I know people out there who have invested a lot in gold under the belief that in the event of like complete societal collapse or hyperinflation, they could use it for purchasing.

I have the hunch it’s a scam, but I haven’t learned enough monetary theory, business, or economics to understand why.

  • infinitevalence@discuss.onlineEnglish
    20·
    2 days ago

    If there is complete societal collapse, then gold is going to be worth nothing, because you cant eat it. Bullets on the other hand you can use to take peoples food, or hunt for your own. So invest in bullets!

    Now if you just expect financial collapse but not total societal then sure gold, silver, bonds are probably fine if you want “safe” stable ways to hold your investments.

    In most cases, its just fear-mongering and gold has no more actual value than paper currency since they both derive their value from sentiment or perceived value. So if you show up at my house and offer me a small gold bar, you value at $10,000, and I value it at a potato, then your $10,000 is actually only worth a potato.

    • hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      2·
      1 day ago

      Yeah, gold isn’t worth anything unless a community agrees to assign a value to it, which probably won’t happen in an apocalyptic scenario. If you really want to be prepared, you need to stock up on things that are actually useful:

      • non-perishable, nutritious food (preferably something that has a lot of calories in a small serving so you could carry it on you)
      • drinking water!! you would have to change it every once in a while though, so you wouldn’t be drinking germ soup if a societal collapse actually happens
      • durable, good quality clothing for various climates/weather conditions (due to climate change and the possibility that you would flee somewhere, you should preferably have clothing suitable for other climates than just the one you’re used to)
      • miscellanous supplies, like tools for building shelters, farming, making & maintaining different items, destroying things like trees or rocks to make space for building/agriculture or more likely, obtain materials. Things to protect yourself and your loved ones from the elements, like a good tent, sleeping bags, etc. Flashlights, powerbanks, batteries, water purifiers, multitools…
      • knowledge. No matter how much stuff you have, it’s no use if you don’t actually know how to do things. Learn canning, blacksmithing, sewing, gardening, fishing, carpentry, foraging, and so on.
      • ameancow@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 day ago

        If it gets so bad that you need tools for building shelter, you are absolutely fucked unless you already have farmland and can defend it. People are massively ignorant about how difficult it is to live off the land if you don’t have experience in it and a lot of supplies and knowledge accumulated. It takes acres of crops and animals to support a couple people. It takes months or even years to make that land productive enough to keep you barely alive. Then if you have hard winters you better hope you have a stockpile.

        Financial collapse is one thing, but a total societal/technological collapse would be bad in orders of magnitude that I don’t even know how to describe it.

        Source: work in logistics.

    • noodles@slrpnk.net
      72·
      2 days ago

      In fairness, if the US dollar collapses, say, but the euro is fine and you find a way to get to Europe, you’re much better off with a few chunks of gold that will be worth relatively what you bought them for than with wheelbarrows full of hundred dollar bills which are now worth less than paper.

      • InFerNo@lemmy.ml
        21·
        2 days ago

        I doubt you get far checking in a suitcase full of gold after the dollar collapses in such a colossal way

        • noodles@slrpnk.net
          1·
          1 day ago

          You don’t need (and can’t afford) a suitcase full of gold unless you’re obscenely wealthy and can probably just charter a plane anyway. There are hundreds of accounts of e.g. Jews fleeing Nazi persecution (and Nazis fleeing the allies post-war) carrying wealth for bribes or starting over or what-have-you in the form of gold jewelry worn on the person or gold coins.

      • Holytimes@sh.itjust.works
        2·
        2 days ago

        Naw use em to shoot people in the wasteland and take their things.

        Ain’t no one safe in the post apocalyptic waste lands!