Short-term treasury bills are the safest place to put money now.  See my book review of “The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide.  How to Protect Your Savings, Boost Your Income, and Grow Wealthy Even in the Worst of Times” by Martin Weiss for why I think so.

July 2012 Nicole Foss

There is a risk with treasury bills at treasurydirect.gov, as with everything else.

It is one of the least worst options at this point, but that doesn’t in any way mean risk free, or a long term bet.

The point is that it is liquid, and that you could extract it fairly quickly if risks increase.

Warning signs will be evident in advance if you know what to look for.

Keep your eyes open for rising interest rates on short term US debt, because when those yields start to go parabolic, it’s the endgame.

Short term treasuries and cash under your own control are both means of preserving capital as liquidity. Each option has its own risks.

In the case of short term government debt, the risk is that at some point the government will probably convert short term debt to long term then default on it later.

I would argue that we are nowhere near that point right now, hence in the relatively short term the risks are lower than for most other things. Be careful though, because risks will be everywhere no matter what you do.