I heard a message the other day that there's 3 main vehicles of investment: stocks in companies, bonds in governments, and property (owned mostly by banks and a few rich people).

I've been thinking about it ever since, particularly that money usually flows between these 3. The exponential growth required for compound interest to work is only possible in a shortage. Stocks in companies follow a contract-expand business cycle. Governments grow linearly at best. But property has been increasing exponentially due to an increasing population.

I fear the day when companies realise that they'll make more money by starting a war, which would devastate governments and property. Many people of a similar age are getting married and buying houses, but I don't know feel that the future is stable enough to make either of those decisions. The kind of house I'd want now as a single guy is different to a house that would be suitable for kids (in the right school zone), or a house for retirement. I think the only safe investment is philanthropy: give it all away, and if I'm still alive, hope that some of those people I help now will be able to support me in my old age after economic, political, and environmental disasters strike.