My IRAs

I removed them from my Credit Union. Its too much of a pain in my butt to take almost two hours out of my day to physically drive to the branch to transfer funds. My wife and I's checking is there and we do enjoy the bank. Their online experience is "lacking". In the beginning I was told that I could transfer money via their website from checking, into any of my other accounts including my IRA.

After enough time of NOT being able to do any of that, I removed all my IRAs yesterday and now I am looking for a place to put them.

eTrade? State Farm?

Suggestions?

Was there anything left to remove? I think about logging in and checking my IRA's damage after this lastest hit, but to afraid to look.

Amazingly after Thursday and Friday's massacre (continuing today) my 401k is only losing very little. Mostly because the greatest bulk of it is invested in safer stuff.

VW, I personally deal with Fidelity. They've been a top rated online trader and such for a few years running now too. They allow 401k investments (so I'd guess IRA's as well) in certain ETF's I'm getting more fond of too like GLD (gold) and SLV (silver)

Have you thought about rolling any IRA's into physical precious metals? I think Kitco does it.

DYODD of course....actually Platinum may be the better buy at the moment since gold flew up near neck and neck to it today.

Anyway, I've actually started stacking physical silver just in case the SHTF.

VW_Factor said:

I removed them from my Credit Union. Its too much of a pain in my butt to take almost two hours out of my day to physically drive to the branch to transfer funds. My wife and I's checking is there and we do enjoy the bank. Their online experience is "lacking". In the beginning I was told that I could transfer money via their website from checking, into any of my other accounts including my IRA.

After enough time of NOT being able to do any of that, I removed all my IRAs yesterday and now I am looking for a place to put them.

eTrade? State Farm?

Suggestions?

Click to expand...

Try TD Ameritrade. I've used them for years and on an IRA they will issue a check-book that allows you to write checks against your IRA account. Great service also.
Mitch

My wife and I have talked about taking our investments and turning them into gold, etc. Its my personal feeling that gold atm, is very very expensive and I'm not exactly sure about the history of gold and how high it can and will go.

I would hate to take our hard earned money, turn it into gold, and in 10 years have close to nothing if the value returns to what is was what, maybe 5 years ago?

Any insights into what we'd be looking at if we invested in precious metals?

VW_Factor said:

My wife and I have talked about taking our investments and turning them into gold, etc. Its my personal feeling that gold atm, is very very expensive and I'm not exactly sure about the history of gold and how high it can and will go.

I would hate to take our hard earned money, turn it into gold, and in 10 years have close to nothing if the value returns to what is was what, maybe 5 years ago?

Any insights into what we'd be looking at if we invested in precious metals?

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Well, like I said; Do Your Own Due Diligence, but it's best to look at history for the most part. I surely don't think I'd turn all of my investments over to PM's (precious metals) but I think it's a good idea to have some as a hedge against inflation. Really that's all it is for in the case of gold (unless you're speculating). I like to look at it this way: Gold doesn't really increase in value, your dollar decreases in value (inflation). However; you may be right that at the moment gold is overpriced due to speculation, that's why I'm personally thinking about platinum, since it's nearly 1 to 1 with gold and that has only happened like 3 times in the last century. I also like silver right now. The gold to silver ratio is pretty far off at the moment. That's the ratio of the prices of each in accordance with their rarity in the earths crust. The gold to platinum ratio is WAY off.

The only problem with platinum and silver is that they have more industrial uses than gold so that can affect their price more. For instance, silver saw a 6 percent drop last Thursday and Friday while gold only dropped only point seven-five percent. Silver has made most of it back up though and now gold is up 3.71% today as investors flock to it as a "safe haven" investment. If it's price is inflated it may not be that safe of a haven. If I had a crystal ball I'd be rich!

Personally, I've decided to mess with silver. It's the most volitile but seems the most underpriced to me and although it has more risk, risk can equal more profit. It's also easier to buy in to at the current spot price of $39.31 per troy ounce. To think several years ago it was sitting at $8 !

This is all my opinion of course and so far I've only got about 1 grand on the line. I am hoping to get into some ETF's though with about 2500. We'll see.

This is a good place to research the PM's
http://www.kitco.com/

I always think of buying some silver rounds each month, but never to think of it on payday.

jbone said:

I always think of buying some silver rounds each month, but never to think of it on payday.

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Might be the time to start stacking! Silver just held up to a 600 point drop in the Dow! A lot of times it follows the DOW down. This time is different, it wen't up 2.21% and it appears that it's precious metal value held up over it's industrial uses. We'll have to see what comes tomorrow.

To be honest, even though I have about a grand worth of silver I was hoping it would drop (go on sale ) so I could afford to buy some more.

