Why gold won’t save you…

…from Armageddon. Or a weak dollar. Or its own “meltdown”. It’s quite impossible nowadays to make it through a week without either hearing  about 1.) how great of an investment gold is. 2.) How gold’s value only goes up. 3.) The big bad “inflation” is going to hit and you will want to have gold then.  Or, my favorite, 4.) if everything goes bad and our government collapses the thing you’ll want is gold!

Let me start by saying that gold is not our economic savior. It’s not necessarily an awful investment…it’s just not that great of one.  I will work backwards…

4.) If everything goes bad and our government collapses the thing you’ll want is gold!

Nope. You’ll want eggs, maybe some bread, canned goods, a Swiss army knife, some of your Y2K gear... actually, better than eggs, a chicken.  If our government collapses, the last thing you will be excited about is having a stockpile of gold in your basement. People will not want it. What are they going to do with it? In that type of world there is no value in a bar of gold. Worse than that is a bunch of “gold” that you have invested in the stock market, because you won’t really have anything palpable.  Let’s just say this is a poor reason for buying anything other than maybe a bunch of ammunition and a shotgun.

3.) The big bad “inflation” is going to hit and you will want to have gold then.

Well, this actually has some truth in it. Investors typically run to gold as inflation goes up in America because it doesn’t necessarily have a positive correlation with the dollar. Usually it holds it value while the value of paper money, the dollar, loses worth. Gold is a safety net and investors run to it when they are scared. However, the value of gold itself has been “inflated” by the oversaturation of the investing thrown into it. Also, there is no indication in our economy that inflation is going to hit any time soon. In fact, minus food and energy inflation is the lowest it has been since 1957.

Oh, and inflation isn’t necessarily bad, but that’s a different article…

2.) Gold’s value only goes up.

Really? Umm, No.  Recently, the value of gold actually has gone up, A LOT. About five years ago, gold traded at around $500 an ounce and now it is over $1400, that’s a 23% annualized return. Which is pretty outstanding and you can see why you might be hearing about it all the time. The main force behind this great gain in value is fear, and there has been a lot of fear the past few years. However, the market and the economy will get better, if you haven’t been paying attention it already is, and then, feeling more confident, investors will move out of their safety net in gold, causing the value to crash. Just like in the late 90’s with the dot.com crash, while very lucrative for a time the good days can end very painfully. Call it what you will, maybe it’s not the same type of bubble as others in the past, but….there is a gold bubble. And what goes up, must come down.

1.) How great of an investment gold is.

Ok we already lightly covered this, but gold isn’t an awful investment, it’s just not a great one. It may have high returns but it also has very high risks. Especially at this point in the game, the risks are great. Financial industry gurus such as Warren Buffet won’t even touch it, and if they do its very minimal. In fact, most respected hedge fund managers and financial planners recommend putting no more than 1% of your TOTAL portfolio into gold. And that is only if you can’t resist its charms completely.

If you’re wanting to buy that special someone something shiny and pretty, or  just have a strange desire to be a Spanish conquistador, gold is for you. Looking for an investment? Think twice before going into gold, maybe even thrice.

(Something I wrote a few weeks ago for work)

back to school

Apparently I liked school so much I (Sav) couldn't stay away.  After a meager 7 months free of homework, papers, and tests,  I decided to go back and get my masters in occupational therapy.  So even though I'm only going to class one day a week this semester, I'm pretty pumped to start this new adventure! 

Occupational therapy is an awesome field, and I want to go into it so I too can be awesome.  My other main motivation is to help people gain back their independence.  In some of my job shadowing experiences, I watched therapists work with patients who have had strokes and help them redevelop the skills they needed to cook, write, and even play golf.  And that is why they are awesome.

I've also played around with the idea of going overseas after graduating and working in a country where therapy isn't as it is here in the U.S (not saying that our health system isn't in need of fixing, just saying that it could be a whole lot worse).  This organization looks pretty cool: Joni and Friends.  I don't know anything for sure right now, but I guess I have the next 3 years to work something out.

"...humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death..."

It is an endless seemingly futile battle I play out with myself, this act of dying to self. Odd that "Christ....although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped..." whereas I find myself, while being totally inept and dependent upon God, act as if equality to God is a thing I can grasp. Any apparent chance I have to bolster my own pride I hold snatch up. But this is not true, not real. It is humility that I seek. Not a humiliation or degrading, but an intimacy with God that affirms my need of Him.

"Humility is not pretending you don't have gifts. Sometimes we confuse humility with a false modesty that gives little glory to the One who has given us the gifts. Humility is the recognition that who you are is a gift from God and so helps you to sit reasonable loosely to this gift. This lessens the likelihood of arrogance because the recognition that our abilities and talents are gifts and reminds us that they are not wholly ours and can be taken away. If we truly exulted in our gifts, we would also celebrate the gifts of other people and the diversity of talents that God has given all of us."
-Archbishop Desmond Tutu

"Humility is a principle and virtue that flows from love in its purest form."
-Christopher Heuertz

"The truly humble are perfectly obedient because they have renounced their own will."
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2011 is going to be a great year...we just know it.

Well we decided to do something different and simple to bring in 2011. So, Savannah and I headed to a State Park to stay in a cozy little Yurt. "What is a Yurt?" You might say (and probably will because everyone has so far). A Yurt, in short, is a round/circular tent like structure built somewhat like a cabin. More importantly it's super cozy and awesome.

The mini-vacation was very relaxing and just what we needed. We went for a few hikes over our few day stay and it was beautiful. We both forget how much we love hiking when....we arent hiking.

The yurt was great to come "home" to after a 4 hour hike. Lots of reading and cribbage playing also took place. Plus, Savannah discovered that she does in fact like Chinese food! All in all it was the best New Years I can remember and we cant wait to go back to our new "spot". Happy New Years!