"This is trivially answered via the oldest financial instrument in the world, agriculture futures." No, I think your parent has an interesting point ... Peopl

"This is trivially answered via the oldest financial instrument in the world, agriculture futures." No, I think your parent has an interesting point ... People don't start farming soybeans because they have a free weekend here and there ... it's a long-term, sometimes generational undertaking that has one locked into these activities and investments. So, in that case, it makes sense you would use derivatives to hedge the activity you have no choice but to undertake. On the other hand, if you're just a trader-bro ... you do, indeed, have full autonomy and can buy or sell anything you like. You could just as easily afford equivalent protection by buying less of the underlying asset or buying another asset entirely. Unless, of course, there is a relative price mismatch between the underlying asset and the derivative - in which case it would make sense to pick up the protection cheaply ... ... but I still think your parent has a point that isn't so easily dismissed ...