My two cents. Six months of food and water. About ten thousand rounds of ammo for whatever guns you own. Some physical gold and silver. Some cash in the mattress and some in the bank.

Otherwise, look for a buying opportunity on a company that will survive social upheaval. Posibly something like satellite surveilance? Arms industry?

Then be prepared to wait 5-7 years.

VW, in all seriousness, I have been short the financial stocks for nine months. On paper, I lost 60-70% of my money.

In the last six trading days, I have recouped those losses, have started to liquidate my positions, and am up about 30% from my initial investment. I thought Iwas right and had the ability to stay the course I believed in.

I have been sick to my stomach for months. Tonight, I bought the beer. Now what? Hard to say. Still short into tomorrow.

riverrat10k said:

VW, in all seriousness, I have been short the financial stocks for nine months. On paper, I lost 60-70% of my money.

In the last six trading days, I have recouped those losses, have started to liquidate my positions, and am up about 30% from my initial investment. I thought Iwas right and had the ability to stay the course I believed in.

I have been sick to my stomach for months. Tonight, I bought the beer. Now what? Hard to say. Still short into tomorrow.

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Looks like you better cash out of that shorting cash cow, at least for today. Financials are up!? And the friggen National bank of Greece is up 9%??!! They've got to be yanking us.

So, my silver held it's ground yesterday when everything was going to hell in a handbasket but now, when the market is up, it's down 3.75%? Something is fishy here. I wonder if this could be the bounce before the big smackdown?

Anyway, still waiting for my paperwork to get my 401K into stocks and ETF's of my choosing.

75% chance we double-dip (assuming we actually came out of the so-called Great Recession), IMO. A number of economists have stated the chances are around 40%. Of course, they wouldn't want to spook investers. Leading up to the Great Depression economists, and politicians were hell-bent on telling the public everything is A-OK. Let's get real here people, use that noodle in your head, and realize it is a scam. We aren't banbkrupt, there is a consolidation of power (money) taking place, and is being led by both sides. All you 401K'rs, be prepared to accept the consequences of putting your retirement in the hands of bankers who skeem every day to deplete your contribution to your retirement.

Beretta92FSLady said:

75% chance we double-dip (assuming we actually came out of the so-called Great Recession), IMO. A number of economists have stated the chances are around 40%. Of course, they wouldn't want to spook investers. Leading up to the Great Depression economists, and politicians were hell-bent on telling the public everything is A-OK. Let's get real here people, use that noodle in your head, and realize it is a scam. We aren't banbkrupt, there is a consolidation of power (money) taking place, and is being led by both sides. All you 401K'rs, be prepared to accept the consequences of putting your retirement in the hands of bankers who skeem every day to deplete your contribution to your retirement.

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Of course the U.S. is bankrupt! It's just that they can print all the money they want. The default will be on us not the creditors. They'll keep printing money until those creditors or we finally get sick of being paid by a weaker and weaker U.S. dollar. Then we are really in for it. John Maynard Keynes was wrong. It's time to start listening to the Austrian school economists. But is it too late?

For the time being though, there's some money to be made and as long as someone keeps real wealth as a hedge they will be all right.

Brass Magnet said:

Of course the U.S. is bankrupt! It's just that they can print all the money they want. The default will be on us not the creditors. They'll keep printing money until those creditors or we finally get sick of being paid by a weaker and weaker U.S. dollar. Then we are really in for it. John Maynard Keynes was wrong. It's time to start listening to the Austrian school economists. But is it too late?

For the time being though, there's some money to be made and as long as someone keeps real wealth as a hedge they will be all right.

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http://news.yahoo.com/fed-under-pressure-act-world-markets-swoon-050130864.html

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday it will keep interest rates near zero for at least another two years in a move that disappointed markets hoping for more direct action to aid the flagging economy."

They are attempting to plug a compromised hull with a bandaid = rhetoric. They are spending way to much of their time being concerned with inflation. Sure, low inflation is great, but what good does low inflation do us if the outcome is a F'd economy. I wish these scummbags would come out with some real, hard numbers, and just lay it out, break it down like a fraction, and tell the American public what the hell is really going on. Then again, as I have stated, most Americans are idiots, so the hard facts presented might miss the intended target, that the average American would get it. Individuals in Europe seem to be more equipped at handling the brazin robbery that is being perpetrated against us by the rich, the ones who are actually in control of this whole financial system.

Please, what do you mean by "real wealth?" I am eager to here this one. If you are referring to gold, or silver, I would much rather stake my "real weath" in food storage, firearms, and ammunition.

