Some how I have a feeling you would have a different opinion about land ownership if you had mortgaged everything to the hilt in 1979 to buy land.  I'm not saying land is a bad investment, but like most anything is has it's ups and downs.  If you get on the wrong side of one of it's big moves, it will bite you on the ass just as sure as anything else. 

I have to say that the infatuation with IRA's and other types of savings accounts baffles me.  Assuming most here are running successful businesses, I would hope that most of us maintain a rate of return which is far ahead of what any type of savings account will provide.   Given this assumption, it's not hard to do the math and figure out that the best place to put money is usually going to be into your primary business.  I've learned this one over and over and over, and it seems as if I'm in the process of learning it with some outside investments yet again.