Looking at the price of silver and gold over the past ten years, they have both been steadily climbing. Gold has gone from $400/oz to $1,740/oz., and silver is now about $34/oz--it used to be around $5-10/oz. A lot of what I've read indicates that they will both continue to climb, especially with all the economic uncertainty out there. I'd be interested to find out what others think about investing in gold and silver, especially in bullion form.
I guess I'm worried about the dollar losing its purchasing power. If you end up using the dollar as toilet paper, you should be able to excahge gold for the things you need, right?
Dawn: in the past ten years, silver has increased by 580% (from $5/oz to $34/oz), and gold has increased by 325% (from $400/oz to $1,700/oz). I think silver wins.
Christy Lee: I like preppers. They're smart.
Jo : There are those out there who view gold more like a currency than a commodity
I know the prices of gold and silver are high now, but look into their predicted future prices. Have they stopped monetizing the debt (printing money that's not really backed by anything)? And many countries are doing this, not just us. The dollar began to weaken when foreign investors suddenly decreased their US investments around 2002, and that was the beginning of the bull market for precious metals....
Do your own research first, but I think it's wise to put at least some money into precious metals if you haven't already.
In investing, it's about buy low and sell high. Gold is now close to highest it has ever been (even adjusting for inflation). You have to do what you think is right, but you don't make money by buying high and selling low.
It is an odd commodity. Just doesn't float my boat. Just like any investment it is fancy gambling. Pretty much by buying gold you are betting on a dollar devaluing.
What I mean is there are other investments that perform better but if you are hedging against doubt or triple digit inflation commodities like gold and silver are the only ones that don't react to that.
Problem is say that happens, there is no system in place to turn gold into say food. The only way is to convert it to dollars then food which means it could be devalued then.
Not sure if any of this makes sense.
We have numismatics as one of the investments in our portfolio and have for years. You have to be careful who you deal with and make sure you are dealing with someone who is honest.
I think if you have it in your portfolio it is great but you should be diversified as well. We have a safe which is bolted to the foundation of our home in a secure location which holds our gold and silver.
Make sure you keep in mind the extra cost of insuring your investment, especially with it in your home. You are not going to get rich on silver/gold alone. Right now there seems to be trenfy to buy it.
We bought about 20 yrs ago and we have not sold anything nor do we plan to. Like someone on here said... it is a lot like the market... buy low, sell high. Be very careful with your decisions.
I think it is a great addition to the other investments we secure.
Make sure you study up on it first and deal with a source.
Good luck..
I guess it depends upon why you're investing. If you're talking TEOTWAWKI (The end of the world as we know it) or inflation due to devaluation of the USD, or the zombie apocalypse (kidding...kind of), then gold and silver might not be what you want. You can't eat it, use it or shoot it.
What I'm investing in: Guns, ammo, food, water purification.
Guns increase in value. They're a great investment. You collect them, enjoy them, and sell them if you need the money. Most often, you sell them for more than you paid. Check out auctions. I picked up a $700 .38 Special for $215. I could turn around and sell it at any time if I needed to, or trade it for something.
Ammo is one of those things...when you need it, you NEED it! Good to have around.
Food. It doesn't matter how much gold you have, you can't eat it. And if SHTF, nobody is going to trade their food for it.
Water. Well....it's water. Can't live without it.
Now, if you're just talking about investing for your retirement? I wouldn't buy with it being so high, but that's just me. Stick with guns. :-)
It is not for me but I sure wish I put money in marajuana companies a few weeks ago. Their stock jumped over 3,000%. So a $1000 investment was worth millions after the election:)
I can see investing in gold, but I cannot see investing in silver. Silver does not go up nearly enough to bother with that. You'd just be tying up your money for a long time for very little reward. I remember getting silver certificates as a bonus in my first "real" job, (sold them right away) and 15 years later, they were pretty much around the same price as they had been when I sold them.
Dollars won't be worth toilet paper. You really don't have to worry about that. But gold is a decent investment.
Dawn
Well like Dave Ramsay says " you buy beans when they're on sale" right? I think the time to do SOME gold investing was probably 10 years ago.
I think a certain segment likes to promote gold investing as part of their The Sky Is Falling commentary of the day.
There might be a place for some gold in a well balanced portfolio, but no O. that is financially savvy puts all of their eggs in O. basket.
Dave Ramsey does not like gold as an investment. Exchanging things for gold just won't happen. It's much more likely if we get to that point, the essentials will be traded. Guns, ammo, stuff like Christy Lee says.
Hard to eat gold, but I got a bunch of squirrels that will have my name on them!
