Gold only held value due to the rarity as a stand-in for currency. That was it. It was used to represent value, but it itself was not valuable outside of it's rarity and limited status which allowed for it's value to remain relatively fixed due to a mostly static supply. New gold could be discovered, but rarely enough to truly alter its value. This is what gave gold it's value over other commodities. Most other goods were either in abundance or more could be made. Having a natural resource that couldn't be massively expanded resulted in a currency that maintained it value as per supply vs demand.

And currency of any kind is nothing more than a representation of value, often now associated with labour. That's why any Standard (most often idealised as the Gold Standard), where you tie something tangible to a currency (so as to not be fiat) is considered rather important by most economists that aren't blitheringly retarded.

hold value because they....hold value

Whew, that's some brilliant circular reasoning. Don't hurt yourself on that one.

My point is that investing your dollars into yourself (and those directly around you, eg family) is a far better investment long term than anything else. Gold is only valuable so far as someone else wants it. If nobody else wants it because it holds no actual usage for them, then your gold is worthless. A shiny and rare trinket to admire, sure, but no usage beyond that. I could just as easily buy an NFT and claim the same thing, but the reality is that NFTs could only hold value if there were people willing to buy them. And when it's getting to a situation where banks are starting to control more and more and more of how people spend, people aren't going to care about using gold, they're going to care about getting the things they need, like clothing, furniture, shelter, food, water, medicine, etc. A shiny metal that can be made into a ring or necklace isn't of much value when those are the priorities. And if you have the skills to be able to provide those things, you're going to be a very valuable person that won't struggle for much as a result.

Gold is a meme for faux-preppers that think they'll outlast a nuclear apocalypse but have no idea how to make a splint for a broken bone, couldn't grow a tomato to save their life, and thinks their 23 rifles are going to make them into the local warlord so they'll be fine. You wanna be prepared? Make yourself valuable. Doesn't matter if it's an apocalypse, economic downturn, or if things are going great. The more you invest in yourself, the more valuable you are. Don't be a low value person when you have the means to better yourself.

Gold only held value due to the rarity as a stand-in for currency. That was it. It was used to represent value, but it itself was not valuable outside of it's rarity and limited status which allowed for it's value to remain relatively fixed due to a mostly static supply. New gold could be discovered, but rarely enough to truly alter its value. This is what gave gold it's value over other commodities. Most other goods were either in abundance or more could be made. Having a natural resource that couldn't be massively expanded resulted in a currency that maintained it value as per supply vs demand.

And currency of any kind is nothing more than a representation of value, often now associated with labour. That's why any Standard (most often idealised as the Gold Standard), where you tie something tangible to a currency (so as to not be fiat) is considered rather important by most economists that aren't blitheringly retarded.

hold value because they....hold value

Whew, that's some brilliant circular reasoning. Don't hurt yourself on that one.

My point is that investing your dollars into yourself (and those directly around you, eg family) is a far better investment long term than anything else. Gold is only valuable so far as someone else wants it. If nobody else wants it because it holds no actual usage for them, then your gold is worthless. A shiny and rare trinket to admire, sure, but no usage beyond that. I could just as easily buy an NFT and claim the same thing, but the reality is that NFTs could only hold value if there were people willing to buy them. And when it's getting to a situation where banks are starting to control more and more and more of how people spend, people aren't going to care about using gold, they're going to care about getting the things they need, like clothing, furniture, shelter, food, water, medicine, etc. A shiny metal that can be made into a ring or necklace isn't of much value when those are the priorities. And if you have the skills to be able to provide those things, you're going to be a very valuable person that won't struggle for much as a result.