Absolute safest place to keep money

Under your bed with 2 Rottweilers occupying/protecting the house.

:D

Personally I don't like Rottweilers, I'm planning on getting a Great Dane in the near future.
 
Quote from wilburbear:

I have some money in T-bills in my bank's safekeeping account. The bank says the T-bills are held at the federal reserve bank in NY. The bank is maybe top 50 in the U.S. in terms of size. I asked if there were another big attack in NY, would my money be effected. They said, "Gee, we don't know." I called later, "Can my money be effected in ANY way by wars or natural disasters? The guy said, "I never thought about wars". Now the bank's safekeeping is being discontinued and money is going into accounts with a disclaimer "Not insured by the government" and "Subject to loss".

Regardless of cost, where's the most bullet-proof place to keep your money within the U.S. (no filing of foreign account documents with the IRS), and keep the money in U.S. dollars?
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T-Bills is by far the safest thing you can do, provided that by "safe" you mean "safety of principal". They are a direct obgligation of the Federal government. You can buy T-Bills on the internet at http://www.treasurydirect.gov/ These are exempt from state tax by the way which boosts the after-tax return for most of us.

OldTrader
 
Quote from mogul:

Government I-Bonds give you about 3.5% at the moment.

If the U.S. government can't fulfll its obligations money would be the last thing to worry about.

Maybe buy some gold just to be really safe, or foreign currencies in a stable country where you see yourself relocating if things go haywire here. lol
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Actually I bonds are paying 4.8% now . The rate is adjusted semi-annually based on CPI . This will keep your money from losing purchasing power.

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/com/comi0505.htm

http://www.savingsbonds.gov/indiv/products/ibonds_glance.htm
 
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SouthAmerica: The only place that makes sense to park your money is in U.S. Government securities - "TIPS"

Below is brief information about these US government securities. Better safe than sorry. Cash is king when the S… hits the fan. If you have cash on hand, after the decline you can pick up the pieces for a fraction of its previous price.


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US Government Securities - "TIPS" (TREASURY INFLATION-PROTECTED SECURITIES):


Background

The first issuance of TIPS was in February 1997. Now there are seven years of TIPS history, and the TIPS market, as of 11/30/03, has more than $176 billion, or 4.9%, of the total $3.6 trillion outstanding marketable Treasury debt held by the public. The U.S. Treasury department, under both Democratic and Republican leadership, has assured investors that they are an integral part of the government's debt management strategy. The current Administration's stated policy is to keep the TIPS program in place without a review for change for at least another five years, and has increased the new-issuance frequency from three to four times

How They Work

Currently, 10-year TIPS yield 1.96%. That is 2.29% less than the 4.25% that one will get with a 10-year U.S. Treasury note (the cash bond). The principal is adjusted to inflation and semi-annual interest payments are based on the inflation-adjusted principal at the same time interest is paid. As long as inflation remains greater than 2.3% - the difference between the regular Treasury's 4.25% yield and the 1.96% TIPS yield - TIPS are a bet. Like all U.S. Government securities, TIPS are guaranteed to return 100% of original par value even if deflation caused the principal value to fall below 100 as the Treasury will make up the difference when the principal is repaid at maturity.

Safety

Like all U.S. government securities, TIPS are guaranteed to return 100% of the par amount at maturity, even in deflation.

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Just a thought, in a worst case scenario if you go to town with a brick of gold you will end up in hot water. People will think that you have more and try to steal it from you. Or if you try to buy food how does the store keeper make change on a $100,000 block of metal? This is why I think you would be better to have your gold in jewelry. You could take a necklace to town and quietly trade it for 100 pounds of rice and not cause a fuss.
 
Silver coins, my friends. And as a plus, silver actually has some uses other than just being pretty. But having a shitload of bullets would be good for trading as well.
 
Quote from OldTrader:

T-Bills is by far the safest thing you can do, provided that by "safe" you mean "safety of principal". They are a direct obgligation of the Federal government. You can buy T-Bills on the internet at http://www.treasurydirect.gov/ These are exempt from state tax by the way which boosts the after-tax return for most of us.

OldTrader
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Yes, I did mean safety of principal. And where's the best place to keep T-bills? Can some brokerage company with the disclaimers "subject to loss" and "deposits not insured by the government" get away with not returning any monies in excess of the SIPC amount (125k?), like they could with ordinary cash balances in the even of bankruptcy?

FDIC maximum is only 100k.
I think SIPC is 125k.

I'll buy T-bills. But when can they be absorbed by a failing institution in the same way as cash balances?
 
Quote from wilburbear:

Yes, I did mean safety of principal. And where's the best place to keep T-bills? Can some brokerage company with the disclaimers "subject to loss" and "deposits not insured by the government" get away with not returning any monies in excess of the SIPC amount (125k?), like they could with ordinary cash balances in the even of bankruptcy?

FDIC maximum is only 100k.
I think SIPC is 125k.

I'll buy T-bills. But when can they be absorbed by a failing institution in the same way as cash balances?
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Go to the link I provided and buy them direct from the Treasury. You can buy every Monday at the auction. Take a look at the website, all the info is there.

If you want to have them at a brokerage house, then they would fall under the category of "securities" which would be subject to $500K protection under SIPC. Many brokerages have insurance beyond this for securities.

SIPC is underfunded however. So to be the "safest" go to the website and buy them direct.

OldTrader
 
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