, perhaps by means of "digital gold," but fear that the United States may become a dictatorship with the possible confiscation of gold as was done by President Roosevelt in 1934.
The authors of this book are obviously bearish on the U.S. dollar and on the American economy and, based on the material they present, well they should be. They may be wrong, and let's hope they are, but as you will discover in reading this book, they're much smarter than the average bears.
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