A shoebox in your closet is usually a pretty safe place to keep your money, unless there is a fire or a robbery. A bank may be an even better spot to store your cash, unless the bank goes under or is subject to capital controls. Neither, however, will protect you from loss of purchasing power if the currency spirals out of control. So what are Greeks doing to protect themselves in uncertain times? Buying cars, what else?! Auto sales’ year over year growth in April was 47%. To protect their wealth from banking insolvency or currency collapse – if they were removed from the Eurozone – they are purchasing hard assets – items that can store value. Even though cars are notorious for being depreciating assets – a currency devaluation can be far worse.
July 6, 2015