Originally Posted by u-Bob

Fletch,

No 2 catastrophes are the same. Not everyone who prepares for the future, prepares for the same things. Yes of course certain measures will be useless when a large military force evicts everyone in a certain area from their homes or when a massive meteorite strikes the earth or when a Chernobyl like event occurs... but that doesn't mean it's not smart to prepare.

When saving some or your earnings for future use, inflation, deflation and devaluation are things to take into consideration. Precious metals certainly fit into a strategy aimed at preserving the value of the income you've already earned but plan to use in the future. Being prepared doesn't necessarily mean: "being prepared for Mad Max beyond thunderdome " type of scenarios. For me personally, being prepared means managing risks. And the risk of a currency suddenly losing 10% of its value is a very real one.