Anyone who has been following trends in money and banking over the past several years has seen the increasing push for electronic, digital, and online payments. At all levels, from government to banks to private businesses, cash is increasingly being seen as a liability rather than an asset. These concerted moves towards digital payments, and the continued decline in the use of cash, has spurred fears of a war on cash. Cash’s great benefit is that it is an anonymous form of payment. Money changes hands, goods are exchanged, and neither party needs to know who the other person is, what he does, or anything else. But governments hate that, and so they’re pushing electronic payments in order to de-anonymize as many financial transactions as possible. Cash allows people to trade with each other without scrutiny from third parties. Governments like to disparage cash use as enabling tax evasion, money laundering, or other criminal activity. But for people who live in countries with draconian regulations or excessive taxation, cash allows them to keep the government out of their business, and allows economies to function in the face of excessive government interference. And that’s why many governments would like to eliminate cash. In a world without cash, and in which every transaction is recorded electronically, governments will have a record of every transaction that takes place, allowing them to tax whatever they want to, whenever they want to, or prohibit sales whenever they want to. Not being able to escape that electronic database means that individuals and businesses can be taxed at ever higher levels, or can be subject to asset seizures or spending bans, with no recourse since cash no longer exists. Key Takeaways COVID Helped Cash Decline Fears of cash being a potential carrier of the COVID-19 virus led to many businesses banning the use of cash, and to fears among the general population that cash might be infected. Never mind that cash has been exposed to virus carriers of the flu, common cold, and other viruses for decades. And never mind that cash has been exposed to illegal drugs, feces, and other contaminants every day. All of a sudden cash became a potential vector for COVID, and its use plummeted. Combined with the drop in face-to-face business as a result of nationwide lockdowns and the rise in online ordering, and more and more Americans became comfortable with a cashless society. That may end up being the future, if current trends persist. As late as 2017, cash made up 31% of all financial transactions. But last year that number was nearly cut in half, with cash only making up 16% of all financial transactions. Cash’s declining use has been slow and steady, and within another decade cash use may be far less than it is today. Digitalization of Finance One glimpse of the future that faces us may be found in Sweden, which has probably advanced further along the road to a cashless society than any other Western nation. Cash purchases make up such a small portion of economic transactions in Sweden today that many banks don’t even have cash on hand anymore. And getting cash from an ATM? Forget about it, because many businesses don’t even accept cash anymore. While many businesses today gripe about the cost of swipe fees and merchant agreements with credit card processors, the alternative in taking cash payments requires storage of cash, transfer to banks at the end of the business day, and the risk of theft or robbery. Digital payments render all of that moot, making it an attractive option for businesses looking to cut costs and reduce overhead. The downside to consumers, however, is that every transaction is now recorded, and can be positively linked back to a specific person. If the government decides years down the road to come after everyone who purchased XYZ good or service years in the past, that task is made infinitely easier through records of electronic payments. As central banker Agustin Carstens famously stated a few years ago, a “key difference with the CBDC [central bank digital currency] is the central bank will have absolute control on the rules and regulations that will determine the use of that expression of central bank liability, and also we will have the technology to enforce that.” Tangibles Win the Day For those who worry about the war on cash and the threat to freedom that it entails, investing in tangible assets has become increasingly important. In a world without physical cash, where all transactions are electronic, and in which all money is digital, there are no checks or balances on the government’s ability to create money ad infinitum. Any problem the government comes across, the solution may very well be to create more digital money. We’re probably 90% of the way there already, but once the process is complete, there will be no limit to the government’s ability to create money out of thin air. That, in turn, could mean even greater devaluation of the dollar. If you thought the dollar’s value and purchasing power was low already, just wait until cash disappears. One way to help protect yourself against that coming loss of purchasing power is by owning tangible assets that hold their value in the face of inflation. That includes assets such as gold and silver. Many people over the centuries have helped protect their wealth with gold and silver, while others have had to learn the hard way that the paper assets or electronic assets they held can very quickly lose their value. Learn From History In every hyperinflationary crisis in history, having tangible assets has been incredibly beneficial in helping people weather the crisis. Those who prided themselves on bank account balances or pension promises sometimes watched in horror as the value of their savings deteriorated substantially. With the future increasingly becoming digital, and with the federal government demonstrating that it’s willing to suffer high inflation and massive increases in debt in order to achieve its goals, those

