Inflation–Proof Your Portfolio

<p>Preface xiii</p>
<p>What This Book Is (and Isn t) About xiv</p>
<p>Time to Take Action xvi</p>
<p>Chapter 1 The Dollar s Shrinking Value 1</p>
<p>Why Governments Love Inflation 1</p>
<p> It Can t Happen Here or Can It? 2</p>
<p>How Low Can It Go? 3</p>
<p>What You Don t Notice Won t Upset You 4</p>
<p>Infl ation Is Already Picking Up Steam 6</p>
<p>A Hope Is Not a Plan 7</p>
<p>Principle 1 Exchange Dollars for Real Things</p>
<p>Chapter 2 Life in the Gold Rush? 13</p>
<p>Gold: Traditional Haven for Nervous Investors 13</p>
<p>Caution: You Are Late to the Gold Party 14</p>
<p>Beware Investors Fleeing Gold 15</p>
<p>Why to Buy Some Gold Anyway 15</p>
<p>Buying Gold Now 17</p>
<p>Gold Supply and Demand 17</p>
<p>How High Will Gold Go? 17</p>
<p>The Easy Way to Buy Gold 20</p>
<p>Downsides of Exchange–Traded Funds 21</p>
<p>Warning: Exchange–Traded Notes = Added Risks 21</p>
<p>Why You Should Have Some Physical Gold 22</p>
<p>What Coins to Have on Hand 23</p>
<p>Why to Avoid Bullion 23</p>
<p>How to Buy Mining Stocks (If You Must) 24</p>
<p>Silver the Other White Meat 24</p>
<p>Why Silver Is Undervalued 25</p>
<p>The Pros and Cons of Holding Silver Coins and Bullion 26</p>
<p>Learning to Like Junk 26</p>
<p>Another Way to Profi t from Silver 27</p>
<p>Key Points 27</p>
<p>Chapter 3 Real Estate: Home Is Where the Hedge Is 29</p>
<p>Why You Should Own Your Home 29</p>
<p>Is Now the Time to Make Your Housing Move? 31</p>
<p>When Renting Makes More Sense 31</p>
<p>How to Invest in Apartment Buildings 33</p>
<p>How to Steer Clear of Passive Income Losses 34</p>
<p>How to Protect Your Real Estate Equity against Falling Prices 35</p>
<p>Invest in U.S. Farmland 36</p>
<p>Risks of Farmland Investing 36</p>
<p>Key Points 37</p>
<p>Chapter 4 Dollar Down = Oil Up 39</p>
<p>Why You Need to Invest in Black Gold 39</p>
<p>Why Proved Reserve Figures Are Unreliable 40</p>
<p>Is the World Running Out of Oil? 41</p>
<p>Will Abiotic Oil Avert a Hubbert Curve Peak? 42</p>
<p>Political and Environmental Pressures Are Pushing Oil Prices Up 43</p>
<p>Shale Gas Energy Bright Spot? 44</p>
<p>The World s Biggest Oil Companies and Their Ticker Symbols 44</p>
<p>The Easy Way to Own Oil 45</p>
<p>How to Profi t from the Oil Supply Chain 45</p>
<p>Should I Invest in Oil Drilling? 46</p>
<p>Canadian Royalty Trusts: Good Investments No Longer 47</p>
<p>Key Points 47</p>
<p>Chapter 5 From Diamonds to Trees: Alternative Assets 49</p>
<p>Another Precious Metal Platinum 49</p>
<p>Why You Should Stay Away from Palladium 50</p>
<p>What about Stamps? 51</p>
<p>The Danger of Diamonds 52</p>
<p>Art: Love It or Leave It 53</p>
<p>How to Get Money to Grow on Trees 53</p>
<p>Profi t Opportunity: People Have to Eat 57</p>
<p>The Copper Shortfall 58</p>
<p>Key Points 60</p>
<p>Principle 2 Future Money Is Cheap Money</p>
<p>Chapter 6 Beat the Banks at Their Own Game 63</p>
<p>Why Fixed–Rate Mortgages Are Your Friend 63</p>
<p>Cut Your Mortgage in Half 64</p>
<p>Don t Get Locked into HELOCs 65</p>
<p>Buy Big Houses and Lease Used Cars 65</p>
<p>If Your House Is in Foreclosure 66</p>
<p>FDIC Insurance May Be Hazardous to Your Wealth 68</p>
<p>Why Your Financial Accounts May Not Be Safe: Bank Holidays 68</p>
<p>Save Your Pennies 70</p>
<p>Key Points 71</p>
<p>Chapter 7 Dueling with the Devil: Credit Cards and Student Loans 73</p>
<p>Why Credit Cards Aren t Worth the Plastic They re Printed On 73</p>
<p>Don t Expect the New Law to Save You 74</p>
<p>How to Outwit the Credit Card Companies 75</p>
