A Blueprint for Financial Strength in Turbulent Times

Anyone who pays for groceries, rent, medical insurance, or energy bills can tell you that prices are rising much faster than the manipulated government inflation statistics suggest.

Independent analysts estimate that, in recent years, the US dollar has been losing about 10% of its purchasing power every year.

That means everyone holding US dollars would lose 50% of their purchasing power every seven years.

Let’s presume this continues, though we think that’s a conservative estimate because the coming currency debasement could be unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

How will you save for the future—or retirement—when the US dollar loses half of its value every seven years?

That’s a big problem everyone will have to address soon.

Today, everyone has to earn their money twice—once when they initially earn it and again just to maintain their purchasing power.

It’s an enormous challenge.

Most people understand that holding fiat currency, which central banks continually debase, is not optimal. As a result, they turn to bonds, stocks, and real estate to try and preserve their savings.

However, no investment is guaranteed to deliver a profit, let alone keep up with inflation.

And even if you’re fortunate enough to choose a winner, those gains will then be subject to capital gains tax.

In short, savers must keep up with inflation and outpace the capital gains tax to maintain their purchasing power.

It’s like running on a treadmill that keeps accelerating.

It has made saving an almost impossible task. That’s a catastrophe for most people because savings are the foundation of financial security.

Previously, people could simply save the excess of their production over consumption in sound money—either gold or a derivative of it—and dedicate their time to their families and pursuing their passions.

There was no need for a dentist, construction worker, or small business owner to double as a hedge fund manager, attempting to predict market movements just to preserve what they had already earned.

Today, the fate of many people’s savings hinges on Japanese monetary policy, the possibility of another financial crisis in Greece, turmoil in the Middle East, or the stock market throwing a tantrum over a comment from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve—or countless other ever-changing macroeconomic factors.

Frankly, it’s absurd—made even more so because most people mindlessly accept this situation as “normal.”

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Back to the Basics

Around 50 years ago, the market cap of all the gold in the world—which represented people’s savings—was roughly equal to the market cap of all the stocks in the world.

Today, the market cap of gold is about 10% of the world’s equities.

This shift indicates how capital that once was allocated to saving in gold has instead been directed toward the stock market.

Today, the distinct concepts of saving and investing have become conflated and confused—to the detriment of many.

Saving is producing more than you consume and setting aside the difference.

Investing is allocating capital to a productive business to generate more wealth. Investing carries more risk—and potential reward—than saving.

However, today, what most people think of as saving is actually investing.

Most people take the excess of their production over consumption and put it into the stock or bond market. But that’s not saving—that’s investing.

They go straight into investing (or speculating) without building up the financial foundation of savings to support it. It’s an unstable foundation and a recipe for disaster.

This happens because the money system is broken. Most people don’t fully understand why or how—they just know saving in rapidly depreciating government currencies is not optimal. So they don’t.

Not saving in government currencies is a wise decision.

However, skipping saving altogether and moving further down the risk curve into investing and speculating is a grave mistake.

Saving is the foundation of financial security.

It’s akin to a financial version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: the base of the hierarchy must be satisfied before progressing to higher levels.

Let’s face it—the game is rigged. The dollar keeps losing value, and saving money the traditional way is a losing battle.

So what can you do?

I just put together a must-read report detailing the three smartest ways to protect and grow your wealth despite the chaos ahead.

Get your free PDF copy of “The Most Dangerous Economic Crisis in 100 Years… The Top 3 Strategies You Need Right Now” before it’s too late.

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