Many years ago I've spent years half on the streets, between a drop-out university education. In the long run, I got two trade tickets, mostly because that kind of work was the only non-black market work I could get, without the money for an office wardrobe. Yet living often with ambigous ID like an illegal alien in my own country, with a few scraps of clothes on hand, I literally built things with my hands for well over a decade.
That said, my employment has been bumpy. From death threats, to a huge lawsuit taking on the government and winning, I've found myself working all over Canada, from one job to the next. Hazardous as it has been, I've made good money, spent an awful lot, and hedged on things like precious metals and a little crytptocurrency 
That said, I've spent maybe $7k CDN on crypto many years ago.
Last year, I found myself unemployed beyond my means of making a living for the first time, and took profits in mining stocks. Picked First Majestic Silver as my first choice, and paid well over half a years rent with just that stock alone, and I still own some.
This year, I've only worked a month and a half, and my 7k worth of crypto has strangely bloomed near 50k Canadian. Living frugally, I think this is a ten year bull market in crypto ahead - and something that will go explosive should there be any crash.
I've also had people from Dubai, and a sovereign wealth fund from Arab Emirates research me on Linkedin, just for asking questions where I take profits, trading crypto for gold. While I have no plans to do business in that corner of the world, mainly because I'm queer and a woman, I am shocked that hedge fund people from sovereign wealth funds have been looking at my insignificant profile on Linkedin. Hey, I'm just an unemployed tradesperson! But I guess it just doesn't matter, as nations might find it easier to trade crypto than airplanes full of skids of gold.
That said, I can truly say that "hedging works!" As someone who identifies as transgender and intersex, living both genders on and off throughout my life, while never subscribing to surgeries, I think I've done well. All the people I've listened to over the years have made my life comfortable enough to live without losing my mind! While I'm definitely not a business person of any type, the little I do know has helped me greatly.... While I can't say anything has been easy, hedging has been a godsend!
Very happy I listened to people on youtube, rather than the banks down the street!