If the economy is going downhill and if there is probably going to be WWIII in a few years, or at least a major war, then what does a person do with $100,000 (or any large amount) they received. Do they put it in an ING account. But what is the point in saving the money when, based on everything ChantCD posts here concerning the economy, things aren't looking good. Or what is the point when you might lose your money because of the banks being destroyed by WWIII in a few years and your money along with it (or maybe money won't have it's value anymore when 75% of the world is in ruins).

Just wondering. Excuse my ignorance, I have absolutely no understanding of monetary/business things.

I don't think I could ever pull it all together myself, but here are some thoughts on what one would do with $100K.

First, if I had any debt, I would put the money toward that. It seems the US is headed toward recession and the likelihood of lost jobs and poor wages is increasing. Not having debt makes getting by on whatever money you have a lot easier. If you're paying interest on anything than saving large sums hurts more than it helps (the exception might be student loans which often have VERY low interest rates). Certainly, if I owed money on my home, I would pay down/off my mortgage so that I would not be in danger of losing my home in the event of poor US economic conditions.

If you're worried about having money for retirement (a pretty foreign concept in my family, but if you don't have lots of family to support you in old age, this would be a valid concern) then you could take the money and convert it to something more stable. For example, the US dollar is weakening, but there are other currencies (Swiss for example) that are holding steady. It seems rather exotic to me, but converting dollars into another currency might better enable you to retain the value of what you have today for a longer period of time. Dollars could also be converted into precious metals which have been used as a means of exchange for a lot longer than government currencies have been around. The catch here is that there's always the possibility of a government siezure of gold, silver, and the like.

Another idea is to spend the money on useful things. Survivalists often say you should stock up on the 4 G's: ground, grains, gold, and guns. Obviously, if you lived in an apartment and couldn't afford groceries, there wouldn't be much you could do, but with some land and a weapon to hunt with, you might just be able to grow or kill something. So, a large sum of money might best be spent now while things are "normal" and turned into goods that are nice to have now and essential to have if things take a big turn for the worse.

The US government wants everyone to spend, spend, spend right now to stimulate the economy. So, saving isn't as profitable as it once was. Interest rates have just been cut again and the stock market isn't looking too great lately. So, dropping $100K into a savings account isn't even very appealing to those who aren't worried about Great Depressions or World Wars.

Joan, your uncle reminds me of a something Matthew mentioned a few days ago. Someone was putting his savings into gold ounces and so as not to have it stolen, he buried them at various places in the woods. When he returned at some point to retrieve them, he'd lost over 30 ounces of gold--at today's price, that's over $25,000. He said he didn't know metal detecting was a popular hobby.  

But, you're right that it would be good to give a portion--plus any money you don't need--to the Church.

Precious metals are the way to go, imo.