The history of money is the history of failed currencies. From the Roman denarius to the German Goldmark to the Zimbabwean dollar, currencies across the world have collapsed and failed. Just because a currency is the preferred currency for world trade or the world’s reserve currency does not mean that it is immune from collapse either. And that’s just what could happen to the US dollar. The US dollar has served as the world’s reserve currency since the end of World War II and the adoption of the Bretton Woods system. Even when that system collapsed in 1971 with President Nixon’s closure of the gold window, the dollar remained the world’s reserve currency. But with developments in the world economy since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, the dollar is facing new threats to its prominent status. China’s economy continues to grow, and the Chinese government is trying to position the yuan as a rival to the dollar. The European Union created the euro with a mind to compete against the dollar and rival it in international trade. And since the post-1971 monetary order is the first time in history that the entire world has been on a fiat paper currency system, there’s every possibility that gold or a gold-backed currency could reassert itself in the future after a dollar collapse. US investors have taken for granted the continued dominance of the US dollar and its status as the world’s reserve currency. It has meant that US investors haven’t had to deal with issues of currency risk that plague investors in other countries. But it has also made US investors complacent. In the event of a future dollar collapse, millions of investors could find themselves unprepared, unless they take steps to hedge against that possibility. Key Takeaways What Could Cause the Dollar to Collapse? Throughout history, currencies have come and gone, with their demise largely being self-inflicted, the result of the desire of monetary authorities to inflate the money supply to enrich themselves at the expense of others. During the Roman Empire and other periods of precious metal money, the demise of currencies was the result of purposeful debasement. The Roman denarius, for instance, saw its silver content decrease over time, going from 95% silver and 5% alloyed metal during the Roman Republic to only 5% silver by the end of the Roman Empire. Other currencies in history have suffered similar debasement, with modern convertible currencies often seeing governments printing more paper currency units than they had gold backing to redeem. It was that kind of debasement that dethroned the British pound sterling from its position as the world’s reserve currency after World War I. Today, currency debasement takes the form of creating money out of thin air, something that is easy to do with the ease of creating paper money and electronic bank deposits. We’re all familiar with the case of Weimar Germany and its hyperinflationary period, in which it took wheelbarrows full of paper money to buy a loaf of bread. But today the process to inflate currencies doesn’t even take paper. It can all be done electronically, dramatically raising the risks of hyperinflation and a dollar collapse. The likeliest cause for a US dollar collapse would be if the Federal Reserve were to allow monetary inflation to spiral out of control. And that could be likelier than many people realize. Will the US Dollar Collapse? The past few years have seen some incredible moves in monetary policy, starting with the Fed more than doubling the size of its balance sheet from 2020 to 2022. That move alone made the quantitative easing in response to the 2008 financial crisis seem like a drop in the bucket. Much of that was due to the massive amounts of fiscal stimulus undertaken in 2020, spending which the federal government hadn’t planned on or budgeted for, and which had to be quickly monetized by the Fed in order to absorb such a large issuance of bonds that markets were not prepared to take on. That debt monetization, however, risked the Fed’s vaunted independence, making the Fed complicit in enabling all of that debt-fueled spending. And if future administrations push the Fed further in that direction, it could risk sending the money supply spiraling out of control, leading to rising inflation and potentially even hyperinflation if the situation gets really bad. If the dollar ends up being held hostage to out of control federal spending, it could mean significant further devaluation, and eventually a potential collapse of the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency and the rise of some other currency as the dominant currency in international trade. The near vertical moves in the money supply in the recent past were quite worrying, and resulted in inflation that was the highest we had seen in 40 years. But while the Fed has managed to get that under control and bring the money supply down somewhat, that too seems to be coming to an end. The money supply has been moving very slowly upward over the past year, and the Fed’s recent decision to cut interest rates could result in an eventual expansion of monetary easing that could send the money supply up even further. A lot is riding on the results of November’s election as well. If Democrats take control of both the White House and Congress, they could unleash even more trillions of dollars of debt-fueled spending, hastening the dollar’s descent towards oblivion. How to Safeguard Your Finances If the Dollar Collapses In the case of dollar collapse, the value of anything that depends on the dollar for its value or that is denominated solely in dollars will be at risk of collapse too. Bonds denominated in dollars could become worthless, as bondholders will be paid back in increasingly worthless dollars. Stocks, too, risk becoming worthless, as even if prices rise, investors who sell their shares see the dollars they receive become worthless as the dollar collapses. If you

