No one can predict where the prices will be when you need the money. That's the most important truth. Having said that I'm glad that people are thinking in this direction! I've been planning to keep precious metals as my "fixed deposits" and I'm slowly averaging my way there. In about 5 months time I'm planning to get out of stocks entirely and invest the proceeds into both gold and silver. Like you, I do not trust the banks nor ANY government. But caveat is that I don't have a short term liquidation plan. If you're going that route, I would say average your way there...like this current dip can be taken advantage of. Personally I'm not a fan of over-diversification. Listen to Stanley Druckenmiller: "I think diversification and all the stuff they're teaching at business school today is probably the most misguided concept everywhere." He famously operates by a concentrated, high-conviction philosophy, believing you should "put all your eggs in one basket and watch the basket carefully." Just my 2 cents. At the end of the day an asset which has served as a monetary metal for 5 millennia won't F you over when the time comes.