Is It Time to Hide Your Money Under the Mattress?

“I don’t know what to do,” said my good friend Rob after inviting my wife Jo and me to dinner for the third time in two weeks. “I know I should do something. Every time I think about it, it scares the hell out of me! Maybe I should just hide everything under the mattress.”

Rob is a sharp guy—he’s done well for himself and his family. He also recently settled the last details of his parents’ estate. Upon banking part of his inheritance, the branch manager magically appeared, introduced himself, and invited Rob into his office to discuss “some really good rates” the bank had to offer.

Not even the drive-through window has helped Rob fly under the radar. It still takes but a few seconds before the manager appears and starts his pitch. Rob has started to wonder if the drive-through tellers have a bright yellow “sic ‘em” button.

Rob is a veteran subscriber to Miller’s Money Forever. He reads our material faithfully and isn’t shy about asking questions. He knew for two years this large influx of cash was coming, and he’s made it a point to learn how to handle it.

Up to that point, Rob’s wealth consisted of home equity, retirement plans managed by others, and some collectibles. Now he has a sizable chunk of cash to invest, and he’s understandably scared.

So far, Rob has lots of book learning under his belt, but little real-life investing experience. Every option we discussed at that third dinner evoked a “Yes… but!” After much back and forth, I finally realized Rob’s Achilles heel wasn’t a lack of investment knowledge. Instead, it was his fear.

And Rob is not alone. The following morning, I received a timely message from subscriber and regular correspondent, Bee H. She shared a laundry list of places to put your money—banks, real estate, precious metals, annuities, a mattress—and all the horrible ends that money could meet in those places. Government seizure, market crashes, eminent domain, theft, inflation… the list went on.

Bee’s concerns are not unfounded. I even shared them with Rob under the heading: “See, you aren’t alone.”

Rob’s response: “Wow. She’s reading my mail! I’m stewing over this very same issue…”

Then it hit me hard: What are they afraid of? Not the market and investing, but rather the adverse consequences of government behavior. After nearly every “Yes, but,” Rob expressed fear about what the government might do: a haircut, bailout, bail-in, outright confiscation. Call it what you will.

These fears cross partisan lines. We all have some sense—even if we can’t quite put our finger on it—that our personal and economic liberties are threatened. Heck, every time I look in the sky now, I scan for NSA drones. If I see a tiny speck, I look at the television camera, wave my hand, and say, “Hi, Mom!”

Many of my friends—Independents, Libertarians, Republicans, Democrats, even a Green Party member or two—have told me, “For the first time in my life, I’m afraid of our government.”