<p>How to Be a Bad Credit Card Customer 76</p>
<p>Goose Your Contracts with a Gold Clause 76</p>
<p>How to Use Infl ation to Discount Your Student Loans 77</p>
<p>Beware of Prepaid Tuition Guarantees 79</p>
<p>Key Points 81</p>
<p>Principle 3 Diversify Out of Dollars</p>
<p>Chapter 8 Fleeing the Dollar: Foreign Currencies 85</p>
<p>The Dollar: From House of Bricks to House of Straw 85</p>
<p>The Dollar Near–Term: Temporary Upswing 87</p>
<p>Foreign Currencies: Risks and Rewards 88</p>
<p>Which Currencies Should I Invest In? 89</p>
<p>The Chinese Yuan Is Going Up for Now 89</p>
<p>Beware: China Has Its Own Stimulus Problems 91</p>
<p>The Euro: Slow–Motion Meltdown 92</p>
<p>One Way to Invest in Foreign Currencies: ETFs 96</p>
<p>How to Invest in Foreign Bonds 96</p>
<p>Low–Debt Countries = Good Bond Bets 98</p>
<p>Gold Private Currency 100</p>
<p>Become a Foreign Farmer 101</p>
<p>Key Points 103</p>
<p>Chapter 9 Manage Your Government–Regulated Accounts 105</p>
<p>The Threat to Your IRA Wealth 105</p>
<p>Two Mutual Funds You Can Buy to Hedge against Inflation 106</p>
<p>U.S. Treasury Bonds: Certifi cates of Guaranteed Confiscation 106</p>
<p>Twisting in the Wind 107</p>
<p>TIPS: Inflation Protection or Inflation Fraud? 108</p>
<p>Why You Can t Trust Government Inflation Statistics 109</p>
<p>What to Hold in Your IRA 110</p>
<p>Start a Self–Directed IRA 111</p>
<p>Convert to a Roth IRA? 111</p>
<p>When Not to Convert to a Roth IRA 113</p>
<p>Key Points 113</p>
<p>Principle 4 Prepare for the Worst, but Expect the Best</p>
<p>Chapter 10 Why Your Taxes Are Going Sky High 117</p>
<p>The Numbers Speak for Themselves: Someone Has to Pay 117</p>
<p>Say Goodbye to Bush Tax Cuts 118</p>
<p>Defi cit Lip Service: How to Fool Some of the People Some of the Time 119</p>
<p>The Greek Road to Ruin 119</p>
<p> New Defi cit Reduction Strategy: Taxes 122</p>
<p>Coming Soon to Your Pocketbook: The Alternative Minimum Tax 122</p>
<p>Loophole: How to Turn a $700,000 Tax Bill into $10 Million Tax–Free Gift 123</p>
<p>How to Tax a Trillion Dollars 124</p>
<p>Your New Health Care Plan: Financed by Deception 124</p>
<p>Baby Boom Legacy: Spiraling Entitlement Costs 125</p>
<p>The Next Money–Grab: Value–Added Tax 126</p>
<p>Tax Fig Leaf: Erroneous Economic Models 127</p>
<p>Ouch! Economic Medicine That Works 129</p>
<p>Why the United States Will Never Be the Same Again 130</p>
<p>Key Points 131</p>
<p>Chapter 11 Look for the Warning Signs 133</p>
<p>The Warning Signs of an Imminent Currency Collapse 133</p>
<p>Is the U.S. Government Secretly Engineering a Weak Dollar? 136</p>
<p>How to Be a Billionaire Zimbabwe–Style 138</p>
<p>Is the United States the Next Greece? 139</p>
<p>Got Gold? 140</p>
<p>Wage and Price Controls 140</p>
<p>The Lesson of the Russian Grandmothers 142</p>
<p>Key Points 143</p>
<p>Chapter 12 Looking Up While Hunkering Down 145</p>
<p>Speak Out 145</p>
<p>Another Way to Multiply Your Voice 146</p>
<p>Develop a Necessary Skill 146</p>
<p>Start an Export Business 147</p>
<p>Prepare a Stay Bag 148</p>
<p>Tangibles to Keep at Home 151</p>
<p>Whisky and Pot: Your Depression Friends 152</p>
<p>The Health Care Bomb: Better Have That Surgery Now 153</p>
<p>Consider a Move to the Country 154</p>
<p>Buy a Generator 155</p>
<p>Go off the Grid 156</p>
<p>How to Avoid Snoopers 157</p>
<p>Maintaining Your Privacy in a Facebook World 158</p>
<p>Key Points 159</p>
<p>Conclusion How to Sleep at Night, Whatever Happens to the Economy 161</p>
<p>Notes 163</p>
<p>About the Author 189</p>
<p>Index 191</p>