Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit In The Next Global Financial Meltdown, Second Edition

CHAPTER 6

Covering Your Assets

HOW NOT TO LOSE MONEY

For most people, the advice we are about to give you on how not to lose money in the Aftershock is far more important than any of our good investment ideas (offered in the next chapter) about how to cash in on it. We understand that no one likes to hear this. Most of us find making money far more interesting than simply not losing it. But knowing how to protect yourself is absolutely crucial to surviving and thriving in the months and years ahead, so please don’t skip this part. If you only pay attention to one page in this book, this should be the one.

Let us say at the outset that this chapter discusses protection strategies for the long term. In the shorter term, these protective steps are not immediately necessary. There is no immediate crisis or need for panic. But there is a real need to know what is coming and to learn now how to protect yourself from what is ahead.

For the long term, there are three simple rules for where not to invest as the dollar and other bubbles fall:

Rule #1: Get ready to exit stocks.

Rule #2: Stay away from real estate until after the dollar bubble pops.

Rule #3: Stay away from long-term bonds and all fixed-rate investments (including whole life insurance and annuities).

We said three simple rules; we did not say easy. After years of investing in stocks, real estate, and fixed-rate investments, we know that the idea of pulling out of these bulwarks of wealth building may feel counterintuitive ...