Putting cash in someone elses hands is probably the real issue. Gold and Real Estate are the only few commodities that will be useful and can wither the potential hyper-inflation and mass bankrupties that potentially awaits hard working Americans. Worse case, you lose all your cash in someone elses bankruptcy. Second worse, your quality new home loses 20% over next 5 years, while inflation increases at 8-15% per year. I think a quality new home is the best investment one can make right now. JMO. I say buy a great new home in the 500-650k area that of course is in a good location (cooler climate, fewer foreclosures, good job stability, fairly close to mass transit).