At this point I think that they should let the chips fall where they may. Only then, IMO, will we be able to really pick ourselves up, and chart a different course. They are attempting to hold a failed structure together, and by "failed," I am referring to a structure that has failed the middle class, and the poor. Any structure that benefits the rich is a structure that should be dismantled, and that should fail.

Beretta92FSLady said:

http://news.yahoo.com/fed-under-pressure-act-world-markets-swoon-050130864.html

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday it will keep interest rates near zero for at least another two years in a move that disappointed markets hoping for more direct action to aid the flagging economy."

They are attempting to plug a compromised hull with a bandaid = rhetoric.

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Yeah, we'll probably be seeing QE3 soon to keep the banks happy. I was kind of suprised they didn't announce it today. I think that's why the market tanked after the meeting was over.

Beretta92FSLady said:

Please, what do you mean by "real wealth?" I am eager to here this one. If you are referring to gold, or silver, I would much rather stake my "real weath" in food storage, firearms, and ammunition.

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Real wealth = physical wealth Pick your poison.

When there is a total colapse (5 years? 100 years?) gold and silver will return to being the reserve currency as they always have after every colapse. Other physical wealth will suit you in the shorter term better for sure. Solution? Have both!

[/tinfoil hat]


ETA: whoops, I was too quick on the reply and you edited your post.....

Some people HAVE been telling us the truth for a long time. Austrian economists. Most of this crap was predicted.

Brass Magnet said:

Yeah, we'll probably be seeing QE3 soon to keep the banks happy. I was kind of suprised they didn't announce it today. I think that's why the market tanked after the meeting was over.



Real wealth = physical wealth Pick your poison.

When there is a total colapse (5 years? 100 years?) gold and silver will return to being the reserve currency as they always have after every colapse. Other physical wealth will suit you in the shorter term better for sure. Solution? Have both!

[/tinfoil hat]

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Gold, and silver will never go back to be the reserve currency, at least that is my hope. Here I go, relying on the decency of humans, but if the system is equally applied, fair, and lends itself to solving problems rather than patching them, it would work, and there would be prosperity. Utopic? The issue is that the system is being altered, the inner working of the system, they are being altered by lobbyists for the benefit of 1% of the population.

I envision that eventually both sides of the political spectrum will put aside certain fights, such as social moral issues, and come together for a common cause, the common cause being the removal of these speculators, and bankers that have made there way into every part of our lives, and that are in control of the very market that decides whether this month you have a job to keep the electricity on this month or not. No, I am not refering to the so-called tea party. I am talking about a real grassroots movement that has equal portions of both sides standing up, together, united against this enemy.

No 'thing' has intrinsic value. Now, the question is, into what 'thing's' are we to place value. In a society where all individuals have the opportunity to get a good education, a good paying job to raise a family, or a society that is held hostage by bankers, and wall street speculators who are merely interested in packing their bank accounts with manufactured money, then hedging against properity when it financially suits them, wait, then they expect the tax payer to bail them out. These huge businesses need to be broken up so that they can not hold us hostage like they have been the past few years.

Brass Magnet said:

Some people HAVE been telling us the truth for a long time. Austrian economists. Most of this crap was predicted.

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It doesn;t take much to see what's going on, just read, read, read, consider the totality of the information, and derive from that your conclusion. Individuals who were shocked by the 2008 collapse were either not big on reading National, and global issues, or they were partaking of that sweet tasting grape koolaide being served up by boths sides, and by the FED's, well, and those deregulation types such as Reagan, and Greenspan.

Beretta92FSLady said:

Gold, and silver will never go back to be the reserve currency, at least that is my hope. Here I go, relying on the decency of humans, but if the system is equally applied, fair, and lends itself to solving problems rather than patching them, it would work, and there would be prosperity. Utopic? The issue is that the system is being altered, the inner working of the system, they are being altered by lobbyists for the benefit of 1% of the population.

I envision that eventually both sides of the political spectrum will put aside certain fights, such as social moral issues, and come together for a common cause, the common cause being the removal of these speculators, and bankers that have made there way into every part of our lives, and that are in control of the very market that decides whether this month you have a job to keep the electricity on this month or not. No, I am not refering to the so-called tea party. I am talking about a real grassroots movement that has equal portions of both sides standing up, together, united against this enemy.

No 'thing' has intrinsic value. Now, the question is, into what 'thing's' are we to place value. In a society where all individuals have the opportunity to get a good education, a good paying job to raise a family, or a society that is held hostage by bankers, and wall street speculators who are merely interested in packing their bank accounts with manufactured money, then hedging against properity when it financially suits them, wait, then they expect the tax payer to bail them out. These huge businesses need to be broken up so that they can not hold us hostage like they have been the past few years.

