Metal to cash, and back to metal!

Hey guys I only joined this week and figured I would start a thread here rather than an intro. I try not to be "that noob" who is constantly asking questions that have been answered repeatedly, and know quite well how to use the search feature. Its why i have not posted any questions. Although i think it is important not to be so condescending to those who do. The same amount of effort it took to type up that written complaint could have simply been used to just answer the question AND remind user to use search function.

Anyways, to the topic. I have been scrapping since about 2008, I love it. As I have a regular job and a big family I typically do this as a hobby harvesting e-waste and appliances, especially since I have not had a truck in about four years. After a trip the yard I used to just use the money to supplement whatever expenses I need to take care of. but starting around spring last year, I realized I made enough income to cover my expenses, so let me get creative with the money I specifically make from my scrap hobby.

So I decided to turn my metal salvage back into metal after the payout! What do I mean? I mean this, all the money I make from salvage goes into buying specifically my two B's.
BULLION and BULLETS

After my trips to the yards I stop first at Wal-mart, and then to the local bullion dealer (in my case, the closest one is a diamond dealer) So I always make sure I can always take at least $50 worth of salvage to the yard, but settle for thirty. Anyone who is in this particular trade knows exactly when they have that much salvage, so point in explaining that part.

I will stop at wal-mart to purchase a case or two of my home protection gear, followed by a stop to my bullion dealer to pick up a silver eagle or two. Plus making the trip with my two older boys is a wonderful bonding and educational time for us. it helps me to teach them the importance of saving, the payoff of our efforts and labor, as well as good ol fashioned fun.

Either way i am probably not the only one who does this, and have a feeling this exchange of metals is practiced by more than a few around here.

indeed so last year I hit my 2000oz silver mark this way more from ewaste though now working towards 100oz gold but will be awhile took about 5 years to reach my silver goal

Yup, you are absolutely well hedged against market instability that is for sure. I have not quite reached those kinds of numbers, but I have only been getting the silver for just under a year.
As long as I keep on the path I am on though I hope to have those kinds of savings after five years. Do you acquire coin, bars or both? I find a healthy mix of everything is good so long as silver is silver, gold is gold, and lead is lead :lol:

Love it. Don't forget the beans and bandages. There are a number of people here who use the income to supplement their preps or build a hedge against the next market crash. My grandparents who lived through the Depression tried to teach the grand kids the value of hard currency and to be wary of debt and funny money. It fell on deaf ears for many years sadly. I am happy to say better late than never.

I will reinforce the idea of bullets they have been and continue to be an upwardly trending commondity for ten years now. Bullion I am not as sold on. Silver for sure, but gold has not held the inflation value I really expected it would since I've been watching it since 2005. Gold is much for affected by trends and fevers than silver. Nobody gets "silver" fever like they do gold, and in the e waste world I had no actual idea how much silver I was throwing away to someone else when I sent my own lot to be refined for the first time. To have more than 20 ounces come back was incredible (at least for me).

It's really nice to see other guys around here with the same ideas, refreshing for sure.

I also have 100+ oz of copper .999. It is nice to be able to hand out AOCS rounds to people to encourage learning about real money. If we want our stacks to be worth something, we have to help educate the world about what we stack.

steel----->silver= scrapper alchemy

I too use some of my scrap income to stack up some bullion and bullets, absolutely a good investment in the uncertain world we live in.

another thing i always encourage my friends to invest in are "life long Quality" tools, because WHEN the S hits the fan the people who can build/repair/salvage the world around them are the ones who will come out on top, and good quality tools and the skills to use them make that possible.

You have a great strategy that should pay huge dividends. The practice of selling metal to buy metal is shared, only this investor is into purchasing more iron. At least I can make something to serve a purpose with iron.

Don't get me wrong, I like ammo as much as the next guy and have a bunch for the various dozen or so firearms that are in the household (all utilitarian "working" guns of sorts). I also have a number of larger magazines for some that I'm sure are banned in some more "progressive" states. But in various SHTF scenarios how many firefights are you and your family going to win (you only have to lose one)??? A much more defensible strategy would be to ban together in small towns and keep that town off the radar screen as much as possible. Depending on who the bad guys are, any static position could be in trouble. Flexibility may be the key to survival...

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Originally Posted by DakotaRog

But in various SHTF scenarios how many firefights are you and your family going to win (you only have to lose one)???

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COME ON YOU APES, YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER!!!?
haha kudos if someone can figure what movie that came from. Point is you cannot run from the world forever. Eventually the world will come for you. I agree in the banding together, but it does not have to remain in small towns. there is no reason communities in bigger municipalities cannot maintain control of their cities, or at least our corner of that city.

Even after the apocalypse , a large urban center is going to be a key trading route due to the central locations and multiple transit points. It will become, A SCRAPPERS UTOPIA!!!! METAL EVERYWHERE!!! Im going metal crazy man.

Dakota, I had originally wrote a long winded "thing" covering exactly what you said. I've been in combat, there are only so many encounters you can be in before you lose, pretty simple.

cool starship troopers reference dyepes

Have to agree with army grey, there's only so many times the other guys are gona miss. Kevlar and medical supplies are my main investments, who wants to survive the poop hitting the fan to die from a paper cut or tetanus.

I started with small and went to big so my safe could hold more then went to a bigger same as the values went up and I got more I also do copper rounds as well as bars and yes indeed bullets at times even have some real firing silver tips lol just in case lol there only .22 though but do have about 10,000 rounds at all times for a few different guns but mainly for my herstal fnx-9mm and a few shot guns