The best place to invest money right now really depends on how optimistic you are about the future of the U.S. economy.
Indeed, investing isn’t monopolized solely by Americans. But to deny that what happens to the U.S. affects the entire world would be naive. Make no mistake: if the U.S. falls, the global economy implodes. Some may suggest this is an arrogant thing to say. But it’s just the truth.
The U.S. is the second largest trading nation in the world. In 2022, we did more than $7 trillion in exports and imports. We have trade relations with more than 200 countries and territories across the globe. And U.S. citizens generate more than 20 percent of the world’s total income.
While the U.S. is a dominant force on the world stage, it’s also particularly vulnerable right now. Certainly we saw this after watching what can only be described as the most disastrous debate in U.S. history.
To be sure, I have no intention of turning this into a political rant. And as a libertarian, neither side of the two-party duopoly interests me. But what does interest me is how this coming election could affect the health of the U.S. economy. And more importantly, your ability to protect and create your wealth in the aftermath of what’s sure to be a nightmare in November.
The best place to invest your money right now – in anticipation of the worst
I’m not really an alarmist.
In fact, when I see a crisis coming, I just look towards the free market to find a solution. And ultimately an opportunity to make some money. And such is the case today.
To be honest, I didn’t need to watch that debate to know that we’re in for some rough waters ahead. The fact that the two leading candidates are mentally incapacitated with little interest in protecting and defending the Constitution (which is the job description), tells me everything I need to know about where we are as a nation.
We are lost.
The freedoms and way of life we’ve enjoyed for so long are legitimately at risk.
From daily violations of our Constitutional rights to incompetent statists gutting the foundation of our economy, I don’t see how anyone should not be concerned. I know I am. Which is why I put together this list of the best place to invest your money right now.
Before we get to that list, though, I want to be very clear. This is not an attack on either candidate. Instead, it’s an objective look at flaws in both of their economic policies. Folks debate all day about which candidate is better or worse for the country. But neither are particularly supportive of an honest free market – free of government interference. And this is a monumental problem.
A great example of this would be unreasonable tariffs on imported goods – which both support.
The good folks over at the Tax Foundation opined on how these tariffs have already affected Americans, and it’s not good. Here’s a short synopsis …
- The Trump administration imposed nearly $80 billion worth of new taxes on Americans by levying tariffs on thousands of products valued at approximately $380 billion in 2018 and 2019. This amounted to one of the largest tax increases in decades.
- The Biden administration kept most of the Trump administration tariffs in place. In May 2024, Biden announced tariff hikes on an additional $18 billion of Chinese goods. This included semiconductors and electric vehicles for an additional tax increase of $3.6 billion.
- We estimate the Trump-Biden tariffs will reduce long-run GDP by 0.2 percent. The capital stock by 0.1 percent. And employment by 142,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
- Altogether, the trade war policies currently in place add up to $79 billion in tariffs based on trade levels at the time of tariff implementation and excluding behavioral and dynamic effects.
- Before accounting for behavioral effects, the $79 billion in higher tariffs amounts to an average annual tax increase on US households of $625. Based on actual revenue collections data, trade war tariffs have directly increased tax collections by $200 to $300 annually per US household. Both estimates understate the cost to US households because they do not factor in the lost output, lower incomes, and loss in consumer choice the tariffs have caused.
- Candidate Trump has proposed significant tariff hikes as part of his presidential campaign. We estimate that if imposed, his proposed tariff increases would hike taxes by another $524 billion annually. They would also shrink GDP by at least 0.8 percent and employment by 684,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Our estimates do not capture the effects of retaliation, nor the additional harms that would stem from starting a global trade war.
- Academic and governmental studies find the Trump-Biden tariffs have raised prices and reduced output and employment, producing a net negative impact on the US economy.
Both candidates are pushing these tariffs to rile up their bases. To convince voters that this is how we keep America’s economy strong. Sadly, most people don’t realize how this actually weakens our economy.
Now consider that neither candidate has any intention of confronting the two biggest elephants in the room. Social security and medicare.
I’m not sure if you saw it, but the Congressional Budget Office recently released its assessment of these two programs, writing …
Spending for Social Security and Medicare boosts mandatory outlays, discretionary spending as a share of GDP falls to historic lows and higher interest rates and mounting debt cause net outlays for interest to increase.
