Just to illustrate Bob’s point, there’s no way to completely protect your money, e.g. Buy yourself one of those practically indestructible black box flight recorders and remove the internal paraphernalia. Place your money inside and reseal the box. Now bury it under two meters of concrete inside a nuclear bomb shelter. Guard said shelter with a battalion of abandoned menopausal mother-in-laws brandishing AK47s, each having a pit bull with attitude made more savage by having elastic bands wrapped around their testicles [an idea thought up my said abandoned menopausal women].

Return the following year, recover your money and find that it is worth less. The sneak thief? Inflation. During this past year, Brazilian inflation stole 7% of cash wealth.