With banks set to report the worst year since the financial crisis.

What does this mean for you? This means it's time to stop depending on the bank and start taking control of your own money.

If you're like most people, you're conditioned to believe that banking is the best way to protect your money, but that's not the case. Banks are not safe because they are too big to fail, they are safe because there is government support behind them. The government can bail out any bank at any time, no matter how much trouble it causes to the economy or how many people lose their homes and savings in the process.

The problem is that bank deposits are subject to inflationary pressure while foreign currency notes remain stable in the long run. If your bank lost $100 million overnight due to fraud or bad business decisions, it probably won't affect your life much as it's only a small percentage of the money. your overall investment portfolio. But if inflation goes up 10% and your total portfolio grows 20%, you'll be wiped out by inflation; you will lose 90% purchasing power at once!