Due to the mismanagement of financial resources, most of the world’s economies have taken a nose dive over the last several years. The average Joe on the street has been left to pick up the pieces of his broken dreams. Family vacations, early retirement, dinner out and the like have become the true stuff of dreams, even farther from the reach of hard-working families than ever before. Pursued by eroded savings, disappearing job opportunities and foreclosed homes, it’s no wonder that the movement toward self-sufficiency has taken on new life.
For those who have had the luxury of speculative global investing, self-sufficiency may not meet the same criteria. The average Wall Street enthusiast may not be the one who is growing his own food or producing his own power, but survival is, nonetheless, a familiar term in a sinking economic environment.
Survival has become a business in itself. Increasingly, groups of people who have been isolated and stratified by their ability to afford desired luxuries or just the necessities are becoming closer as resources tighten. Still able to take advantage of fluctuating markets, investors attempt to predict highs and lows, but the near term trends are downward.
Hope springs eternal, but fear is always residing backstage. Diversification is where the smart money goes when times get tough. History is marked by difficult fiscal times, like the Great Depression of the 1930s and the recession of the 1980s. The lesson taught by previous economic history is that tangible forms of money, like silver and gold can help many to reach their short term investment goal; survival.
