Investing with Peak Oil in Mind

[Chris Wolf]

Like many others, I am confused about where to tuck away my little bit of retirement/emergency savings.  Right now I have about half in "socially responsible" stocks (although if I looked into the actual companies I doubt I would count them as responsible), and half with my local credit union.  But with the stock market becoming increasingly unstable, and in the long run being a totally unsustainable pyramid scheme of growth-- what should I do with that money instead?  And if the American dollar sees a big collapse like many people predict, will my money at a CU be "safe" or will it be deflated to almost no value, or will it disappear?

What do you guys and gals know about these issues?  Some people are buying gold, but that just seems so crazy to me.  Any input, advice, or resources would be appreciated.  Thanks!

[Angela MacLeod]

Robert,
Give me a call: 733-3541. It's not that the money talk is too personal....I prefer to share in person as so much communication happens through non-verbal modes (expressions, tone of voice etc). Also if I'm discussing things of depth I like to get a sense of how the other person is understanding me in real time. Lastly, I don't like to spend a lot of time sitting inside at a computer. But I'd be happy to talk with you.
Angela

[Chris Wolf]

I had a very helpful sit-down wiht David Marshak this week to talk about money and investment (thank you david!). He quoted a woman named Katherine Austin Fitts (sp?) who writes a lot about these topics, as preaching, "put your money where your values are." This simple statement clarified so much for me. My values do not lie in the stock market, or in the US government, or in getting the highest percentage return on my investment. My values include my community, knowledge, relationships, the health of the Earth, and the security of knowing how to grow food and a place to grow it. Dirt is dirt! And there is lots of really nice dirt in Whatcom County, and thanks to great local experts like Walter Haugen and Brian Kirkvliet and Paul Stamets, I am even learning how to make great dirt out of any dirt!

So I guess buying land it is! I am filling out the form to "dispense" all the money out of my stocks account and into my local credit union account so that it is closer to home until then. I am conversing with others who want to buy land and live in community and grow food and teach others how. If this dream sounds like your dream, contact me.

Thank you everyone for this discusion-- I think we answered my question!

[David MacLeod]

Chris,

Glad to hear you found some direction. Katherine Austin Fitts (former assistant director of HUD and former partner at Dillon Reed) has a pretty comprehensive website called Solari. http://www.solari.com.

A good place to start is the "Coming Clean" section: http://solari.com/archive/coming_clean//

Another good one is her explanation of "Tapeworm economics."
http://solari.com/realdeal.htm
http://www.ratical.org/co-globalize/AmTapeWormP1.html

Some videos of her talking about Safely Navigating the Falling Dollar are here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2984480718427930625#

Transition Whatcom has a Catherine Austin Fitts audio cd available for loan as well. Anyone who wants to borrow this, let me know.

[Dawn Griffin]

Hello,

I'm new to TW and have been browsing some of the conversations. I notice the references to Catherine Austin Fitts. I know Catherine, as I was on the Solari Leadership Council for a time. She definitely knows what she's talking about and another link is to the consulting service: http://solariadvisors.com/company.html

Another person whose approach I like is Charles Eisenstein. He proposes a "gifting economy" and his vision is more spiritual. There is a 5 part youtube presentation on this. Here's the link to the first one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS07gM74tww