Like all investments its a risk, I had 22btc before xmas which i spent on the road, if i'd kept them I'd have tripled my money. I treat them the same as silver, worth having a few dozen for an emergency, and with the way the market is you can always make a few quid by selling them on ebay in 0.1 or 0.25 increments, and buying as the price moves, it moves up and down throughout the day too.