Join the conversation: The Investor Lab Community What happens when trust in money dies? History shows it’s never gentle. From Rome’s slow debasement of silver to Weimar’s wheelbarrows of paper, every fiat collapse follows the same pattern: debasement → recognition → flight → failure. In this episode, we explore The Great Melt-Up — the moment when the illusion of stability shatters, and people rush to exchange paper promises for anything real: bread, fuel, gold, real estate, even Bitcoin. We’ll trace the cycle across centuries, uncover why inflation isn’t an accident but deliberate policy, and explain how it flips the script — savers lose, debtors win, and wealth shifts silently but brutally. Most importantly, we’ll zoom in on today: Why some currencies collapse overnight… and others rot slowly for centuries The hidden laws that drive people to hoard, dump, or flee money when trust breaks How gold, property, and even debt can flip from liabilities to lifelines in a melt-up The eerie pattern linking Rome’s denarius, Weimar’s marks, and today’s dollars This isn’t theory. It’s a timeless sequence — and it’s happening now. Fiat is the guillotine. Assets are the ladder. The choice is yours. See you on the inside. CHAPTERS: 0:00 Welcome & recap from last week 2:20 Trust vs. debt: what really kills currencies 9:00 How long fiat money actually lasts 13:30 Australia’s strange money history 20:00 Case studies: when currencies die (US greenback, Zimbabwe, Venezuela) 26:00 Rome’s slow debasement & the fall of an empire 37:00 The five-stage currency lifecycle explained 47:00 Human behaviour in collapse 58:00 Hyperinflation’s craziest examples 1:10:00 Gold as the timeless yardstick 1:16:00 Inflation, debt, and how asset owners win 1:27:00 What to do: real estate, Bitcoin & productive assets 1:43:00 Wrap-up & what’s next in the series -- WATCH ON YOUTUBE: The Great Melt-Up: When Trust in Money Dies ACCESS THE REPORT: Inside The Investor Lab Community IMPORTANT: The Investor Lab is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research and seek independent professional advice before making any investment or financial decisions. – SERIES: Why Getting Ahead Is Getting Harder (and What To Do About It) Have you noticed that, no matter how hard you work, it feels harder to get ahead? Wages look bigger, property prices keep climbing, and the headlines say Australia is richer than ever. But for many households, the reality is the opposite — pay rises don’t stretch, saving feels impossible, and the dream of home ownership slips further away. In this new mini-series — Why Getting Ahead Is Getting Harder (and What To Do About It) — we expose the hidden forces behind the squeeze: from the illusion of prosperity created by money supply growth, to the widening divides between owners and non-owners, to the strategies you can use to protect yourself and build real wealth today. The old rules no longer work: work hard, save diligently, and expect security. The new rules are here. And in this series, we’ll show you how to use them to your advantage. -- RESOURCES TO HELP: Looking for a team to partner with you in your portfolio building journey? Join Dashdot: https://bit.ly/3E0wKGa Need finance guidance? Chat with the team: http://hey.dashdotfinance.com.au/discoverycall Build Your FREE Portfolio Growth Plan on Property Pathfinder: https://propertypathfinder.io Got a question or some feedback? We're all ears! https://bit.ly/tilqs – Catch Up On Recent Episodes: The Illusion of Prosperity: Why Getting Ahead Feels Impossible First Home Guarantee Scheme, Property Scarcity, and Why It Matters for Everyone Else NZ Property Market Crash: What Does It Mean For Australia? Bitcoin vs Australian Real Estate We Answer Everything: When You Have "Enough" Money, Why Cash Flow Is Dead & The Future of Money Why You Need To Retire Earlier Than You Think Beyond 2030: The Prosperity Wave Most Investors Will Miss (Biggest Opportunity Ever) Why Your Buyers Agent Might Be Leading You Into a Property Trap How To Build A Property Portfolio That Pays For Itself The Coming US Debt Collapse (And What It Means For Australia) How to Help Everyone You Care About Win in the New Economy How to Design a Life You Won't Regret in the Next 5 Years How AI Will Change Your Economic Future AI Is Here: And Most People Aren't Ready Is A Supercycle Coming? (Housing Market Outlook) The Inner Game of Investing Trusts & SMSFs: How Advanced Investors Are Rethinking Their Structures in 2025 Tariffs, Trade Wars, and What It Means For Your Portfolio Portfolio Acceleration Masterclass Financial Jiu-Jitsu: How to Break Through Your Portfolio's Cashflow Constraints Winning the Investment Game: How to Set & Beat Your Hurdle Rate Fake Gold? Markets
