Just when you thought that the economy couldn't get any worse, an American Nobel laureate in economics, George Akerlof (2001), says: "I think this is the worst government the United States has ever had in its more than 200 years."

Agree or disagree, things are bad and getting worse. Take out the statistical lies and misdirection the government uses and we have double-digit unemployment. I ran an ad looking for part-time eBay help and got swamped with responses, including many people who once made $30-$75 an hour and who are now willing to take $12.50 an hour. That's called under-employment and it affects millions. The government may not count it, but it really hurts people. Nor does the government count people who have given up looking for work. You might say that "people don't count," except in an election year.

The "Baby Boomer Bummer" headline of this article came from AOL Financial, not me, and says it all. Costs of medicines, health care, and nursing homes continue to skyrocket. The average stay for an American in a nursing home is 2.5 years and the average cost is about $159 a day. That's $57,876 per year, or an average of $144,690. Yet the median net worth of an American is virtually the same as that including their homes but excluding any retirement plans. The question now becomes what to do about it, how best to protect your financial future and retirement.

Besides the obvious, which includes saving more and working until 65 or longer, the government, surprisingly, has provided us with a golden tool to help us out -- not that they will tell you about it.

Many Americans need diversification, which can be critical. They also need to know how best to buy gold, how to obtain every advantage there is.

One of the very best ways for millions of Americans to buy gold, silver, and platinum is via a self-directed IRA plan, which defers taxes until you retire. You need only a trusted trustee and a trusted dealer. Once it is set up and your assets are transferred tax-free into your new account, you are ready to buy precious metals ?and many other types of investments.

This is why these plans are called "self-directed," as you get to select from a range of assets, including precious metals, bonds, real estate trusts, CDs, stocks, etc.

The days of trusting some broker (that is, salesman) to tell you what to invest in are over -- or they should be over because of corruption at the highest levels.

Stockbrokers are told what to sell/push and rarely have your best interests in mind. Wall Street has even contributed heavily to the bankruptcy of a major country, Argentina. So imagine what Wall Street is capable of doing to you and your nest egg.

The company I have come to trust based on many smooth transactions, is American Church Trust, which has its headquarters in Texas. One of the best things about its services is that they will not pay the dealer for your metals until they have instructions from you and the goods are delivered to their depository. However, they cannot tell you what to buy or whom to buy it from, so you need a trusted dealer with fair markups and high reliability. And many buyers are overcharged.

There is one class of items to avoid that you might be offered. They are very attractive and seem to be a good investment but typically are not. Do not buy proof U.S. silver, gold, or platinum eagles because the markups are way too high vs. the same non-proof bullion coins. They come in beautiful, plush U.S. Mint presentation cases and make great gifts and collectibles but usually are not a good investment.

Of course, some dealers will tell you about the years/coins that have been a good investment, but this can be a lie of omission, as they fail to tell you about the losers. The sales pitch typically starts off with how scarce/rare they are compared to the regular bullion eagles and progresses into how superior the proof coins are. The sole purpose of this is to get you to buy a similar and even more beautiful product for a much higher profit to the dealer.

Don't confuse collector coins with bullion material. Collector coins belong outside your retirement plans and in your personal portfolios or collections. Additionally, rare U.S. coins are the most undervalued of all the top collectibles, which is why I just bought the Eliasberg/Lee specimen of the finest known 1913 Liberty Head nickel for about $3 million.

I refuse to sit on my bottom while the government ruins my golden years via ruinous fiscal and monetary policies. Why not have some bullion in your IRA and some rare or semi-rare coins in your hands? After all, there is nothing better than gold backed by gold as compared to paper backed by gold. Diversification can help save your financial life and help turn your retirement into truly "golden years."

The U.S. Mint produces bullion coins for a profit. It sells them to large bullion banks, which resell them for a profit to regional bullion dealers, who again make a small profit. All this is standard, doesn't amount to a lot of money, and everyone is entitled to a fair profit. It is the dealer who services your account that you may have to be careful of, as he might have significant overhead to cover and must "beat the bushes" for customers, which can be expensive.

The most popular bullion items cost the most because of this demand and because they were recently coined, so all those small markups have to be covered. A typical markup over gold value for a current 1-ounce U.S. gold eagle or Canadian maple leaf, is about 6 or 7 percent. But you can buy back dates (pre-2003) of these two most popular gold bullion coins and save 2-3 percent on average. Also, avoid buying the smaller gold eagles/maple leafs (1/2,1/4, and 1/10th ounce) because the markups over gold content will be higher.

The costs of striking a gold coin are about the same regardless of its size, so avoid the higher striking fees associated with buying 10 1/10th oz eagles vs. a single 1-ounce eagle. Also, some dealers will tell you certain coins are rarer and a better investment and then charge significantly more in percentage terms. Boiler rooms often do this, especially with platinum eagle coins. Don't get greedy and look for an additional advantage, as this IRA plan can be a great help over time.

U.S. gold eagles are .900 fine, just as all U.S. gold coins have been since 1795. But the 1-ounce coins do contain a full ounce of gold. The Canadian maple leafs also contain an ounce of gold but in purer form. I prefer the U.S. coins, as they are struck according to demand, and when they run out of metal, the government must buy more gold, thus taking gold off the market. Also, the government is slightly less likely to confiscate its own coins than foreign coinage. Remember the ban on krugerrands?

Besides bullion coins, the government allows many sizes of bullion bars, such as 10- and 100-ounce silver bars, and gold bars such as 1-ounce, 10-ounce, kilo (32.15 ozs), and 100-ounce bars. There are also platinum bars of various sizes and weights.

This is merely an overview of the great opportunity the government has provided you with to help sidestep the erosion of your financial future and retirement plans. Between 1801 and 1901 the U.S. dollar gained 95 percent in purchasing power. But since 1945 it has lost 90 percent of its purchasing power. This is why real estate has been hot for years and why the top collectibles are hot. It's not just foreigners who are dumping dollars. Americans are also dumping dollars into tangible assets that they hope will increase in value faster then their dollars decrease in purchasing power.

In the last few years gold and gold coins have performed well for those who put their faith in God and their money in gold. Yet gold is still less than 45 percent of its former high while the International Monetary Fund recently warned that, "dollar depreciation will continue (on average) due to large deficits."

The choice is ours to make: Be an ostrich, a sitting duck, or a person who will not accept these financial termites continuously eating away at our financial futures and those of our loved ones. I've made my choice. How about you?