Your skills are your greatest asset,that cannot be taken away.

What happens when a musician gets his fingers caught in a door. Maybe he don't lose his skill, but might have to sit out a couple gigs, lol.

I trust banks more than I trust corporations, especially when it comes to investments and ease of access of my funds.
What I mean is with old school savings accounts, the money is there in the bank and it is yours.... with 401Ks and all that, the money is only numbers on a statement that might be yours if you live long enough to collect it all because if you try to get it early, you can forget that...

So needless to say, no investments for me

Of interest, I am from Germany, where through my mothers side the family tree goes way back to the 1600s.

Prior to WWII my grandparents and great grandparents on my mothers side were wealthy landowners and had a huge farm.
If you like more food for thought - this website was actually created by the current owners of the property, which today is I believe a part of Poland: http://ciekocinko.pl/de/majatek-ciekocinko/
My grandfather can be seen on one of his many horses, they also did big hunts, and I believe he was also raising hunting dogs as well... it's a fascinating website, but it's all in either Polish of German, and today where the farm once was - is a hotel which kept the original buildings in tact or had them fully restored.

I can go visit anytime I want for free, since I am a direct relative of the original land owners - anyway - where I am going with this is during I believe either WWI or perhaps just prior to the 1930s, things were very bad - to the point where German currency was absolutely worthless.

Did not matter how much you had anywhere - it was worth nothing.

My mother has a story of a person trading [back then..] a 100 year old violin for a sack of potatoes which my grandfather grew.

So, the lesson I learned is it's a good idea to have things of value once the currency market collapses, and if you think it's can't or won't happen here in the States, well... the Germans felt the same way once upon a time as well....

During WWII my grandfather was overjoyed hearing the U.S. military heading there way - but they never made it.
The Russians instead took the farm, killed all the animals, and destroyed most of the buildings while my mother and her family was in hiding.
My grandfather did get caught and wound up in a Russian Camp - but he was released, after becoming quite sick.

It's amazing to think how much my relatives in Germany once had, and how they lost it all except for a few very very old paintings.
It's even more astonishing how much they maintained their dignity throughout.

Whenever my mom hears about those here in the States on welfare complaining about how bad they have it, she replies "5 years of hard starvation would put a stop to that" and this is a sentiment I fully agree with.

So, I do trust banks - but the problem becomes what happens if your country falls upon hard times or is taken over ??
Nothing can save your money then - unless it is in foreign currency overseas somewhere.....

I suppose gold coins come to mind, but when times are real bad - what can you do with them besides hang on to them and hope for better times ??

I'm also told that when things got real bad - that same violin which was traded for a sack of potatoes - would be played, as my grandfather was a firm believer in hearing music.

So, yeah check out that website - it goes to show exactly what can be lost when times get real real bad....... your money is worthless, and your property is seized, and before you ask... yes they had lots of hunting rifles - but no match for Soviet tanks

What happens when a musician gets his fingers caught in a door. Maybe he don't lose his skill, but might have to sit out a couple gigs, lol.

I have long believed in having a piece of land and the roof over your head paid off and enough land to feed your self anything more is gravy.

I have long believed in having a piece of land and the roof over your head paid off and enough land to feed your self anything more is gravy.

That's true, you're always gonna pay property tax. And in a best case scenario the gov could come in hand you some cash and force you to sell them your land and property.