Most people do not know the difference of money vs. currency. They mostly do not know what is money.
Money has two major functions:
1) Medium of exchange to facilitate commerce.
2) Store of value.
As soon as money delinked from gold, it lost intrinsic value. So money becomes currency, thereby it lost function of wealth keeping (store of value).
Confusing money with currency has fatal effects.
1) one has to constantly "invest" in order to gain purchasing power
2) fail to realize all currencies, i,e. paper money, will go to its intrinsic value, which is zero.
USD takes 100 years to lose 99% value, Chinese Yuan takes about 30 yeas to lose about 80% value, so on, so forth.
So to compensate for the losing purchasing power, people blindly chanse investments. the end result is most people continue losing their life savings while a few gained, it is an unfair wealth redistribution that the game is being used by all central bankers.
Gold is different. In 1900, an ounce of gold equaled $20 US dollars. One can hardly spend a $20 in New York city for a luxilary treatment. A five course meal, a lunch of sandwitch, a broadway show, a night at Plaza hotel, would cost about $10. an ounce of gold, would buy someone about the same thing (but remember, if not because govenment manipulation of gold price, the purchasing power is about the same 100 years ago.).
So gold's purchasing power has not impaired for last 100 years. In this sense, Gold is money, it has been called Hard Currency. Its status of currency and store of wealth have not been changed since millenium. And more importantly, when the currency crisis comes home to roost (aren't we already in it?), gold will remain as a recgonized exchange medium all around world.
So why chasing investment one is not sure? If one want to leave some thing for next generation, whether it is for inheritance or charity, why not gold?
Just remember, one can have a lot of currency, but he can be really poor. Just look at Zimbarbwei, Turkey, Argentina, Mexico, and many many other countries in the years ahead, USD included.