Buying gold and storing it is not an investment. Its a form of savings.

An investment would be buying a gold mining company, or a jewelry company.

Buying bitcoin and storing it is not an investment. Its a form of savings.

An investment would be buying a bitcoin mining company, or a hardware wallet or node company.

Buying fiat dollars and holding them is not an investment. Its a form of slave credits with return free risk, like bonds and us treasuries.

An investment would be exchanging fiat for something that has a potential for reward for commensurate risk.