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IMHO you've only got it half right. It's corporatism that's the problem, not corporations. It's cronyism that's the problem, not speculators. In short, it's the government intervention on behalf of their buddys that's the real issue. We haven't had a free market in this country for over 100 years so you can't blame the free market for the mess we are in now.

How about one small example in a sea of examples of how government mucks things up for the average joe. Did you know that if you want to be a day trader (play like the big boys play) the government requires that you get a margin account and you must keep a $25,000 balance in that account or they will suspend your account? This is Jim Crow for the average joe (hmmm..I should patent that phrase). This is a perfect example of the wall street thugs getting their way because they have buddys in government.

Real speculation actually evens out prices over time. If you don't believe me look up onions on the exchange (speculation on onions is illegal DOH!). You'll see that your worse off as a consumer for the government outlawing speculation on onions.

Let's also think about who would want to break up a large company, besides you that is. Hmmm.... another large company with paid lobyists.

To get to the point. Government intervention IS the problem and is what allows all these shenanigans to happen. Without the intervention, you wouldn't have any of this crap. You should be a lot more mad at the government enabling than the companies.

Lastly, there is nothing wrong with going back to gold and silver as an easy way to exchange for goods which is all they really are. As long as the government doesn't have control over the money supply via central banks and the federal reserve, as they do now, there is nothing inherrently evil about using the precious metals to trade. They are simply an easier way to transfer wealth than to bring in a sack of potatoes to trade for a haircut.

Brass Magnet said:

IMHO you've only got it half right. It's corporatism that's the problem, not corporations. It's cronyism that's the problem, not speculators. In short, it's the government intervention on behalf of their buddys that's the real issue. We haven't had a free market in this country for over 100 years so you can't blame the free market for the mess we are in now.

How about one small example in a sea of examples of how government mucks things up for the average joe. Did you know that if you want to be a day trader (play like the big boys play) the government requires that you get a margin account and you must keep a $25,000 balance in that account or they will suspend your account? This is Jim Crow for the average joe (hmmm..I should patent that phrase). This is a perfect example of the wall street thugs getting their way because they have buddys in government.

Real speculation actually evens out prices over time. If you don't believe me look up onions on the exchange (speculation on onions is illegal DOH!). You'll see that your worse off as a consumer for the government outlawing speculation on onions.

Let's also think about who would want to break up a large company, besides you that is. Hmmm.... another large company with paid lobyists.

To get to the point. Government intervention IS the problem and is what allows all these shenanigans to happen. Without the intervention, you wouldn't have any of this crap. You should be a lot more mad at the government enabling than the companies.

Lastly, there is nothing wrong with going back to gold and silver as an easy way to exchange for goods which is all they really are. As long as the government doesn't have control over the money supply via central banks and the federal reserve, as they do now, there is nothing inherrently evil about using the precious metals to trade. They are simply an easier way to transfer wealth than to bring in a sack of potatoes to trade for a haircut.

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I agree, cronysim is a huge freaking issue. They are like a bunch of cockroaches, just different titles after the lights come on, and they run for their lives. Speculators are a major problem. Also, I would recommend individuals read-up on traders, mainly corporations that develope software which follows algorithms on a micro scale, I believe these forms of trading are damaging to the system as well. Much of what you have stated does not touch on all the issues in the system, but generally, I do agree with what you have written. Well, with the exception of Government intervention, well, Government intervention that is absent cronyism.

Beretta92FSLady said:

I agree, cronysim is a huge freaking issue. They are like a bunch of cockroaches, just different titles after the lights come on, and they run for their lives. Speculators are a major problem. Also, I would recommend individuals read-up on traders, mainly corporations that develope software which follows algorithms on a micro scale, I believe these forms of trading are damaging to the system as well. Much of what you have stated does not touch on all the issues in the system, but generally, I do agree with what you have written. Well, with the exception of Government intervention, well, Government intervention that is absent cronyism.

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You missed why I said speculators are actually a good thing. Besides, speculators will always exist no matter what you do, so you've got to learn to live with it either way. They can always specualte on physical vs. paper. If you outlaw paper speculating then you are just making it so you and I can't speculate but the rich guys still can.

I'm not saying I like those computer systems you are posting about however; you can get a hold of them too if you'd like to use them.

There is no such thing as government intervention absent cronyism. It's been proven by history to be completely impossible. That's why you can't have government intervention in a free market.

A true free market is dictated by you and I as the demanders. Sure, the government should be there to make sure we aren't defrauded and to supply arbitration through the courts so you and I can sue the pants of corporations and individuals who abuse us but any more than that breeds corruption. We should be in control and not the government.