By the way - I was just thinking about this, after the remark by Marc about losing a wallet being a "single point of failure".

The same thing is true on a larger scale. IF you have ALL of your finances in the Western financial system - then you are staking ALL of your assets on a "single point of failure".

I'm not preaching any kind of political view here. I am just noting that if Homeland Security feels that it is NECESSARY for bank officials to have survival kits - then clearly someone is considering the idea that the banking system MIGHT experience a problem at some time.

Therefore, maybe it's NOT wise to have all you financial assets tied up in that system. How you choose to diversify is entirely up to you.

BUT here's a good example of what I am talking about. Recently there was a major robbery of safe deposit boxes at a secure location in London (UK). Some people had their ENTIRE life savings in those boxes ... cash, jewelry, bonds, EVERYTHING. So when the thieves broke in and stole the contents - it was game over for those people. THAT is a huge loss.

It pays to spread your "nest egg" across several "nests".

Pete