I think maybe the disconnect is the idea of buying gold “instead of” the other things.
You buy gold AFTER the other things, if you have any wealth left to preserve.
Aye. Therein lies the rub.
I am in no position to convert dollars to gold at this time. But if things fall apart as I see it coming, the dollars will be useless and anything not in your hands will evaporate. I hope we have a period of deflation before the dollar loses its reserve status. Then cash will be king and conversion would be feasible. For a very short time.