Every day we open the newspaper or click on our favourite news websites, and read these headlines. ECONOMIC STAGNATION! JUNK CREDIT RATING! HUGE INFLATION! MASS UNEMPLOYMENT! SEVERE DROUGHT! SOUTH AFRICA IS A DISASTER!

Then, of course, you read or watch the various political talking heads trying either to excuse or explain why this is the case. Or they talk in circles of jargon and you think “What are they hiding from us? How bad is it really?"

It’s enough to make you want to throw up your morning coffee. You probably wonder every day what will happen to you, and your family and friends, if change doesn’t come soon. Will you have a decent future? Can your savings be affected? What about your family? What will happen when you get older?

Well, stop worrying, and don’t run to the bathroom to throw up just yet – there are answers to these problems, as other countries have discovered.

Venezuela is a South American country a lot like South Africa – it’s a developing country that’s been wracked by political turmoil and government corruption, it’s lost a lot of its foreign investors, and it’s suffering from a growing financial crisis.

Many people in Venezuela have found a way to avoid the worst ravages of their socio-economic system by investing in Bitcoin. What is Bitcoin? Simply, it’s a modern currency that is not controlled by governments or banks – so a financial crash won’t affect it.

So why are we looking at Venezuela's example?

1. Venezuela's economy is worse than SA

Venezuela’s inflation is predicted by experts to reach 1600% sometime in 2017! People are weighing buckets of money instead of bothering to count the notes, because the notes are worth so little. Crazy, right? Reminds us of a certain nation to the north of our own, beginning with a Z…

The socialist Venezuelan government wants both private and public companies to hand over their capital - to settle its outstanding financial debt.  Yes, you read that right – the government wants to seize company assets to bail it out of its own problems.

Could that happen here in South Africa? We don’t have quite the same government set up here, but anything is possible. Your assets could end up in someone else’s pockets.

2. Venezuelans found an answer to their problems - Bitcoin

Lots of Venezuelans turned to investing in foreign currencies that can be moved out of the country, out of reach of the government. Since last year, valuable currencies such as the U.S. dollar are being sought after by Venezuelans who want to protect their assets – then the government started clamping down on the flow of the US dollar in and out of the country.

There’s a massive and dangerous black market that exists, for the trade of the $$$ - it’s just not worth the risk for most people. So they started searching for alternatives such as Bitcoin to store their wealth – and it has exploded.

Bitcoin mining in Venezuela has really taken off. The country’s main exchange has hundreds of daily buy orders, and it was trending faster than any other country in the world. Bitcoin is viewed by the government as property and not currency, so they can’t get their hands on it - and it’s not affected by the ebb and flow of inflation either.

Sure, Bitcoin has its own ups and downs, just like any currency – but without the interference of factors like civil unrest, strikes, and anything else that can lead to a tanking economy. It’s less risky than a lot of other investment options.

3. Venezuelans avoid capitalist banks and "Big Brother" watching them -  by using Bitcoin

With Venezuela’s history of political turmoil and corruption, the average man in the street doesn’t really trust the large banks and other organisations of the old regime. If that sounds very familiar to you – it’s because a growing number of South Africans feel the same way.

Markets are volatile, and big investment banks use your money to speculate on them,  and they can make mistakes – big, costly mistakes; where you as the customer are forced to take the losses. Banks overcharge you for using YOUR money, and they often hang onto payments made to your account for days – we all know that this is not some “technical hitch” or other excuse, they are just gambling with YOUR hard-earned money. And who are they to tell you how much you can withdraw or deposit of YOUR own money?

Bitcoin offers a way to avoid trust and frustration issues with the banks. With Bitcoin, your money isn’t stored in a bank, and they can’t fool around with it, or charge you for doing nothing. You can set up a Bitcoin wallet and get a debit card you can use anywhere.

4. Venezuelans use Bitcoin to guard against unemployment

Like South Africa, Venezuela has a high rate of unemployment and a lack of opportunities, especially for youth.  Even an educated person like a computer science graduate, accountant or engineer might have to wait for years before they can find a job in their field – just like here in SA.

You can also be gainfully employed – then suddenly, your company hits a rough patch due to foreign investors pulling out, or the rise of outsourcing to the Far East – look at the motor industry in Port Elizabeth, for example.

With Bitcoin, savvy investors can generate an income while they look for a job – and some just continue to mine, investing in bigger contracts, and live well off the proceeds without having to seek other employment.

5. After initial set-up, Bitcoin can be mined cheaply

Venezuela doesn’t suffer the same issues with rising electricity prices that SA does -  their electricity plants are way more heavily regulated by government than ours, so electricity is cheaper there, and they don't suffer from as many power cuts. With the government having tried to privatise Eishkom and then strangle it in SA, and its subsequent operational issues - big businesses and entrepeneurs alike are suffering from rising electricity costs.  It’s especially tough to run a business from home if you’re using equipment that runs on the power grid.

The good news is that Bitcoin mining is a cost-effective way of making money – when you become a miner, the equipment you use to mine is not set up in your own home, using your power. So you won’t have a heart-attack every month when you get your bill.

Does Bitcoin sound like it might be a solution to your investment worries? All you need to start is $25 (R346 currently).

Get started investing in your future. Get our free guide here.