Is Your Money Safe In The Bank

E.M.P’s – Power Grid Failure – Bank Hackers

Is Your Money Really Safe In The Bank?

What would you do if you logged into your bank account, and it said your available balance was $0.00? You would probably shake your head and think, well that’s not right. I just checked it two days ago, and there was $3900.00. Frustration begins to set in as you look up your transaction history, and turns to panic as the page shows no transaction history.

As you are now wishing you didn’t sign up for paperless statements six months ago, you call you bank to find out what is going on. And the automated teller also confirms you have a zero balance in your account. Now if you haven’t kept any records, and the majority of people don’t, you are really in trouble and your money is gone.

If you don’t think this could happen to you, you are seriously deluding yourself. But don’t take my word for it, you can look it up; the Bank of Cyprus bailout. Long twisted story short, people who had money in this bank found out the hard way that it could be taken from them, and it was.

It has happened here in the U.S. as well. Due to cyber-attacks, and other problems, in the past six weeks major banks have been offline for over 249 hours. Chase bank customers have had the above scenario happen to them recently.

Personally to me this is outrageous, and should never have happened. However, it did and now I can learn from it, just as you can.

Buying Gold And Silver

Is buying gold or silver a good idea? yes! But keep in mind that gold is only worth what people will pay for it. In the event of a global economic collapse gold would be worthless, food and water would be more valuable than any precious metal at that point.

In the case of a U.S. economic collapse it is a good idea to have invested in gold or silver. Just because the value of the U.S. dollar has plummeted the value of gold in Europe or England would still maintain it’s value, although getting there to cash in your gold in is another story.

Gold and silver are not necessarily only as valuable as the market will bear. precious metals are just that; precious. It could be years after a global economic collapse when gold and silver regain it’s value but eventually it will. And what about your savings account? you can kiss that goodbye. What about the money in your pocket? At least you can make a fire.

 What Can You Do To Protect Yourself Today?

1. One of the best ways to prevent losing all of your money in a situation like this it to keep your banking records, all of them. You can still get your banking statements online, just make sure you have a paper copy of it as well. Keep all of your banking transaction records in a safe place with all of your important paperwork.

2. Don’t keep all of your money in one bank. Spread it around to several different accounts at several different banks. And make sure you keep adequate records of the accounts you have.

3. Don’t rely on the banks. Personally for me I like having my money in the bank, I rely on them to keep track of things for me, balances, spending etc. I like being lazy and letting someone else do my work, but not anymore. With how things are going, this isn’t the best idea. Keeping cash (gold) at home can be a good alternative, and it makes you accountable, you have to be able to control your money and spending. And isn’t that what we are all here to do? Take control of what is ours? The first step in relying on yourself, not a bank.

4. Have at least 6-12 months of living expenses saved (in gold or silver if possible). This is really difficult to do, but you can do it, and there is no time like the present to start saving. Create a budget and stick to it. Pay for your purchases in cash, that way you aren’t tempted to spend a little extra. If you don’t have it (the cash) you can’t buy it, right?

5. Keep your money or precious metals ‘safe’ at home. Sure you won’t be earning any interest, but think about it, do you earn anything by keeping your money in the bank anyway? You can purchase a safe, or devise a system within your own home to hide your money. Our grandparents used to hide money in a mattress, I am sure you can come up with a better place than that to hide your money though.

6. Be accountable for your spending. Know how much you spend, and try to curtail it. Do you really need that 2nd camera? Or the external flash for it? Sure it’s nice to have, but do you really need it? No, you don’t, so save the money instead for something that you really will need, like a future house payment or groceries if the SHTF.

7. Build up your supplies at home. This includes everything from groceries to toiletries. Use coupons for items when they are on sale, and stock up.

8. Invest in something other than dollars, precious metals will always be precious. Gold and silver can be good investments, I just wouldn’t go crazy with this. Also think about items that can be used for bartering.

9. Become more independent, I’m not saying you need to go completely off the grid but rely on yourself instead of relying on the government. Sure it’s nice to not really think about the future, and walk around thinking about the next game you could be playing on your fancy iPhone, but self-reliance is not something learned overnight, and the more time you dedicate to learning about being self-reliant will put you one step ahead of those who didn’t take the time to prepare.

10. Stop sticking your head in the sand and thinking your government will be there to take care of you. I have news for you, those who you think will be there to help you when things go bad won’t. They will be the first ones to take what is yours, and exploit what you have worked hard for, but when it comes to getting help don’t depend on our government to be the ones to help you. You have to be able to rely on yourself, and no one else. Have you been paying attention to what’s happening in Detroit right now? Pensions are probably going to cease, and the city is Bankrupt. Mismanagement of funds will now take money promised away from city workers who gave their all, and now they won’t have an income. Don’t count on that money always being there, unfortunately many will be learning this the hard way. By relying on yourself and learning as much as you can now will go a long way to protect what you have in the future.

Are You Bank Proof?

Does this scare the crap out of you? It scares the crap out of me! Money these days is made of plastic not paper, if the system were to go down or someone got access to our account information we could be devastated in seconds. Preparing for a disaster is not just about eating bugs and shooting guns, it’s about prepping for the inevitable and expecting the worst case scenario.

What do you do to ensure you are prepared financially if the SHTF?