Swedish meatballs being a euphemism for…?
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Good question, AmericanMan!
I wonder what to tell my son, 43, who has his 401k invested in stocks fund?
My own 401k was invested in stock fund prior to 2008. Some time before the 2008 financial crash, I pulled everything out of stocks and transferred to treasury bonds. So I lost nothing unlike most of my friends.
However after that, I was afraid of the stock market so I never put anything back into stocks, which meant much lower returns but more security. I was ok with that.
In 2020, I put everything in my 401k into silver in order to guard the stash from inflation.
I don’t think my son has a precious metals option with his 401k but I will ask him what options he does have. I’d hate to see him lose that hard-earned money. Maybe he can borrow against it and put some into precious metals?
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There is a Peak Financial Investing link above you can click to get really good answers
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Spot on for noting 401K’s are basically tithes to Wall Street. I do payroll for a small company and each month (we do payroll monthly) I pull about $25,000 from everyone’s pay and it goes right into their fund. We also just did the 2025 matching contribution and this was about $200,000 right into said funds. We’re small as hell, so imagine the dough that mindlessly goes into 401K’s every month.
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Some 401k plans have self-directed brokerage windows which allow access to most ETFs including PSLV PHYS URA VDE etc.
If a 401k has an emerging market option, that acts as a play on commodities because most emerging markets are nations whose economies focus on resource extraction or commodity production of some kind. They also have a currency aspect, meaning if the dollar goes down, their local currency may go up relative to it. That adds a layer of complexity vs a straight commodity ETF.
Borrowing against a 401k is possible but there are limits and rules. Be aware that borrowing against a standard 401k may not be the same as borrowing against a Roth 401k. I suggest looking carefully at the rules if considering borrowing, including how funds get paid back and what obligations there may be if the employee leaves the company before paying off the loan.
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“War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength.”
“It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.”
Orwell-1984
For 15 years I’ve been terrified of a crash that never happens. Terrified of mortgage debt so I missed out on the real estate rise in one of the most expensive places to live. Bummer. I live in my car when I go into town. Terrified of a stock market crash so I missed out on various sector bubbles I coulda gotten rich from, which my friend did.
Piled into shiny rocks which did nothing for years. Finally made some gains recently. Missed out on last year’s miners run as I wasn’t paying attention.
I recently said screw it, I bought a house in a little town with a big mine coming. Can’t lose on that one. Unless a global financial catastrophe obliterates everything. What are the chances of that happening? Oh wait… given my luck.
Never underestimate the power of money printing.
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In this instance, I think the ads are minimal, and for people like me, good to know about Peak Financial Advisors.
Thanks, redneck, for helpful response.
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You’re right. I was in a pissy mood and resenting the internet onslaught of ads I endure to try to figure out what is going on.
I think my wife can attest to my unpleasant pissy moods. Sign of the times.
I am shocked that the Germans could not get those towers to collapse on to their footprints and that they fell a bit sideways. Perhaps they should have hired some Israeli demolition consultants.
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When CD Interest rates are low some liquid cash will go into stocks because people need an income off of that money. About 2.5-3 years back CD rates peaked for a spell and were about 4.65-5 for 18-36 month CD’s, those are maturing these days and rates are quite a bit lower for longer time frames.
I feel badly for the German people. They have a panopoly of died in the wool WEFFER’s in charge.
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