Oh yes, I completely agree with you. Any prep to insulate yourself from detrimental effects is a bonus. I was just wondering if anyone here was taking a more proactive approach to actually benefit from such a situation.Brambles wrote:I think on a personal level the ability, maybe even need to insulate yourself against financial meltdown is worthwhile. However capitalising on opportunities is something I have little interest in, simply because to make a gain in such circumstances you need to be prepared to accept a certain amount of risk. Obviously you can, a lot of us either can't or won't. At the moment I'm happy having insulation, I don't have enough spare to afford to lose it if the risk backfires.Wood cutter wrote:When I read about this in the general media, or on this forum, there seems to be a very strong bias simply towards preparing not to be a victim of such things. Reducing detrimental effects can only get you so far.
How many of you here are actively preparing to benefit from such a financial crash?
Do you think that you can spend so much time preparing not to be a victim, that you completely miss opportunities?
Personally, I'm pretty much crash proof, and have plans to further strengthen my position when the next crash occurs.
During the last housing price slump my in laws sold their main residence and bought 6 houses in a cheaper part of the country (south coast) and a canal boat. They'd wanted to give living on a boat a go, so took the opportunity without losing out financially. All 6 of the houses rent out for about a grand a month, and have all gone up by about 50 grand each. In the few years they've been retired / on permanent holiday they've had a monthly income of 5 or 6 grand, and their capital has increased by about 300K. This is pretty much risk free, and enabled them to try something they've wanted to do for a while, without any financial penalty.