15 hours ago, connda said:

Trump intimated that he was going to tank the dollar to decrease the price of exports. The rich get richer and average Joe gets the shaft.

As the wealth disparity grows so does the risk of anarchy and revolution. It's already happening.

15 hours ago, save the frogs said:

But I just read gold is at an all-time high, so it might be too late?

People "in the know" and financially savvy probably have been preparing for years in advance. Maybe China has bought up a bunch of gold because they know what's coming .. not sure.

Buy on dips. The general trend is up.

I guess when the new FED boss start in his job the US$ will drop to 25 baht.

On 1/30/2026 at 4:07 PM, save the frogs said:

I am not very good in financial stuff, but there is a lot of doom and gloom predictions out there for further devaluation of the dollar.

So maybe there is no better time to diversify out of the dollar system / US stock market.

• Crypto? I still dont understand how it works

• Gold, silver

• Other currencies (but unless you are a resident of a country, I think you need a lot of money to open an account in a place like Singapore ... so keep money in Thai Baht in a local bank?)

• Buy property in Thailand or back home?

• Blow it all on gogo dancers before it collapses

your last recommendation was my preferred choice

Never bet against America.

Not selling my stash of USD.

Not buying precious metals.

Only hold two things guaranteed to pay out BIG time:

1) Canada real estate

2) USD denominated shares ETFs.

Unlike metals and craptocurrency shares actually pay you every month just for owning them.

💯% in

7 minutes ago, Woke to Sounds said:

Never bet against America.

Not selling my stash of USD.

Not buying precious metals.

Only hold two things guaranteed to pay out BIG time:

1) Canada real estate

2) USD denominated shares ETFs.

Unlike metals and craptocurrency shares actually pay you every month just for owning them.

💯% in

Is the interest received more than the inflation rate? Besides ,I don't think anyone here recommended dumping all one's USD. Diversification is the most sensible way to go.

3 hours ago, Hawaiian said:

IMO, crypto is a Ponzi scheme that will eventually collapse. Physical possession of gold and/or silver is a good hedge against the declining USD. Personally, I like collectable certified gold coins.

You store them in a bank vault? In Thailand?

What if you ever leave the country? You take physical gold on a plane? Isn't there a limit?

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1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

You store them in a bank vault? In Thailand?

What if you ever leave the country? You take physical gold on a plane? Isn't there a limit?

I don't live in Thailand and even if I did my stash doesn't warrant a bank vault.

1 hour ago, Hawaiian said:

I don't live in Thailand and even if I did my stash doesn't warrant a bank vault.

I just checked my bank online. They can either deliver or store it in a vault. Obviously need to pay more to have it stored.

But ... just yesterday it seems there was a major drop in precious metals.

Gold plunged over 11%, and silver by a staggering 31% in a single day.

So is it a correction or major trend?

Investing is way too complicated. Things are constantly shifting.

6 hours ago, norsurin said:

I guess when the new FED boss start in his job the US$ will drop to 25 baht.

If the FED lowers the interest rate - as Donny always wants them to do - the US$ will drop for sure. Thats normal. And inflation will rise.

Stock market will go up as possibly also property values.

Only a rhetoric question:

Who could be interested in that?!

5 hours ago, Woke to Sounds said:

Never bet against America.

Not selling my stash of USD.

Not buying precious metals.

Only hold two things guaranteed to pay out BIG time:

1) Canada real estate

2) USD denominated shares ETFs.

Unlike metals and craptocurrency shares actually pay you every month just for owning them.

💯% in

Canada home prices dropped about 3.7 percent in 2025 on average.

16 hours ago, candide said:

Right, it may benefit US exporters. It may also increase inflation.

And inflation puts pressure (upwards) on interest rates.

28 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

I just checked my bank online. They can either deliver or store it in a vault. Obviously need to pay more to have it stored.

But ... just yesterday it seems there was a major drop in precious metals.

Gold plunged over 11%, and silver by a staggering 31% in a single day.

So is it a correction or major trend?

Investing is way too complicated. Things are constantly shifting.

I see this as a correction and think some precious metals investors saw this as the right time to take their profits. Many will get back in once the dust settles.

And yes, investing is complicated and not everyone has the same goals and same strategies.One's age is an important factor to consider. Greedy investors and those with no patience usually get burned. And never invest in something you do not understand.

