You Won’t Believe What Costco’s Best-Selling Item Is

Colin’s note: Inflation is bad and it’s about to get worse. That’s the message from colleague Teeka Tiwari in today’s guest insight.

Here at The Bleeding Edge, my mission is to help you profit from the biggest trends in tech. But that’s not all there is to building wealth. You also need to preserve those gains. And if Teeka is right, the U.S. dollar is going to be a terrible way to do that over the coming years.

As the U.S. federal debt piles up, he warns that the value of your dollars will shrink at an even faster rate than it’s shrinking now.

That’s why Americans are heading to their local Costo in droves to buy a product the retailer added to its lineup in September. Demand is so strong, Costco can’t keep up. Over to Teeka…

What’s Costco’s best-selling product right now?

Some of its most popular products are toilet paper, rotisserie chicken, bacon, hot dogs, and gas.

During the pandemic, Costco couldn’t keep toilet paper on its shelves.

Things got so bad, it had to put purchase limits on toilet paper.

So, I wouldn’t be surprised if your answer was toilet paper.

But the correct answer is gold.

In September, Costco started offering 1-ounce gold bars for about $2,000.

And they’re selling like hotcakes.

Here’s Richard Galanti, Costco’s chief financial officer, on the company’s recent earnings call…

I’ve gotten a couple of calls that people have seen online that we’ve been selling 1-ounce gold bars. But when we load them on the site, they’re typically gone within a few hours, and we limit two per member.

Friends, this is insane. The demand for gold bars is so strong, Costco can’t keep them in stock.

Today, I’ll show you why the company is running out of gold bars, and what it means for you…

Debt Doom Loop

Inflation is crushing the American consumer. Since the pandemic began in March 2020, we’ve seen the annual inflation rate peak at 9.1%.

It’s decelerated since then to 3.7%. But that doesn’t mean prices are coming down. It just means prices are rising at a slower rate.

That’s why I believe people are buying gold bars like hotcakes. They’re protecting their buying power.

And I don’t blame them.

Inflation is already bad. And it’s about to get worse.

Look at the chart below. It shows the amount of U.S. federal debt.

For the first time ever, our government is $33 trillion in the hole.

This is a nearly unfathomable number.

To give you some context, 1 trillion one-dollar bills stacked on top of each other get you about a third of the way to the moon. So 33 trillion stacked bills get you to the moon more than 10 times over.

From 2008 to 2021, this debt wasn’t a big problem because interest rates were close to zero.

So, the interest the government paid on that massive debt pile wasn’t a big deal.

But interest rates are zero no more.

To combat inflation, the Fed has jacked up rates to 5%. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says they can go as high as 7%.

At 7%, the interest payments on $33 trillion would be about $2.1 trillion a year. That’s nearly three times more than the defense budget.

To cover these debts, the Fed will be forced to buy the government’s bonds.

And when the Fed cranks up the money printer, it dilutes the value of the existing dollars in the system. It’s like how when a company issues too many shares, it dilutes the value of the shares you own.

The result?

The value of the dollars you own will shrink – a lot.

This level of debt is the endgame I’ve been warning my readers about. It’s a “doom loop” that tips America over the edge from dollar superpower into dollar collapse.

That’s why so many Americans are stocking up on gold.

And Costco isn’t the only major player in the gold market. Not even close.

Central Banks Are Loading Up

In the first three months of this year, central banks added 228 tons to global reserves.

That’s the highest rate of gold buying by central banks in a first quarter since the data series began in 2000.

It’s also a continuation of a surge in gold buying over the past 12 months.

You can see that in the next chart…

Since January 2020, gold is up 32%.

That may not seem like a lot – especially when AI chipmaker Nvidia is up 193% in less than a year. But that’s a huge move for the $12 trillion gold market.

I recommended gold as early as 2015 as “disaster insurance.” Since then, it’s up 56%.

But the reality is most of the time, gold is an atrocious investment.

It pays no dividend. It has limited industrial uses. And it can go through long stretches when its price goes nowhere.

So that’s why I’m NOT recommending gold today.

Better Than Gold

Everything about the economy right now comes back to one thing – inflation.

It’s on everyone’s mind. It enters every conversation.

It’s an economic problem. It’s a political problem. It’s also a huge problem for your wealth.

It’s not just a temporary rise due to supply chain issues (although that’s certainly keeping goods scarce). It’s also the result of trillions of dollars in fiscal stimulus created during the pandemic.

And things are about to get worse…

You see, there’s an unprecedented government event scheduled for November. And it will trigger the final collapse of the dollar and its buying power for everyday Americans.

That’s why next Wednesday, November 8, at 8 p.m. ET I’m holding an event called The Final Collapse.

During this event, I’ll reveal the asset that will skyrocket even as the value of the dollars in your wallet, bank account, and brokerage accounts collapses.

The last time the dollar had a similar crisis, my readers had a chance to make 27 times… 56 times… and even 850 times their money – in less than two years off this asset.

I’ll also give you a free recommendation, no strings attached.

And that alone is a good reason to join me. My past free picks have an average peak gain of over 1,100%.

Friends, it bears repeating: The last time the dollar had a similar crisis, my readers had a chance to make 27 times… 56 times… and even 850 times their money in less than two years.

Inflation is already destroying the retirement plans of millions of Americans.

You can’t afford to ignore this. The stakes are too high. So please be sure to join me on Wednesday, November 8, at 8 p.m. ET.

Let the Game Come to You!

Big T