While our government is full of incompetents and crooks, I think the long term prospects of the United States is excellent. (not that we can't fail, just like every other "empire" in the history of our world)
If you are old, 11k? Really? That's all? You are in a world of trouble. You need a part time job. I am thinking Arby's. Sock that paycheck into the bank. No spending.
If the U D dollar dies, the whole world will be dead (in chaos).
Gold and silver prices are based on speculation. For you to buy low and sell high (precious metals, or even stock), someone else have to buy high. Eventually that system collapses. {Reference the recent housing bubble.}
A true investment is one that creates wealth (new jobs, better products, more products, better living, a cleaner environment,,,). Ending up with more money in your pocket because you took it from someone is called getting rich. Wealth and getting rich ARE NOT the same thing, even though many people use the words interchangeably.
You can gamble with your money if you want to, but 11K should just be kept in a bank because it is barely enough for an emergency fund.
If you're worried about prices going up, then buy things which will go up in price (land, etc)
If you're worried about the dollar becoming worthless, then look at what became valuable the 2-3 days after Katrina (guns, ammo, food, and generators)
For those who have been watching and analyzing for the last 20 years or so, it is evident that the spot prices of gold and silver have been actively suppressed by governments (especially the US), in order that public confidence in fiat money will continue, and to avoid a crash of the western world's monetary systems. However, what they are doing is not just un-Constitutional, it is illegal, and it is dangerous.
Fiat money is called that because the supposed value of this currency is based on nothing but the government decree that it is money. If we look at history, all previous attempts at keeping a fiat money system going have failed, and ended in hyperinflation, when the money becomes essentially worthless.
Currently the criminals in the central banks and governments are feverishly creating money out of nothing in an attempt to keep the system propped up, but they are failing. Actual inflation is greatly exceeding government-reported inflation numbers - partly because they do not calculate food and energy into their index. This is fraudulent because these items affect everybody and they also seem to be inflating faster than everything else.
Bonds are worse than useless - the rate of interest paid is much less than the real rate of inflation of the currency - so you are losing money - but also in some countries you are taxed on this meager interest even though you do not cash in the bonds!
Back to gold and silver - the manipulation and suppression schemes are starting to break down - recently there was a problem with the London silver fix - on which the world price for silver is based. You read right - I wrote fix - that is what it is called, and that is precisely what it is - a manipulated price.
Then we have to look at the possibility of bail-ins as happened in Cyprus, where the government and the banks essentially stole a percentage of depositors' funds. That is was government sanctioned does not make it any less a crime. It has been said that this might also happen in North America if the banksters get desperate enough.
So that tells me to keep my wealth out of institutions, and not in currency-based form.
Whatever form it is in should be in your direct possession - not in a safety deposit box, because governments can get access to those.
My personal choice to protect personal wealth from inflation and confiscation would be bullion grade silver coins and small bars stored in a safe place that is not a bank or financial institution, and preferably not all in one place - spread it around between a few countries in case you have to move quickly.
My belief is that investments should be based on business fundamentals; ex: Invest $1 in a company worth $2.
For this reason I do not invest in currency at all. There are millions of tiny variables that affect a country's currency, and you cannot be certain that you're investing in something that's currently undervalued.
While there are many variables affecting stock prices, they are much more observable and tangible than currency. So to answer part of your question, I do not recommend directly investing in currency or precious metals.
There will always be fundamentally undervalued companies in the market, all you have to do is identify them. Currently, there are many undervalued Chinese stocks on the market due to investor fear of their accounting records. For this reason I have a portion of my portfolio invested in these companies.
China isn't the only country out there with undervalued stocks, however. To hedge against political risk it is wise to diversify stocks across other countries as well.
Hope this helps.
Let me state that I am a novice and far from competent in the investment world, this is why I turn to experience of those more competent about the subject than myself.
Question Background: While I do not much understand the investment world I am very aware of global affairs and it's associated political considerations. What I have seen the past decade and even more as of late, the value of my currency (U.S. dollar) does not have a favorable outlook, especially with the recent developments and continuing progress of the Eurasian financial system. Additionally, the formation of the new IMF competitor bank that is being developed by the BRICS countries is of concern, to me, for the dollar's outlook. Based on what I understand, though limited, the renminbi appears to be the upcoming currency powerhouse.
Question: Assuming the above is logical, please correct if not, it is fair to consider alternate investment approaches. That said, would purchasing Chinese bonds, Chinese currency or physical commodities (gold & silver) be the best approach?
(I don't have much that I'm able to dedicate, only about 11K USD)
Thank you in advance for your considerations and suggestions.....