Beginning in 2025, interest costs are greater in relation to GDP than at any point since at least 1940. They even exceed outlays for defense and outlays for nondefense programs and activities.
To clarify how bad this is, in 2023, $1 trillion was spent on medicare. This is nearly 4% of GDP. That number is expected to double by 2033, to $2 trillion, or more than 5% of GDP.
Bigger than medicare is social security, which cost $1.2 trillion in 2023 or 4.4 percent of GDP. That number will reach $2.1 trillion in 2033, also representing more than 5% of GDP.
Now throw inflation into that mix, along with …
- Geopolitical risks – which continue to increase
- Natural resource depletion as a result of an increase in extreme weather events. e.g.) droughts, floods, wildfires, etc.
- High household debt
- Crumbling and outdated infrastructure
- Domestic instability
- Decrease in fertility rates
Not to sound like a downer, but to me, this is definitely a “glass is half empty” situation. So when people ask me about the best place to invest your money right now, I don’t just talk about stocks. I also talk about investing in the things that will allow you to protect your wealth if things do take a turn for the worse.
Most of these investments are in anticipation of any potential crisis situations that could affect you personally. Like an increase in gas prices, for instance.
Gas prices typically rise and fall based on government interference and geopolitical events that affect oil markets. But domestic electricity prices tend to stay fairly static. This is one of the reasons I own an electric car.
I already pay less for my “fuel” than those who drive internal combustion vehicles. And when gas prices go up, I end up saving even more money. I save money on oil changes, too, as there are no oil changes with electric cars.
Make no mistake: investing in an electric car isn’t about tree-hugging or climate change. It’s about saving your hard-earned cash. Particularly now as there are a number of electric cars that you can buy for less than comparable internal combustion vehicles. Bloomberg did an entire piece on it here.
Now in the first half of 2024, I’ve personally saved more than $1,100 on fuel by powering my car with domestically-produced electrons instead of gas. By the end of the year, I’ll likely lock in fuel savings in excess of $2,000. As well, I save a lot of time by not having to go to the gas station. I wake up every morning with a “full tank.” You don’t realize how annoying pumping gas is until you don’t have to do it anymore.
I would also recommend investing in yourself. Or more specifically, your health. This means eating healthy, clean food and exercising daily. It’s no secret that the key to health and longevity is diet and exercise. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that the healthier you are, the less money you end up spending on medical bills and prescription medications.
There are a number of diseases that Americans suffer from that, in many cases, can be treated by food and fitness. Such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, dental disease, and in some cases, cancer.
How many hundreds or thousands of dollars a year do folks spend on heart medications, blood pressure pills or insulin? How much money do people lose when they’re sick and not working?
Eating well and exercising not only makes you feel better, but it helps you save a small fortune on healthcare costs. There was actually a study that came out a few years ago that showed eating healthier food could save the U.S. more than $50 billion a year in health care costs associated with heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and related illnesses.
Of course, everyone is different. We all have different genetic makeups, different types of jobs, and different levels of motivation. But feeling well and saving money by exercising and eating right is some pretty solid motivation for me.
I would also recommend finding a local farm to get your food. Typically, it’ll be a lot healthier than what you get at the grocery store. It’s also less prone to disruption and price hikes in a crisis situation.
Certainly I witnessed this during COVID, when people couldn’t get bread, milk and meat at the grocery store because of supply chain disruptions. We, however, had no disruptions because I physically go to the farm to get my food. We also have a membership at that farm that guarantees I have a share of that food every week.
Another investment I’ve personally made that has insulated me from economic crises in the past is real estate and rental properties.
No matter how bad things get, people need a place to live. Yes, sometimes it can be a pain in the ass to be a landlord. But generating monthly income in this manner has served me well over the years.
If the U.S. economy were to implode tomorrow, it would be a tragic event for so many reasons. But if you have transportation that doesn’t rely on a fuel that has to be distributed to gas stations all across the country (and is vulnerable to price hikes within minutes). And you have locked-in access to local healthy food. A daily fitness program that will allow you to keep chronic disease at bay. And a rental property that produces monthly income, you’ll be in a perfect position to not only protect your wealth, but create it, too.
Of course, I’m not suggesting you stop investing in public markets. Even if the U.S. economy goes into the shitter, there’s always an opportunity to create wealth in public equities. Just consider these other investments – which I maintain represent the best place to invest your money right now – as a vital component to your wealth creation and protection strategy.
