Hi Len, I’m an avid reader of your website. Thanks for all the great information you share! I’m planning on buying a car soon. I’d like a decent car that won’t give me too many problems, but I’m not sure if I should pay in full for an older model, or put a down payment on a new one. I’m thinking that putting a down payment on a new car will help build my credit, but I don’t want to feel I owe anyone on something which isn’t an investment. Which option do you think is best? – Ama
Hi, Ama. I’m glad my website has been helpful to you and your friends! I think you answered your own question when you said you don’t want to feel you owe anyone on something that isn’t an investment.
Remember, you can build your credit in other ways besides getting a loan for a new car and making regular payments. One of the best ways to do that is by getting a credit card and make monthly purchases on it for everyday living (groceries, paying utility bills and other expenses) and paying off the credit card in full every month!
You can also build your credit by simply paying all of your bills on time. For more ideas, please refer to an article I wrote about awhile back on 40 ways to improve your credit score. Best wishes on the hunt for a replacement vehicle!
Hello Len: We’ve been following you for several years and think you’ve been spot on regarding the collapsing value of the dollar. However, we still have money tied up in investments, and wonder what to do. Both my husband and I are retired with government pensions. We own a house with a mortgage. We also have a small condo in a warm climate that’s paid for. If things go wrong, I’m afraid that our pensions would be affected. One thought we had was renting out the condo for income in case our pensions become decimated. Would it make sense to use some of our investment money to buy another rental property? Should we invest in precious metals instead? The real estate crash in 2008 has us understandably nervous. But we wouldn’t be “flipping” the property, just renting it out. – Alice
Alice, I can’t give you investment advice; I can only tell you what I am doing. While a growing number of people are finally realizing there is an impending financial system train wreck ahead of us, it’s impossible to say exactly how it will play out with even 90% accuracy. And that’s the unfortunate dilemma we all have to deal with. I’m handling this by minimizing my financial risk wherever possible by ensuring my return of investments rather than return on investments.
The nice thing about precious metals is that they’ll act as a bridge to the next monetary system – whatever that turns out to be after the current US dollar (USD) system is either replaced or sharply devalued, as it was by FDR in the early 1930s. Only then would you use those precious metals as the capital for starting a new business, or making new investments. For example, at current prices, the median US home is valued at approximately 7500 ounces of silver. In the event of a currency failure or sharp devaluation of the USD, I expect the median home price will fall to just 500 ounces of silver or less.
In short, physical precious metals minimize risk by allowing their owners to be patient. As a result, physical gold and silver holders can sit back, wait for history to play itself out, and then invest accordingly when there is more clarity.
If you have a question you’d like me to take a crack at answering, send it to: Len@LenPenzo.com — and please be sure to put “Mailbag” in the subject line.
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