That must be new math. Not trying to be captious but if you eat your "investment" that's a 100% loss.
It�s not new math but perhaps you were never good at solving word problems. If the collapse doesn't come whatever food you eat from your stash you don't have to buy at the time, so you get your money back.
I can't say your point is moot but it is a bit myopic. In a worst case scenario physical Gold will have value, your Vanguard fund .....not so much.
Many stocks are at all time highs. Bond funds are very risky at this juncture. In either event I do appreciate the humor in your desire to overlook the fact that I wouldn't buy bonds or Gold here.
The only thing I see as truly obvious is that some folks learned very little over the last several years.
In the worst case scenario long shelf life food will be way more valuable than gold and could trade for equal weight of gold. If you don't want to trade at that rate the guy with food can wait until you change your mind or starve, in which case he can take your gold.
Apart from a collapse, funds like VIPSX will protect a person's assets regardless of the rate of inflation. If the economy comes back strong VIPSX and funds like it will still gain while you'll see your gold lose more than half its value.
People buying gold at current prices are taking a huge downside risk and many don't know it or want to believe it. Kind of like the people who were still investing in mortgage backed securities in 2007.
