# sell silver, pay off debt?



## mrsjez (Nov 4, 2010)

We unfortunately have had to run up our credit card in the last year. I am wondering what y'all's thoughts would be on selling a bit of our silver coins (that we'd have to dig out from the bottom of the lake when our row boat decided to tip over in the breeze ;-) ) to put a dent in the card balance?


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## PerhamMN (Oct 24, 2011)

I'd be on the way to sell the silver so fast that I'd get a speeding ticket on the way... debt free is the way to go!

(just don't get a speeding ticket on the way!)


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## Work horse (Apr 7, 2012)

I'd rather hear the story about how you managed to lose a bunch of silver coins in the middle of a lake


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## goatlady (May 31, 2002)

I personally would not sell just to "put a dent" in the cc debt.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

goatlady said:


> I personally would not sell just to "put a dent" in the cc debt.


I agree completely.


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## YuccaFlatsRanch (May 3, 2004)

A dent - no way. Silver is an appreciating asset - faster than inflation.

DW wants to pay off mortgage which is fixed at a good rate. WHY, the $$ paid are worth less and less each year. In fact it's about the only investment other than precious metals that is a better deal for me each year.


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

Sell what you can to get rid of the debt, because the borrower is slave to the lender.



Work horse said:


> I'd rather hear the story about how you managed to lose a bunch of silver coins in the middle of a lake


They lost all their guns then, too.



YuccaFlatsRanch said:


> A dent - no way. Silver is an appreciating asset - faster than inflation.
> 
> DW wants to pay off mortgage which is fixed at a good rate. WHY, the $$ paid are worth less and less each year. In fact it's about the only investment other than precious metals that is a better deal for me each year.


Because the borrower is slave to the lender, that's why.


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## Lythrum (Dec 19, 2005)

If it was only to put a dent in it, then I would hold on to it until it was enough to pay it all off.


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## SCRancher (Jan 11, 2011)

YuccaFlatsRanch said:


> DW wants to pay off mortgage which is fixed at a good rate. WHY, the $$ paid are worth less and less each year. In fact it's about the only investment other than precious metals that is a better deal for me each year.


 I agree with you - at the interest rates now - I would not pay off real estate debt - as long as you can easily afford the payments. If you can and it makes sense the interest rates have push below their all time lows so refinancing if your holding a 4.5+ interest rate MAY make sense. Debt is an instrument to be used wisely.


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## PerhamMN (Oct 24, 2011)

SCRancher said:


> I agree with you - at the interest rates now - I would not pay off real estate debt - as long as you can easily afford the payments. If you can and it makes sense the interest rates have push below their all time lows so refinancing if your holding a 4.5+ interest rate MAY make sense. Debt is an instrument to be used wisely.


But what happens if there is some type of family emergency, and you can no longer "afford" the payments? The mortgage company is still going to want their money, regardless of injury or job loss. 

Debt is ALWAYS accompanied by risk, which is difficult to quantify. I'd still pay off the debt, regardless of the interest rate, because I would hate it, if the only things standing between me and foreclosure, were government health care and jobs programs!

The only way to use debt wisely is to get rid of it, and never go back to it.


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## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

I want to know how the coins and guns got in the boat and then to the bottom of the lake? How are you going to fetch 'em out?


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Debt is like working with dynamite. Treat it carefully, only use the absolute minimum needed to do the job, and don't hold on to it too long or it becomes unstable [think nitroglycerine]


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## legacy (Oct 16, 2005)

Get out of all CC debt as soon as possible. 

Save up to buy more silver (asap.)

Now, where did you say the lake is?


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

debt free = true freedom....very few people know the feeling and i think very few can handle true freedom.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

I'd sell the coins. They aren't doing you a whole lotta good at the bottom of the lake anyway right?


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

The longer you can hold out, the lesser your debt will be. Inflation eats away at savings and real goods, but doesn't affect PM's as much.

Would you rather go into a TEOTW scenario with a truckload of debt, be debt free, or have a sack of silver? In a Post Apocalyptic scenario, IF someone were around to collect the debt, it could be paid off cheaply with a few silver coins. Debt free? Neutral game. Bag of silver? your a King. (that is, if you have every other base... beans, bullets, bandaids, covered).


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## ryanthomas (Dec 10, 2009)

Depends on how much silver you have and how much debt...and also what other preps you have.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Leave the silver in the lake. Don't want you pulling mine out by mistake.


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## DryHeat (Nov 11, 2010)

Some of the responses seem to be considering mortgage level interest rates, OP said credit card. That could be 12-15-18% interest annually. Silver did just take a nice surge upward, like near 30% or so. So what IS the interest rate annually? Advice might shift a bit if it's not those low single digits some folks have quoted. Frankly, I put about $5K into junk silver US coins over the summer with the prices $26-$28/oz. No boat accidents will be involved, it'll be listed in my business Schedule C as will any profit, or loss; I *am* looking now at taking a bit of the appreciation "off the table," especially for a couple of things like a roll of near-BU Franklin halves, things like that with a bit of premium beyond straight 90% silver content. (I look at having bought them in the first place as a minor error.) Do you have things like BU 1964 Kennedy halves? Those seem to have a nice premium now. Maybe 40% silver coins like 1965-1970 Kennedys would be something to let loose of, too. 

A lot depends on just what in the world has been going on with Morgan-Chase and its rumored continuing heavy short position in silver. Will they get caught up in a classic squeeze and drive silver ever higher, or will our dear gubbment turn out to be in collusion with them and take actions that crash precious metals at least on and off? Silver is really volatile and in my view could go up OR down 20% in any week or two now.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Op said dent, not eliminate. 

All too many people pay off or down the cc and then another emergency hits and the card gets charged to the max again. Revolving problem. Sell off pms and still have the debt. Not good IMO unless the interest is over 10%. 

Just a thought though, do you qualify for a home equity credit line? Those are hovering at around 3% interest. Much better rates than any cc. 

Or maybe you could sell off that poorly balanced boat.  LOL


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Whats your ability to pay like? If its not great and selling the silver would get you into a more comfortable payment scheme then yeah. You should re-finance credit card debt, to a line of credit and having a lump sum to contribute right away might convince a bank to let you do that. In general i agree with YuccaFlatsRanch though.


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## MichaelK! (Oct 22, 2010)

texican said:


> Would you rather go into a TEOTW scenario with a truckload of debt, be debt free, or have a sack of silver? In a Post Apocalyptic scenario, IF someone were around to collect the debt, it could be paid off cheaply with a few silver coins. Debt free? Neutral game. Bag of silver? your a King.


If you see mushroom clouds rising over the horizon, I'd say that would be true, and would want the bag of silver. I in fact, have my own.

Short of that, the very, very LAST institutions to go down will be the banks and the tax collectors. I think you can be very sure that as long as you are still in debt, they can show up with a nicely printed piece of paper that states this land belongs to them now and you must pack up and leave. Unless the state of the world has degenerated to the point that you can shoot them dead on the spot and not worry about it, debt is what will make you lose everything.


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