[tatsuke95]

>"Back in the day you'd at least get reasonable interest by keeping money in a bank, but nowadays it's really only the convenience of direct deposit and online bill pay that draws me."

Back in what day? You mean, like, 5 years ago? We're still amidst one of the worst recessions ever and rates are at all time lows. No, you don't get riskless real returns right now. But you can also borrow at exceptionally low rates. That will change in the future.

Hording physical gold outside of diversification is a bad idea. You have storage costs, pay a premium over spot when you buy it and eat a spread when you sell it. And, as another commenter said, look at its real returns; not spectacular.

Want to know what was a good buy? The stock market, 4 years ago. When everyone was screaming about the world imploding and it was at irrationally low levels. But that's just the thing: you have to be willing to zig when others are zagging.

[dougk16]

As I said below, it would be more of an insurance policy than an investment, but I'm still willing to believe it's a bad idea for that reason as well. I don't plan on buying enough gold that it becomes a logistical challenge to store though...basically just as a buffer if things go south. Something disturbs me, especially as a hacker, knowing that the physical manifestation of a good chunk of my life's work is just bits on a bank's computer.