Hence, your real question is “why money?”. If you are starting out in life and other things are more valuable to you – buy them. But at some point you should start saving. It is generally accepted that a balance portfolio should contain 5-10% in cash and 0-5% in foreign currency and 0-10% in commodities. Remember gold is both money (cash) and commodity, and FRN can be and should be viewed as foreign currency. So depending on world and market condition you could arguably keep up to 25% of your portfolio in gold – although usually only up to 15% is recommended.
Everything you stated before this paragraph was the most well thought out, articulated, and sane thing I have ever encountered on a web forum on the subject. Though I still take many issues with it... they are relatively minor details not particularly worth noting for the purposes of this discussion.
The concept of a portfolio, in all but rare cases, is mostly asinine.
- Basic preparedness does require money on hand. For things such as brief to prolonged joblessness, a boiler shitting the bed, a car shitting the bed, multiple days of IV treatments at the ER (a recent example for me). Gold does not fit this bill... at least not until there is a service that instantly converts debit transactions from gold to dollars and is also not cost prohibitive. We have a functioning economy, and as it is you can't go trade gold for basic services in most cases. Access to a place of conversion is not always practical or even possible. Not to mention the costs associated with doing so.
- If cash, both foreign and domestic are part of this "portfolio".. and gold and other commodities are another small part... that indicates paper assets. If you are relying on paper assets, then you are banking on everything remaining as normal, no? You aren't doing anything special, you are betting on the status quo to remain the status quo... just like everyone else. With this, you have the same negative exposure to gold without the benefit of it actually being in your physical possession should you need it. Wouldn't looking at it like this mean you are just having a traditional portfolio with gold as an aside prep?
- I've maybe only met one or two people in my life that actually should have a "portfolio". As a prepper, unless you have all your basic needs provided for for the rest of your life, you have no business deferring the value of currency of any kind, except in limited amounts as a type of insurance.
I think we'd all agree these bases need to be covered for, if not TEOTWAWKI, a self sufficient lifestyle not dependent on the fragility of the system.
- Shelter, including the supplies and knowledge to maintain it for healthful livability, in perpetuity. Including handling of wastes. (Mortgage paid off? Septic in good shape?)
- Adequate parcel of arable land for food production, or a lifetime supply of food stores.. or combination thereof to provide healthful nutritional requirements.
- Energy self sufficiency either by production equipment or lifetime fossil fuel stores plus conversion, also the supplies, spare parts, and knowledge to keep said systems functional in perpetuity.
- Year round water supply access or harvesting system, for both agricultural and domestic needs, including mechanism for purification and maintenance for such systems.
I doubt anyone here has all of this covered. If you do, when does your book come out? I boil my argument down to, get your A's to C's covered before you worry about your A-U. (see what I did there?
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