Preparing for an economic collapse

Robsta1973

Hi
I realise this will probably seem a stupid question to some of you. Howevwr I am just after a bit of advice please. I havw seen on a lot of website that people are expecting an economic crash within the next few years. I have About £23000 in savings which is the deposit for a mortgage. I was wondering whether I would be better keeping the money in cash, keeping it in my bank account and ISA, trying to buy a house beforehand. Or do something else such as buy gold or silver etc. Thanks in advance for any replies.
Rob

AnotherJoe

Buy baked beans, bottled water and a shotgun.

can you eat gold?

tacpot12

Keep it in cash at a bank. If a crash is coming, buying a property asap would be the worst thing to do.

dunstonh

. I havw seen on a lot of website that people are expecting an economic crash within the next few years.

You mean like all the other crashes that have occurred before and will keep occurring?

Its a bit like a website saying that 3pm will happen again soon. Or its going to rain this year.

Do you mind me asking how old you are? I suspect your age is behind your worrying.

badmemory

There are people STILL in negative equity from the crash 10 years ago & ones still paying for the property crash almost 30 years ago. Buy a property if you want somewhere to live/own the roof over your head & not have to pay dead money in rent but not to preserve your savings. After all your savings may be protected from a crash, the value of your house would not (but then you would still have a roof over your head).

WobblyDog

Crashes of all kinds are inevitable but unpredictable. Although I do spend some time on the HousePriceCrash website, I still think that buying a house to live in is likely to be a good long term investment. Governments know that falling house prices and negative equity make a lot of voters unhappy, and take measures to help and protect those affected. I'm pretty sure the government will not take action to help people who have lost money due to falling shares prices or gold prices.

Alexland

Maybe keep plenty of fresh petrol for the flamethrower? The cash might be useful to burn to keep warm. There are always websites predicting most scenarios - if you believed all negative possibilities then you wouldn't get up in the morning and your life would have been wasted.

AlanP_2

Crashes come and crashes go.

Ignoring economic predictions what is the timescale and plan for those savings?

If it is to buy a property within the next 5 years for example then keeping it in CASH makes good sense as you don't need to take the risk that there is a stock market crash within 5 years.

If it is for retirement in 30 years time (which I know isn't the situation here) then keeping it INVESTED makes good sense as the risk that inflation will erode its real value is higher than the risk posed by a stock market crash as there would be time for markets to regain the ground lost and move upwards.

Malthusian

Robsta1973 wrote: »

I havw seen on a lot of website that people are expecting an economic crash within the next few years.

And they will almost certainly have been predicting an economic crash since 2010. They'll get it right eventually.

I have About £23000 in savings which is the deposit for a mortgage.

When do you plan on buying a house? This question determines the answer to "what you should do with the money", not when Mystic Meg thinks the next inevitable crash will come.

Robsta1973

Thanks to those that have tried to offer help. While some people may think I am stupid and suggested baked beans and petrol etc. I have saved the money over the past 4 years and as a lot of people will appreciate it isn!!!8217;t easy at the moment. So naturally I just want to secure the savings I have until I can find a house. Hopefully within the next year. I just didn!!!8217;t know whether to keep the money with Lloyds Bank or take the money out and keep it in a safe place. I suppose from seeing all the people stood waiting at Northern Rock the last time. I wasn!!!8217;t sure if buying a house would just set me up to fail should a financial crisis start sooner than later. Rob

dunstonh

I have saved the money over the past 4 years and as a lot of people will appreciate it isn!!!8217;t easy at the moment.

It not being easy is just an excuse to make millennials feel sorry for themselves and make them feel special. It has never been easy. Doesn't matter what generation you are talking about.

I just didn!!!8217;t know whether to keep the money with Lloyds Bank or take the money out and keep it in a safe place

And what would that safe place be? Burglar proof? Fire proof?

I suppose from seeing all the people stood waiting at Northern Rock the last time. I wasn!!!8217;t sure if buying a house would just set me up to fail should a financial crisis start sooner than later.

And how many people with Northern rock lost money? none.

NR caused its own failure but the media created the hysteria and the lemmings queued up. Even after the Govt said deposits would be protected. And now, retail banks are ring-fenced.

I wasn!!!8217;t sure if buying a house would just set me up to fail should a financial crisis start sooner than later.

On a typical 25 year mortgage you will likely see around 4-5 crashes, 2-3 recessions, and 4 financial crisis. You know they are coming. And will come again and again.

This is the point we are making about you worrying unnecessarily. It's normal. Yes, the media over the last 10-15 years has become increasingly sensationalist and has dumbed down significantly. However, you have to be able to look past that.