&gt; in a broad-sweeping financial collapse, then &quot;cash in savings&quot; would be equally worthless.<p>&gt; how would &quot;cash in savings&quot; be equally worthless? Maybe I&#x27;m not understanding, but it&#x27;s pretty difficult to actually lose money in a savings account, that&#x27;s the whole point.<p>The cash wouldn&#x27;t be lost, but it would have reduced purchasing power in a recession. And if inflation is steep, you&#x27;re actively &quot;losing&quot; money.<p>It would be &quot;worthless&quot; in the context of long-term investing, because <i>nothing</i> would have long-term worth.