Yeah everyone is selling something, that's the problem with gurus.
The thing about PMs, and I'm sure why they are so attractive, is that they are the ultimate "EOTWAWKI Fantasy Shopping List". Just buy a bunch of gold, when the ballon goes up it becomes fabulously valuable and you become fabulously rich, EOS. The cool thing is you don't need to change anything about how you live today and in the most horrific future you'll be lord of the manor to boot! What's not to like?
It seems to me, unless you live off your investments today, the whole gold debate is moot. So you have a month's income (or 2 or 6) in gold bars, so what? It's better than a sharp stick in the eye but it isn't going to replace your job or pay the rent for long if you've changed nothing else to make your
life resilient.
Anyway, I'll compliment CM, at least I think it was him, on explaining very well how to develop a matrix of scenarios that worry
you and how to prioritize mitigation actions beyond just buying stuff. The best part is that you not only decide the scariest scenarios for you but also how difficult the mitigation is in your specific situation. I copied this from an earlier post of mine...
...draw a matrix, in the first column list scary scenarios. In the second column, give each scenario a probability score of 1-9, no such thing as zero probability and no 100% either. Then in the third column, place a number representing ease/efficacy of preparation with 0 = practically impossible to 10 = so easy it's almost done already. You can be as detailed as necessary, break down big scenarios into manageable tasks, "total collapse" reduces to: "clean water", "toilet paper", "lattés", etc
Once you've listed the scenarios that concern you, given them a probability of occurrence and assigned a mitigation score, multiply the probability number by the ease factor for each scenario to come up with a prioritized list of actions, highest numbers go first.
Or just buy some gold, lol.
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The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
-- Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Government (July 1, 1854)