When you think of buying precious metals – gold and silver – you may think of buying gold and silver coins and bars. And you may think of buying them from a coin store or from an online vendor. But did you know that you can buy precious metals with an IRA? Even those who are aware of the fact that you can buy gold and silver with IRA assets tend to think of Traditional IRAs. But did you know that you can also purchase precious metals with a Roth IRA? Buying gold and silver with a Roth IRA isn’t much different than buying precious metals through a Traditional gold IRA or silver IRA, you’re just using post-tax dollars rather than pre-tax dollars. And a Roth precious metals IRA can be an important tool in your arsenal when it comes to saving for retirement. Key Takeaways What Is a Roth IRA? If you’re not already familiar with a Roth IRA, a Roth IRA is an IRA that is funded using post-tax dollars. Gains made within a Roth IRA accrue tax-free, and no taxes are paid when you take a qualified distribution. Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA The primary difference between a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA is in tax treatment of investment funds. A Roth IRA uses post-tax dollars to invest, while a Traditional IRA uses pre-tax dollars. Gains made in both a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA are tax-free. But while you pay taxes on distributions from a Traditional IRA, you don’t pay taxes when you take a qualified distribution from a Roth IRA. There are a few other important differences between a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA. With a Traditional IRA, for instance, you are required to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) at age 73, whereas there are no RMD requirements for a Roth IRA. Contributions to Traditional IRA accounts can also be tax-deductible, up to a certain income limit. Contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax-deductible. But you can only contribute to a Roth IRA if your income is below a certain threshold, whereas there are no income limits for contributions to a Traditional IRA. Maximum annual contributions to IRA accounts are $7,000 in 2024, or $8,000 for those over age 50. And there are additional quirks to Roth IRAs such as the 5-year rule with regard to distributions of earnings that you need to know. If you want to learn more about Roth IRAs, you can read more about them at the IRS website or consult with your tax advisor. Conventional vs. Alternative Assets Investors in the US have socked away trillions of dollars in IRA accounts. And it’s safe to say that the majority of those assets are likely invested in conventional financial assets like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or various other index funds or exchange-traded funds. For investors looking for alternatives, however, some IRA accounts offer additional options. Among these are precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Precious Metals IRA A precious metals IRA is an IRA account that invests in precious metals. Precious metals IRAs are an example of a self-directed IRA, a type of IRA that opens up a whole new array of investment options to investors. Because a self-directed IRA puts you in control of your investments, you can choose from a wide range of investment options, including precious metals. And one of the most popular precious metals to buy is gold. Gold IRA A gold IRA is a type of precious metals IRA that invests in physical gold coins or gold bars. As the owner of a gold IRA, you choose which coins or bars you own with your gold IRA. And when you want to take a distribution you can either take it in cash or you can choose an in kind distribution and take physical possession of the gold coins or bars in your IRA. Advantages of a Gold IRA A gold IRA has numerous advantages. Here are three of them to keep in mind. 1. Wealth Protection Gold has a long and well deserved reputation for protecting wealth through times of financial turmoil and economic uncertainty. Numerous paper currencies have come and gone, but gold has withstood the test of time. It’s no wonder, then, that gold is one of the first assets to start rising in price when the economy starts to take a turn for the worse. Investors who are looking to protect their assets rush to gold, sending its price skyrocketing. We’ve seen examples of this in the past, as when the gold price rose at an annualized rate of over 30% throughout the 1970s. Or in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, gold nearly tripled in price, setting all-time highs. With recession potentially on the horizon in the near future, more and more investors are turning to gold today to help protect their wealth. The gold price is once again setting all-time highs, providing great benefit to those who had the foresight to safeguard their savings with gold. 2. Asset Growth Gold doesn’t just help protect your assets during times of turmoil, it can also help you grow your assets even when markets are behaving normally. Gold’s performance has actually surpassed that of stock markets in the 21st century. That’s pretty solid long-term performance that many investors would love to see in their portfolios. And with gold hitting all-time highs and potentially poised for significant future price growth during a recession, gold could deliver even more gains in the future. 3. Diversify Your Portfolio Finally, gold plays a useful role in diversifying a financial portfolio. Investment isn’t supposed to be like gambling, where you’re waiting for a hot tip so you can strike it rich. It’s supposed to be a long-term method of growing and maintaining your wealth. How much you want to diversify your portfolio is up to you, but many experts recommend investing across a diversity of asset types, classes, and regions. A self-directed precious metals IRA can help you