DRIGGS, IDAHO – Greetings from our Idaho winter hideout. It’s time for another Friday mailbag edition, where I answer the questions you sent me throughout the week.

Lots of ground to cover today, so let’s get to it…

Up first, a reader thinks I’m being “dishonest” about bitcoin, after I said it’s just an elegant score-keeping system with no intrinsic value… while another wonders how our investment thesis might change if Trump could get rid of central bankers…

Reader comment: So now I notice Tom’s statement, “As for bitcoin… I could be wrong, but who knows?…” …or something to that effect. Two weeks ago, Tom was writing how he was totally not down with bitcoin. Others say that governments will ban it. My God, what idiocy…

Let’s see governments ban the internet. It ain’t gonna happen. The internet is here and cryptocurrencies are here. Even gold is taking a back seat to crypto, and yet Tom refuses to acknowledge it. Why? I believe Tom is so completely invested in gold that he is personally trying to push the gold play… even by using his newsletter and communicating to any readers. In short…

I do not believe Tom is being honest about his true intentions and is using his podium to sidetrack cryptocurrencies all he can. And I believe he is being dishonest about it because I do believe he is smart enough to see the writing on the wall. Please, Tom, end the charade. I also believe Bill Bonner’s credibility is taking a hit because it appears he has this close relationship with Tom. Not cool.

Conviction is so important for making good investments. I don’t know where the bitcoin price is going. It could go to a million or it could go to zero. But I don’t have any conviction about where the price is going… So I leave bitcoin alone.

As for the gold, my strongest conviction is that gold will beat stocks. That’s why I’ve bet our life savings on a fall in the Dow-to-Gold ratio.

Reader comment: How would your advice be different if Trump is successful at eliminating the central bankers? I am reading a number of people saying this is his goal in the next four years. Not having a fiat currency. Not being enslaved to debt. I don’t know all the benefits of being out from under the central bankers, but it sounds wonderful. I know it may not happen but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this if it does happen.

This would be a huge change! It would collapse the debt bubble and cause a huge liquidation of malinvestment. The stock and bond markets wouldn’t be very happy… and the federal government would have to shrink. Many Washington bureaucrats would lose their jobs. Politically offensive!

Switching gears… some readers were curious about gold and silver prices… our precious metals allocation strategy in Tom’s Portfolio… and how soon we’ll see the Dow-to-Gold ratio below 5…

Reader comment: What’s the deal with gold lately? It’s been in a steady downtrend since its all-time high, and all while, the dollar has been declining and stocks, oil, and bitcoin all surging. I’m getting a bit worried. I have also gone all-in on gold (futures, no less). Some of the longer-term charts are starting to look a bit ugly, also.

Any insight on what’s going on or why? Manipulation? Contract expiration? People taking money out of gold and putting it into bitcoin and stocks (because they think it’s better)? Also, I’m worried if/when stocks sell off, gold will go down with it, as it usually does. How low do you think it can go? Nothing in this world is making any sense. Everything is crazy! Thanks for your input.

P.S. I have also been going through pretty severe depression for quite some time. Lost my business, house, family, and just about everything in the last five years. I think what you’re doing is smart and enviable. Wish I had the money (and family) to travel around the world with.

Thanks for writing in. Your email sent a shudder through me, not because of gold but because of depression. When I had depression, I kept reminding myself “the only way out is through” and it helped me get through, which eventually I did.

As for gold, nothing to worry about. It’s just taking a 10% breather as it has dozens of times since it started rising 20 years ago. I suspect it’ll soon be back at all-time highs. (The main thing that drives fluctuations in the gold price is changes in real interest rates.)

Not sure about using gold futures. Wouldn’t be my choice as I like to sleep well at night.

Reader comment: I really enjoy your emails. I am curious about your allocation ratio between gold and silver. 65% in gold seems like a lot if you believe silver has more upside, as I do. By the way, we are just east of you, outside of Lander, Wyoming. Let me know if you come this way. We have a geological phenomenon you and your family might enjoy, a river that flows into a cave and emerges in the form of springs, one-quarter-mile down the canyon. Look up Sinks Canyon and you can find out more.

It comes down to sleeping well at night. Silver has more upside, but it’s also a harder asset to hold because it’s more volatile. So I’ve tried to strike a balance. Capturing a bull market is hard. I want to make it as easy as possible for myself.

Reader comment: Hi Tom, your email letter is on my everyday reading list. And that list has basically dwindled down to you, the Daily Stoic, Daily Dad, and your letter. It is pure gold, no pun intended.

A part of me is jealous at the nomadic lifestyle you and your family are living! As a dad of three girls ages 9, 7, and 3, I read every letter as interested in what you’re teaching your kids as I am in your financial insights! Your letter is a breath of fresh air. Our kids are in school but this caught my eye the other day: “The primary goal of our homeschool is to raise our three kids to be humans that other humans like being around.” You know how to boil it all down. Keep writing! Every day! I can’t even remember how I found you, but you’ve been a beacon.

By the way, I barely own any gold… I’ve piled almost everything into my companies, but I’m curious… when do you think the Dow-to-Gold goes 5:1?

Sometime in the next 5-10 years. Thank you for the kind and encouraging words!

And finally, we talk COVID-19 and real estate…

Reader comment: I hope you and the family enjoy your trip home. I know your lives in Argentina are so much different than here. As for COVID-19, I don’t know of a single person who I know who has been sick with the virus.

I can’t see making everyone be vaccinated for a virus that has made so few people seriously ill. Trump is a public person who has few redeeming qualities, but given what he has had to deal with for the past four years, I think he has done extremely well. I sure would not have wanted to put up with what he has had to endure.

I wouldn’t want to be president for all the tea in China. My aunt and uncle have COVID-19. They’re in Italy. My uncle is in the hospital because of it. And my cousin in England had it, too…

Reader comment: Aloha Tom. Writing from Hawai’i. Been loving your postcards, especially your journey around the world and the states. My family and I have traveled throughout the western States, Mexico, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. I feel so fortunate for the adventures we all get to have. I can only imagine how you and your family feel as well.

Anyhow, I was wondering how you see the “Great Reset” affecting real estate prices. I have a lot of my savings in gold bullion, with some of it in gold stocks and some other high-quality companies. However, my endgame is really to purchase a home for me and my family. But are real estate prices going to inflate along with everything else? Or should we be seeing prices fall in the near future because of exploding debt bubbles?

I wonder if I should take advantage of low interest rates now as opposed to trying to buy all in cash later. Mahalo.

I’m not sure. I don’t put a lot of thought into real estate investing, as I’m not personally interested in it (for reasons unrelated to investing). But I’d guess that cheap real estate with positive cash flow will do well as the dollar falls, no matter where it is.

Otherwise, it’s hard to predict. I’d never have guessed, for example, that in the greatest recession since the Great Depression, real estate would be as hot as it is now…

And that’s all for this week. As always, please keep sending us your questions and comments at [email protected]. I’ll answer as many as possible in future Friday mailbag editions…

– Tom Dyson

Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to [email protected].