Am going with "no question is a dumb question." ;) And if I have thought this, then here are probably others, so...

For those who have excellent business/financial sense:
What do you even do with gold and silver once you buy it? Put it in a bank's vault? How does that help?

Does owning some gold and silver jewelry count, even if you don't want to sell it?

Are credit unions safer than banks?

I still can't wrap my mind around switching over to a new system, although I know it will be a good thing. What do we do before that happens? Some of us don't have a lot of "play" money these days.

Advice to the beginners? (I now wish I had studied business... Well, it's not too late to learn on my own! :) )

(Bo Polny and Flyover Conservatives have companies they suggest, so might call and talk to them. But if you have insight, that would be great!)

Thanks in advance!