Fun on Friday: Why Not Both?

The other day a friend of mine asked me, tacos or burritos?

My response: why not both?

I think saying that annoyed him. He wanted me to pick one. Just one doggone it!

We are very much a “pick one” kind of society. Everybody expects you to take a side on everything. Food, sports, entertainment, investing — and especially politics. (My choice there is usually “none.”)

Oh, and if you choose poorly, they will want to argue about it. A lot.

I will grant you that there is a time and a place to choose sides. But do we have to pick one or the other on absolutely everything?

I don’t think so.

I’m just not wired that way, to be honest. I like diversity. I like options. And I enjoy availing myself to a many as possible. So, if I can, I’ll take tacos and burritos. Or maybe tacos today and burritos tomorrow. I feel no compulsion to pick one.

It’s the same with many things.

I’ll take pie and cake.

I invest in gold and silver.

I like to walk and ride my bike.

I watch hockey and football.

I enjoy the beach and the mountains.

Chocolate or vanilla? I’ll have some of each. Please and thank you.

Nowhere do I see this insistence on picking sides than in the battle between crypto and gold. Again, my answer is why not both? I mean, there is no law saying that if you invest in bitcoin, you can’t buy some gold too. Or vice versa.

There are valid arguments for and against both gold and bitcoin. And the arguments shift depending on your particular investment goals. They are different things – like cake and ice cream. Both serve their purpose.

Now, I do understand why folks might favor one over another.  Peter Schiff doesn’t like bitcoin at all. And if you listen to him with an open mind, he makes a lot of good points. But I’ve heard some pretty good cases made for crypto as well. And I don’t see any need to rule out either one completely.

But I tell you what, some of the bitcoin disciples out there want the world to know that they hate gold. I know this because they troll SchiffGold posts. I’m not gonna lie, this annoys me. This is ShiffGold, not SchiffBitcoin. We talk about gold here. But that’s not to say gold is the only legitimate investment option. And you will never hear me say put all of your money in gold. No sane investment strategy puts all of your eggs in one basket. Investing 101 – diversify.

It’s weird though. Oil investors never troll my posts. Real estate investors don’t troll my posts. Investors in the stocks and bonds don’t typically troll my post. It’s the crypto people.

I get it. You passionate about your thing. I get it. Bitcoin has made some amazing gains. I get it. There are some significant political ramifications with the development of blockchain. But geez-Louise, none of that means gold sucks.

We don’t have to live in an either-or world. We can enjoy a lot of different options. In fact, that might make life a little more interesting.

Fun on Friday is a weekly SchiffGold feature. I dig up some of the off-the-wall and off-beat stories relating to precious metals and share them with you – with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The opinions expressed are my own. They are correct – but not necessarily shared by anybody else here – including Peter Schiff. Click here to read other posts in this series.