Some people have tens of thousands of dollars they want to withdraw from the bank, some I know of hundreds of thousands. My advice is to keep cash for normal living expenses for a month or two, but no more.

1. If things settle down with that time, which I doubt a lot, you won't need more. If they do not settle down, then it's quite possible that either the money will not be worthwhile (silver and gold will be) or the government might well clamp down on anyone showing evidence of large sums, perhaps in a 2 week period given to convert cash money to some new currency.

2. Instead of leaving the money in the market or the bank (which one is the bigger gamble? Let's leave that for the philospohers) convert it NOW to useful things. usable real estate that would hold some value in any circumstance, guns and ammo, food, tools, pay off debts (MAJOR benefit in a depression!), raw materials for your own use or a home business meeting basic needs of others (as opposed to making dolls, trinkets, or knick-knacks). I lay up supplies for project on the farm, bolts of material for making clothes, sewing machines, infrastructure such as barn repair or building sheds. In bad scene these are way useful, in bump-in-road scene these are still useful and add value to property. One friend bought over a hundred acres somewhere, built homes for friends, the friends are renting and they have a community with or without Y2k disaster. He has improved property.

For any sum, consider buying bullion gold. Great artificially low price, 6000 year track record as holding value. We might see one of the few times it is a great wealth "enhancer" due to a rapid price increase (instability, collapse of various currencies or the like).

I am not an investment advisor, and I don't play one at work, I program computers. It's your money and your decision, and no one knows what will happen in the future, even if I think it'll be a 8 or 9 on the Y2k Weathermen scale:

http://www.discovertruth.com/

Question #1 On a scale of 1 to 10 how bad do you think Y2k problems be for the United States. NOTE: This is for USA only, not global Y2k impact.

1= Speed Bump. Annoying glitches, but no real problems. ''Scary Gary'' North becomes laughingstock of the Internet.

2 = Minor economic problems and business disruption. Recovery by end of 1st Quarter in 2000.

3 = Nobody is laughing, but the economy begins to recover by 3rd Quarter in 2000.

4 = Multi-year recession and major business disruption. Unemployment becomes an issue again.

5 = I have no idea, so I'm picking the middle of the road answer.

6 = Infrastructure problems with banks, telecommunications, and power, but we ''muddle through'' somehow.

7 = Significant infrastructure damage. Worst man made ''accident'' in the history of the world.

8 = Year of catastrophe followed by a decade of depression.

9 = Chaos, confusion, and catastrophe. Non-repairable infrastructure damage. New World Order.

10 = TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It). Gary North says, ''I told you so!''

-- Programmer farmer (Programmer_Farmer@home.org), July 24, 1999

Answers

I think at best a #2 and at worst a #7. I study the facts daily and that is my opinion as of today.

-- Fence Sitter (Middle@ of the road.com), July 25, 1999.

Effects in the US may be only 2-5, but the social reaction to those effects would turn things into a 8-10.

Remember, lots of people do not even keep 1 days worth of food in their house, and while they have heard of y2k, they do not see how it could affect their life.

It will be quite interesting.

-- David Holladay (davidh@brailleplanet.org), July 25, 1999.

INMO there are two possible "10" scenarios. If it just bad enough to make a majority of people dependant on a still functioning federal gov.and then NWO and a lot of people die resisting.Or if it is a North, Milne, Infomajic scenario and a lot of people die because of lack of the necesities.

-- Lumber Jack (johnsellis@webtv.net), July 25, 1999.