8 minutes ago, Hawaiian said:

And never invest in something you do not understand.

That's just about everything for me.

Seems like Buffet also coined the "Never bet against America" phrase?

On 1/31/2026 at 10:00 AM, KhunLA said:

Yea, hate for USA will do that to some people. Mind boggling, isn't it.

I don't recall so much hate for the USA before Trump started his tariff war, his bullying, threats and coercive manner. To be fair, a lot of it is for Trump and his administration rather than the American people themselves. They just seem to be suffering by guilt through association.

Canadians are boycotting everything US for a reason. As are the Danes. Two "Boycott US" apps just topped the App Charts in Denmark.

China didn't cut off rare earths for nothing, and I doubt the US is looked upon fondly by many countries nowadays. Gold is only going through the roof because of Trump's actions.

He probably could have achieved a lot of what he wanted by doing it another way. Without upsetting or threatening the rest of the world and threatening dollar hegemony.

6 minutes ago, phetphet said:

I don't recall so much hate for the USA before Trump started his tariff war, his bullying, threats and coercive manner.

The issues are too complex for the average person to grasp.

You need Phds in both economics and geopolitics.

Trump could be making things worse.
Or maybe he realized that the US was a sinking ship on a downward spiral and is making drastic changes to try to rescue it. He has stated that he thought the US was heading for bankruptcy (link below).

For one thing, if the value of the dollars gets lower, so does the debt.

Of course it's not good for the average person holding US dollars, but everything has positive and negative ripple effects.

Since change makes people nervous and Trump is not the most likeable person, the majority think he's sinking the ship even further.

Personally, I realize there are too many complexities to grasp so I admit I don't know what he's doing.

11 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

For one thing, if the value of the dollars gets lower, so does the debt.

Not true.

With a lower value dollar expenditures of the US government will increase. Also creditors will demand higher interests on new debt.

A weak dollar primarily benefits US exporters internationally. Emerging economies also profit, as they are often indebted in US dollars. With a weaker dollar, this debt is worth less against their own currencies.

Commodity importers also benefit from a weak dollar, since commodities are often priced in US dollars, making them cheaper for importers in their own currencies. Finally, large US companies profit from a weaker dollar because their profits earned abroad are worth more in US dollars.

Private households, on the other hand, are among the losers, as imported consumer goods become more expensive.

The US needs to recognize that it doesn't have sole control over the world and that China and Europe are serious competitors.

For the dollar to regain strength, calm must return to the White House.

An overreaction of the situation could further weaken the position of the dollar and America as a whole.

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

The issues are too complex for the average person to grasp.

You need Phds in both economics and geopolitics.

Trump could be making things worse.
Or maybe he realized that the US was a sinking ship on a downward spiral and is making drastic changes to try to rescue it. He has stated that he thought the US was heading for bankruptcy (link below).

For one thing, if the value of the dollars gets lower, so does the debt.

Of course it's not good for the average person holding US dollars, but everything has positive and negative ripple effects.

Since change makes people nervous and Trump is not the most likeable person, the majority think he's sinking the ship even further.

Personally, I realize there are too many complexities to grasp so I admit I don't know what he's doing.

"The majority think he' sinking the ship even further." The majority got that right. He continues to spend more than the government takes in.

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

The issues are too complex for the average person to grasp.

You need Phds in both economics and geopolitics.

Trump could be making things worse.
Or maybe he realized that the US was a sinking ship on a downward spiral and is making drastic changes to try to rescue it. He has stated that he thought the US was heading for bankruptcy (link below).

For one thing, if the value of the dollars gets lower, so does the debt.

Of course it's not good for the average person holding US dollars, but everything has positive and negative ripple effects.

Since change makes people nervous and Trump is not the most likeable person, the majority think he's sinking the ship even further.

Personally, I realize there are too many complexities to grasp so I admit I don't know what he's doing.

"Personally, I realize there are too many complexities to grasp so I admit I don't know what he's doing."

Does Trump know? 😆

On 1/31/2026 at 9:51 AM, JackGats said:

I remember the good old days in the first decade of the century when I got 1.5 USD for each of my Euro. Why would 1.20 or 1.30 be catastrophic now? Because it is Trump-related?

