what would you consider a real asset?

[lance]

Alot of people see gold and silver as insurance....as a hedge against inflation....where as if silver hits $100 a ounce....we will be looking at $10 loaves of bread....what can you invest in that will gain profit whether or not the economy goes to [shucks]?

[slickeast]

Let me look into my crystal ball

[galenrog]

The only assets that can continue to appreciate in value are those that continue to produce in both good and very bad economic times. Mines that produce materials essential for the local economy are one example. This is true until the ore body is exhausted.

Another asset is good agricultural land, which will produce only during annual climate conditions appropriate for crops essential for a local economy.

Skills that are marketable regardless of economic conditions are the most valuable asset, as long as you also have the tools necessary to exploit those skills.

Remember that there are only three essential industries: Mining, agriculture and manufacturing. All others support these industries.

[Shifty51]

If you can stand in front of it with an assault rifle and defend it, it's a real asset!!

Precious metal
Base metal
Long guns
Ammo
Land
Real
Estate

All real assets. Some better than others. I have invested in gold, silver and copper and will continue to do so, but as I feel more and more comfortable about my position in precious and base metals I am beginning to focus on other items to invest in. I have really been focusing the past few months on investing in firearms, ammo and barter items. When $ collapses it will be worthwhile to have invested in tradable goods. I've read a number of stories about families in the Jewish ghettos in Germany being able to get any item they ever dreamed of for a tablespoon of honey. The store shelves are going to empty and people will want things they take for granted now. People ask me my investment strategy an I always tell them I invest in silver and Chap-Stick. I have boxes full of it. When I go to the grocery store I'll spend an extra buck and get another roll. Before you laugh me to scorn have you ever seen Book of Eli? Think about it, it's the middle of winter, your lips are on fire and have been for days and I have the only roll of chap stick in a 1000 mile radius. That's leverage, that's purchasing power. Other items that I buy little by little and store as an investment for thier barter value

Liquor
Candles
Tiny bottles of shampoo/lotion/conditioner from hotel rooms
Pipe tobacco (it can be stored for extended periods of time)
Corn cob pipes
$2 reading glasses from Walmart (People want to see and good luck getting contacts)
Hard candy
Denatured Alcohol (great clean burning fuel)
Tampons (they will still be needed and these things have tons of uses in survival situations)
Condoms (Again, will still be needed and sought and also have tons of uses. Carry water, waterproof case for items etc)
Matches
Lighters (Zippos, Bics, Weatherproof all kinds of firestarters)
Toothbrushes
Floss
Tiny tubes of toothpaste (get 50 and use them yourself. Use one buy a new one to rotate things)
Freeze-dried foods (25 year shelf life)
Inexpensive tool sets
Shoelaces
Shoes from Goodwill (doesn't matter what size or style they're for trade)
Bars of soap
Rubbing alcohol (collect sturdy plastic bottles as you use them so you can trade small amounts of fluids)
Sugar
Salt
Honey (Never goes bad)
Whetstones
Fishing tackle
Small sewing kits
Toilet paper
Razorblades
Disposable razors
Vasoline (Lots of uses. Great for starting fires)
Tea-packs
Playing cards
Dice
Dominoes
Safety Glasses (clear, tinted, dark)
Leather gloves
Cotton work gloves
Those $1.00 pairs of cotton gloves from Wal-Mart. Bang for your buck!)
Duct tape
Electrical tape
Manual can openers
Cheap fiscars scissors (Ever seen Band of Brothers? School supply section at Wal-Mart in august. Can get 10 pair for $.25
Baby oil
Safety pins
AMMO!!! (even if you don't own a 9mm or a .223 buy ammo for them for trade and because they are popular calibers and you will likely liberate a weapon that will use them at some point.

This is not an all incusive list. I can stand in front of all of these with a rifle and defend them. They are real / hard assets!!

And three things
1) They are all things I can and do use now. (except maybe the tampons)
2) They are all things that I can use in a disaster / calapse
3) They are all great barter items.

I believe in PM's as a hedge and great investment. You won't fin a bigger silver junkie than me. That being said I just don't think that if someone came up to me half starved and miserable that I would make much progress offering them a silver half as opposed to the items listed above that they can use and enjoy right then.

Anyways thats my take on real assests.

[Engineer]

If you can stand in front of it with an assault rifle and defend it, it's a real asset!!

+1 If you can't see and touch it, it isn't yours.

I like enclosed trailers and tools for a SHTF scenario. In the case of a natural disaster, chainsaws and generators are always in demand, and enclosed trailers give people a way to both move and protect their belongings. Bottles of propane are good too.

[My2Cents]

Shifty has it nailed down pretty good, and Engineer followed up with some great stuff too. My rule of thumb to follow is just 3 things...

Beans
Bullets
Band-Aids

I would believe in an extremely bad SHTF scenario, these three types of items could be bartered for anything else you would need.

[InfleXion]

I wouldn't put it outside the realm of possibility that silver could go to triple digits without the price of bread increasing all that much. Refined available silver is at its lowest levels in 700 years. If supply and demand were allowed to work properly, as opposed to price being driven by paper contracts with roughly only 1% physical metal backing, then I think silver would increase in price faster than anything else. Of course if things get turned upside down bread could become exceedingly valuable as well.

I also like silver whether the economy does well or poorly, because of it's dual role status as both a monetary and an industrial metal. If the economy does well then it will be in demand as the 2nd most useful commodity on the planet with over 10,000 uses. Of course it is not really a commodity though, because we can't make any more of it, but I digress. If the economy does poorly then gold and silver may go down in value due to deflation, but they are still desirable as default protection since they have intrinsic value with no counter party risk. Metals are a win/win.

If SHTF metals wouldn't be at the top of my list, but they are the only unit of account that is fungible, divisible, durable, and portable, so they would automatically return to their role as money out of necessity, but not necessarily right away.