Has anyone done so and where did you get them to avoid high fees of what I call travel exchange kiosks?

Quoted: Has anyone done so and where did you get them to avoid high fees of what I call travel exchange kiosks?

If you are going to buy them with FRN's it might be a very bad trade as this financial disaster plays out.

Please tell me your opinion.  It seems like US currency will continue to devalue against the Euro

I think your concept is good, but choice of foreign currency may not be.

The Euro might see small gains when the dollar bounces around, but a crash will bring them down right behind us. Same goes for the Yen.

Talk to your banker. Find a currency that goes up when the dollar tanks.

If not, hedge with gold instead.

Quoted: Please tell me your opinion.  It seems like US currency will continue to devalue against the Euro

It's anyones' guess. No one knows.

My guess is that as the economies of the world worsen,  Europe has as much or greater exposure to bad debt, deficits and barriers to production as the US, so Europe will lead the decline and the currencies will track or fall vs the $, not increase.

It's late, I've been working on a BOL all day until now and I have other reasons that I can't articulate. A search of the financial boards should give more ideas than you can process.

The UK isn't on the Euro but is a representation of Europe in general and if you compare the FTSE [a London stock exchange index] to the S&P, the FTSE has actually fallen slightly more than we have this year. They also had their first serious bank run at the end of last year -and handled it in some people's opinion, poorly.

Germany's DAX is down somewhat more than the FTSE.

If you factor in the devaluation of the $ vs their currencies, their decline is significantly magnified [greater]. Their 401k's have turned into 201k's vs many folks 401k's only turning into 301k's here.

I've pondered your question myself and watch the European mkts every day and have decided to stay in the $ at the present because if the SHTF, it's likely to be worse outside the US in the developed Western nations than here.

But this is only a guess and probably isn't worth the time it took me to type it and it's likely someone will be along to make a big deal out of it nontheless.

Good points all.

Perhaps if you can't eat it, f... it, or shoot it, or acquire means to produce same is the only alternative if it all goes sideways.

I'm no doomer but recent events have me really thinking this time.

Quoted: Good points all. Perhaps if you can't eat it, f... it, or shoot it, or acquire means to produce same is the only alternative if it all goes sideways. I'm no doomer but recent events have me really thinking this time.

I've been thinking abt this for 20 yrs and it's finally happening.

ou can survive any time there is an economic collapse if you have money.   what is money?  try gold or silver. at any time in history if you had a pocket full of gold or silver you had money where as if you had a pocket /wheel barrow full of paper notes you could buy a loaf of bread or start a fire.

I got lucky an inherited the Coin collection
Bunch of pre 64 silver there
BUT never give up
I found a 1964 Quarter at a gas station
Got it as change.
If you get lucky like I did tell them you are a
Numismatist (sp) say it fast and then tell them you are a Coin Collector
They won’t know the difference and ask about old coins
I knew the silver was there by the sound they make
And lock it up from your kids how else do you think the coins get out there

My wife doesn't think that the 3000 oz. of silver my dad gave me as an emergency stash is such a crazy thing anymore.  Anyone think we might get back to metal-backed currency after all this is over?  Maybe?

Quoted: Please tell me your opinion.  It seems like US currency will continue to devalue against the Euro

It will only help to have euros if you are in Europe.  You should disabuse yourself of the thought that you can buy currency with no transaction fee.  Oh, and after you buy Euros, if you don't spend them all, then you pay ANOTHER trans fee to exchange them back to USD.  They get you going and coming, so to speak.

There is a risk of confiscation with Gold that can't be ignored; don't forget, FDR ran and was elected on a promise not to render private ownership of Gold illegal.  He won and promptly reneged; his first Sec'y of the Treasury promptly resigned because he said FDR purposefully lied.  You can't pretend this couldn't happen again.

I suggest heavy on the Silver as a hedge investment; percentage wise, bigger gains than Gold and less risk of confiscation.  If you want a second metal other than Gold, try Palladium, a cheaper alternative to Platinum (and some Euro countries are beginning to mint euros in it either singly or mixed with Platinum)  but still with major industrial demand and a significant increase in price over the past several years.

Gold is a good, very good hedge, but the risks of government seizure can't be dismissed.  If a major disaster befalls us, it may be seized to keep the country together; if the socialists win, they'll be likely to seize it as a means of preventing an alternative source of non-governmental economic strength.          

Yeah but, in fairness, that risk exists for every form of alternative currency except direct barter. They could just as easily ban/confiscate all PMs - hell, even base metals if things got that bad. Or leave ownership legal and make commercial acceptance of anything other than electronic debit cards or "an Amero" or whatever tantamount to counterfeitting.

who the fuck are you gonna tell you have that much gold or silver.

buy it, keep your mouth shut, and get on with life.

txl

Cant eat it, hunt with it, or plow with it.

On the other hand I have a pile of foreign currency that I didnt exchange on my return to the US.  I travel for work and figure I am going back eventually and I avoid the exchange fees.  I dont ever exceed the limits on currency on person (which is like $10,000 USD I think) so I am legal I just usually have about $100-$200 in various foreign currency's in the safe.  Wont be worth poo in SHTF senario.