Singletary

vestor?

DiGiovanni: “Someone with way more money than sense.”

Podnos: “No one that is buying it at this point is counting on anything but having a ‘greater fool’ come along who will pay more for no reason other than attracting the next greater fool. I’ve had three calls inquiring about investing in bitcoin. I told them all that I was against it. One asked me to invest six figures in it anyway, and I said he’d have to do that himself.”

Schmansky: “Of all the conversations I’ve had with investors, those with money don’t see the value.”

DiGiovanni: “Borrowing money to invest in bitcoin is stupidity squared.”

Podnos: “They should not invest in bitcoin at all, much less borrow to do so.”

Schmansky: “Absolutely never borrow to buy bitcoin. While it may seem like a decent bet on its good days, it’s a bet that can flip where you owe the debt and have nothing of value to show for it.”

I’m not a financial planner. But I do have a lot of common sense. If you can afford to lose every penny you invest and not lose any sleep over the loss, do what you want. However, if you have a regular job, a mortgage, kids to put through college, credit card debt, a pitiful emergency fund and a lackluster retirement account, don’t even think about buying bitcoin. The currency may be virtual, but the investment risk is very real. Readers can write to Michelle Singletary c/o The Washington Post, 1301 K St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20071. Her email address is michelle. singletary@washpost. com. Follow her on Twitter (@SingletaryM) or Facebook (www.facebook. com/MichelleSingletary). Comments and questions are welcome, but due to the volume of mail, personal responses may not be possible. Please also note comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writer’s name, unless a specific request to do otherwise is indicated.