What I was thinking of doing with that $600:

[randomness]

As a personal vote of confidence in the strength and soundness of the American economy in general, and of the dollar in particular, I was going to buy about 2/3 of an ounce of gold.

But given my belief that some of the current price of gold is probably commodity bubble froth, I decided being that much of a smartass was going to end up costing me money.

(If I'd had the foresight to buy gold in '01 at $275/oz., well...but then again, with that kind of foresight, I'd have been flipping houses in '03 and '04.)

Comments

[redbird]

If I were operating on that basis, I'd change mine into euros.

[tyellas.livejournal.com]

I don't know who you are, but I am loving your icon!

[redbird]

Thanks. A friend made it by specific request, because I like purple and trilobites. (I'm an old friend of r_ness from college, who doesn't see him much these days.)

[cattitude.livejournal.com]

Inflation-linked government bonds look good.

So do canned goods and ammo.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

You've been reading Felix Salmon's blog?

"Gold is for optimists. I'm diversifying into canned goods and guns".

[cattitude.livejournal.com]

No; it's a very old joke. I've been using it for twenty years, and it was old when I stole it.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Perhaps that's where the commenter got it, then.

[eclectician.livejournal.com]

Remind me to hire you as my hindsight.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Well, yes. My hindsight and a time machine make a pretty viable business.

Minus the time machine, though...not so much.

[elisaana.livejournal.com]

Mine is actually going toward a broker's fee/apartment deposit, but if it weren't (and if this were timed right), I would want mine to count politically, in two ways.

First, I don't particularly want to make big-ticket purposes before November. A poor economy (on top of all the other troubles America already has) will make people that much more willing to throw the bums out. I'm not wishing ill, but I don't want to spend money to convince people everything's rosy, either. (This is sort of a family tradition--my family's TV broke in 1980 or so, and my parents refused to help the economy by getting a new one while Reagan was still in office. (My dad's resolve wavered with the 1984 Olympics, though.))

Second, a donation to a strong political candidate with (in my view) good judgment is an investment in the future. There's the direct effect of cash in the campaign's coffers, as well as the publicity that generates, and the added publicity if it is as symbolic as tax refund checks being donated.

Just my two cents (and possibly $600 as the general election season starts).

[stolen-tea.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I actually had the same thoughts.

I do think the US economy hasn't gone as far down as it will, which would mean that there's probably still gain to be had from foreign investments...

[ishaa.livejournal.com]

Paying off my credit cards will by definition return me 24.99% APR. Hard to beat that.