It's paper related. The real value of the dollar (and other fiat currencies) has been declining for far longer than Trump has been around.

https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/purchasing-power-of-the-u-s-dollar-over-time/

2 hours ago, save the frogs said:

I just checked my bank online. They can either deliver or store it in a vault. Obviously need to pay more to have it stored.

But ... just yesterday it seems there was a major drop in precious metals.

Gold plunged over 11%, and silver by a staggering 31% in a single day.

So is it a correction or major trend?

Investing is way too complicated. Things are constantly shifting.

it was the biggest crash ever in silver spot prices and futures markets.

New Fed Chair pick (10:am ET) may not support rate cuts and dollar went up a bit. So...

Metal prices dipped, causing auto stop losses and margin orders to sell more - cascaded quickly.

At least one big bank reported to have closed thousands of short contracts on silver at $75 by Friday low.

25 years ago we were getting over 70 baht to the £ and one baht gold cost £100 or less. Good times.

Barfines short times long times drinks all very very affordable those were the times we lived like millionaires.

Easy to see why some retired to Thailand never thinking it wouldn't last.

On 1/31/2026 at 10:50 AM, save the frogs said:

But I just read gold is at an all-time high, so it might be too late?

People "in the know" and financially savvy probably have been preparing for years in advance. Maybe China has bought up a bunch of gold because they know what's coming .. not sure.

Gold corrected down about11% Friday. Silver crashed.

42 minutes ago, nauseus said:

Gold corrected down about11% Friday. Silver crashed.

Might be related to some chaos in China ... 100,000 people lost all their gold.

China corruption never ends.

Shenzhen's Shuibei International Jewelry Trading Center, China's largest gold and jewelry industry base, has seen frequent incidents of business collapses and people fleeing. In late January, the private gold trading platform “Jie Wo Rui” faced a collapse, leading to chaos on the scene.

3 hours ago, Bannoi said:

25 years ago we were getting over 70 baht to the £ and one baht gold cost £100 or less. Good times.

Barfines short times long times drinks all very very affordable those were the times we lived like millionaires.

Easy to see why some retired to Thailand never thinking it wouldn't last.

70 baht to the £ was due to the Tom Yam Kung crisis in 1997.

By 2000 the baht was picking up and by 2010 it was 49/50 baht to the £. For several years now it seems to have floated around the 40/41/42 mark.

Back in 1994 the baht was still pegged to the dollar, I remember getting approx 37/38 baht to the £.

Sth strange going on with silver.

Costco putting restrictions / quotas.

US mint suspends sales .

Perth mint also suspending sales and claiming it's not due to a shortage of silver.

https://www.perthmint.com/news/media-announcements/investor/no-silver-shortage/?srsltid=AfmBOopV38fbR7QhnyYN9qMpOxqMWbXkip8nsFFNE2hywtTajViUGQNS

As Australia’s leading precious metals refinery, we can assure you there is no shortage of silver, it just isn’t in the specific forms being requested by our customers which is putting pressure on manufacturing operations.

42 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

Sth strange going on with silver.

Costco putting restrictions / quotas.

US mint suspends sales .

Perth mint also suspending sales and claiming it's not due to a shortage of silver.

https://www.perthmint.com/news/media-announcements/investor/no-silver-shortage/?srsltid=AfmBOopV38fbR7QhnyYN9qMpOxqMWbXkip8nsFFNE2hywtTajViUGQNS

As Australia’s leading precious metals refinery, we can assure you there is no shortage of silver, it just isn’t in the specific forms being requested by our customers which is putting pressure on manufacturing operations.

I guess that confirms there's a shortage of silver then.

14 minutes ago, nauseus said:

I guess that confirms there's a shortage of silver then.

10 Trillion dollars combined holdings value of gold and silver was wiped out in one day.

Previous crashes:

1980 - silver goes from 6$ to 50$ and then crashed back to 10$

2011 - silver goes from 8$ to 50$ and then crashed to 26$ and took 13 years to recover

2026 - 26$ to 121$ , biggest jump ever, fed chairman announcement, silver crashes 40%

There is even a conspiracy that the Feds are creating crashes of precious metals, I guess preventing too many people from moving away from the dollar.

No inventory, so I am guessing they are blocking purchase because too many people investing in precious metals might precipitate the dollar collapsing too suddenly and cause too much havoc.

Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. But does not seem like a safe alternative to me.

Same with Bitcoin. If too many people start moving into Bitcoin, they can just crash it.