TIE #091: Why You MUST Buy Things That Appreciate Over Time
If you aren't doing this, you're falling behind.
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Back in 1971 a minimum wage job ($1.60/hour) paid you enough money every week to buy 1.82 ounces of gold.
You want to know how much gold you can buy every week with a minimum wage ($7.25/hour) job today?
A whopping 0.09 ounces.
That is a 95% decline in purchasing power over 54 years.
There a million factors for why this happened but the two most important are as follows:
The United States abandoned the gold standard
Money supply increased far more than productivity did
When you flood the world with dollars unnecessarily, it becomes worth less over time.
This is why gold bugs buy gold, this is why crypto people buy crypto, and this is why investors buy assets.
Smart people know this, average Joes do not.
Those who earn in dollars, spend those dollars, save no dollars, and don’t buy any assets are getting screwed (or screwing themselves).
The crazy part is that the system is designed to work this way.
The dollar isn’t supposed to lose value as quickly as it has, but that is how the system works.
It is intentional in an ever-expanding economy.
Increasing minimum wage or wages in general (without a counterbalancing effect) doesn’t fix this problem either.
House prices would double overnight if we doubled wages.
The problem is much deeper than that and is not something you or I ever have a chance of changing.
I want to switch gears here, so read all of that again if you have to.
Let me paint a picture for you…
Let’s say we’re playing a board game.
I’ve played it a million times, studied the rulebook, and know every little thing about it.
You’ve played it a few times and your grandparents kind of taught you how to play when you were a child.
We play our first game and I mop the floor with you.
Is this technically unfair?
Yes, absolutely.
Whose fault is that though?
It isn’t my fault.
It’s your fault (mostly).
This is the best way to view our economy.
Does our pseudo-capitalist system have a ton of flaws?
Yes, absolutely.
However, you cannot put all of the fault on the system when the rulebook and how to benefit from it exists on the internet, for free.
You have two options:
Complain, refuse to educate yourself, and fall behind
Recognize said flaws, educate yourself, and better your life
It is the best interest of you and your family to buy things that go up in value over time.
Gold, stocks, LEGO, Pokémon booster boxes, real estate… it doesn’t really matter.
If you haven’t been doing this from the moment you first worked a job, you’ve been actively falling behind.
That’s right.
Working hard at your job and NOT buying assets means you are falling behind. Not just gradually, but quickly.
Have any consumer debt? You’re falling behind even quicker.
It’s sad that this isn’t taught in school but then again, I think we all know why it isn’t.
Feel free to take advantage of what I just explained or don’t.
Choice is yours.
When you are ready, there is one way I can help you:
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