Balancing Short Term / Long Term - seeking advice from others' experiences

[JamesButabi]

I think Ive done a great job in being frugal and setting myself up for a comfortable future. Im still 25 and have bypassed expensive decisions most others my age have made (kids, independent housing, expensive amentities ). I now run a successful rental business that has been in my family for 40 years. Here's my current situation.

deleted personal info

I've been looking into property or a home as a potential next investment for me. Ive also been fearful of the deteriorating system and how that could effect my savings as I continue to build it. I'm looking for advice on short term investments where if needed I could easily access it. (for a home/property purchase). I feel like I am doing the wrong thing by keeping dollars in the bank and gaining a paltry 1% interest rate.

Any advice for me from a short term investment decision? Any advice from a property / home buying perspective? Would love to hear it, as most people in my age group are not in the position I am, so it is difficult to discuss.

[Seraphim]

Precious metals are very liquid...can be bought or sold at any time and in a hurry.

[Corydoras]

I think real estate is going to continue to drop - it was seriously overpriced - you really think it would be a good investment?

[Acala]

I would only suggest real estate if it has agricultural/homestead potential.

[JamesButabi]

I would only suggest real estate if it has agricultural/homestead potential.

Ive been looking in a "right to farm" community where land is much more abundant on property than typical for the area. Im kind of at a crossroads though. I have good savings, a good mindset, and stability. Many people say to stay away from real estate at this point, but I cant think of any other large investments to strive for at this point in my life.

[Corydoras]

Why not more PMs?

[legion]

Open an account on treasurydirect.gov

Buy 13 week bonds and make sure the payout goes into 0% Certificates of Indebtedness.

Wait.

In the meantime, check your bank's credit rating, and try to guess how safe those FRNs are in their custody.

http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-s...gs-search.aspx
http://www.thestreet.com/bank-safety/index.html

According to the Federal Reserve there is "no equivalent to TreasuryDirect for non-Treasury securities." Any other securities will be in the custody of the DTCC through the NSCC, FICC, or similar. By holding securities you expose yourself to custodial risk in this uncertain time.

The only alternative to TreasuryDirect is holding physical stock certificates, physical cash, or physical metals. Think very hard about which will be most useful to you going forward.

[legion]

"Nonparticipants hold securities accounts or interests on the books of a participant or some other intermediary that holds its interests with a participant. The Reserve Banks do not maintain records of the identities or interests of nonparticipants. Nonparticipants do not have any rights against the issuer or any intermediary other than their direct intermediary. While Reserve Banks do not face liquidity constraints as part of the U.S. central bank, nonparticipants’ custodians may. As indicated below, however, U.S. law protects nonparticipants’ assets held at a custodian or intermediary."

http://www.federalreserve.gov/paymen...compliance.pdf

"The National Securities Clearing Corp. will continue in its role as a central clearinghouse and guarantee trade settlement should one of the two counterparties to a deal default," says Sakaris. "This initiative [CNS for Value] is designed to mitigate the systemic risk associated with the potentially unlimited liquidity demands on NSCC in the event of a large default."

http://www.securitiestechnologymonit.../-27778-1.html