Is gold a good way to protect your wealth in these turbulent times? James Turk, founder of GoldMoney and author of the Free Gold Money Report newsletter since 1987, is one voice among a rapidly expanding swarm of gold bugs who says yes.

In a telephone interview with TheStreet.com, Turk predicts that gold will hit $8,000 an ounce in six years. He argues that the yellow metal makes a better savings account than fiat currency, whose purchasing power is dwindling, but he also warns against buying gold-backed ETFs such as ETFS Gold Trust (NYSE:SGOL) or SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD), since you're paying an annual expense ratio yet you never get to hold the physical gold while you're investing in the shares.

What do you think? Is gold a good wealth-preservation insurance policy in our volatile economy, or is it a bubble waiting to burst? Sound off in the comments box below.

An earlier version of this article cited Turk's comments that SGOL and GLD charged "45 to 55 basis points per annum." GLD's annual expense ratio is 0.40%, and SGOL's is 0.39%. The Fool regrets the error.