Silver, gold, stocks? Newbie with zero knowledge..SCHOOL ME!!

[jbadjones]

Figured some guys here would have some good investment tips. What are good rules for starters. What are the best things to invest in?

Sorry for being so vague. Just starting out and figured this would be a good point to begin at Thanks in advance!

 

[Nomad.2nd]

Now through November...

AR PARTS.

 

[S&W4ME]

Now through November...

AR PARTS.

And ammo

 

[returningliberty]

Invest only in what you know. If you know sandwhiches, invest in a sub maker. if you understand the gold market and how it is swayed by supply, demand, Industrial demand, speculation, etc, then go for it. When I got into the silver market, I did a huge amount of research for probably two months before I got in. This was three years ago when silver spot price was around 14-15. I got out a year later when silver hit $32. It was so wild and crazy I decided it was too risky.

My suggestion is not to invest in gold as a earning account, but more of a diversifying strategy. Dont plan on making money with it, plan more on Keeping money with it. Municiple bonds used to be great, but most municipalities are flat broke, same with the state and even federal bonds. If its a government backed security, stay away from it. The stock market has been doing well the last couple of years but thats simply because companies arent Growing, so they are awash with cash. That makes me nervous. The oil companies would be a great place for money.

ETF's are very good, especially gold, silver, and oil atm. You kind of missed the summer boat on the oil etfs I think (haven't checked in awhile), but a silver etf might be a good spot to be, depending on next years projected industrial use.

 

[Trey@IG]

i think you missed out on gold. i dont see that going up anymore unless **** really starts to hit the fan.

if you want to play the investing game but with fake money you can try out www.updown.com they give you 1 million to invest in whatever you want. it has real time stock prices and everything.

 

[swagge1]

Read up on www.fool.com. Its a forum for amateur and advanced investors. I think this is a buying opportunity for silver. As a matter of fact I just bought 21 silver eagles this week.

 

[3fifty7]

Pay off all debt first.

 

[Frogman]

I find gold and silver bouillion to be a good investment. I bought my gold when it was below $900/oz. It may be that you can buy gold right now and it will indeed go up. It is lower now than it has been ($1800 range), so if you buy now you may very well make money, and be secure in any monetary system in the world. For a beginner,however, start with silver bouillion. It is around $29.00 per oz. Buy $100 or $1000 in silver and watch what it does daily in the market as world crises arise. Silver will always hold a value like gold, and it is used in many industries, as well. Always keep 10% of your investments in gold or silver bouillion and make sure what you invest in is .999% pure. Something that you can touch and feel. Either of these will get you all over the world, should our monetary system fail. If you want the safest investment, buy land, which is as low as you will probably ever find it. If you get into the stock market, unless you are very experienced, I recommend using well known brokers. I use Ameriprise and let them handle everything in that area, as I have lost big time twice in the market. Remember a couple of things.....Never invest in anything that you don't understand and remember the higher the reward, the higher the risk of losing. Don't start investing until you have money enough to pay off everything you owe, with the exception of your house. If you are paying 24% on credit cards monthly, it makes little sense to invest in anything that will guarantee you less than 24%. That's the advice from a person that has spent 65 years trying to figure it out. Nothing comes easy. Keep your debt down. Save enough to pay cash for what you need. Don't be in a rush. Work hard and time will take care of you and give you confidence. Good luck. Very few people win the lottery. Money, or the lack therof, can ruin many dear relationships.

 

[itsjustabunny]

Always thought of gold/silver as more of a hedge against inflation and economic collapse...Are there any good local coin shops in the area?

 

[GunRelated]

Always thought of gold/silver as more of a hedge against inflation and economic collapse...Are there any good local coin shops in the area?

Where are you?

 

[itsjustabunny]

Nola, but I travel in the area a lot. Plan to be camping all over out to Florida and Central Louisiana this summer so I've got a really broad definition of "local". Anything within a 100 mile radius of Nola would be outright convenient.

 

[GunRelated]

"The Coin Guy" on Hwy 16 in Denham Springs is the ONLY coin dealer that I deal with. Super great, honest guy to do business with. He normally has a good bit of US junk, bars & rounds, and gold coins on hand. You wont beat his prices shopping online for sure. You also wont beat his prices with any other dealers in the area.

 

[dwhess504]

Covington Coins on hwy 190 in Covington. He has been in the biz forever and knows more than anyone I have ever met about coins. Plus he can get you anything you want. Or he will buy right off of you for Spot! which is crazy since ost of the we buy gold places only give you have or a 1/4th of that.

 

[Sugarbug]

Always thought of gold/silver as more of a hedge against inflation and economic collapse...Are there any good local coin shops in the area?

During an economic collapse and severe depression, what good is gold or silver?

 

[d0pey]

During an economic collapse and severe depression, what good is gold or silver?

The idea is that gold and silver will always hold value and have traditionally been used as a currency. If you were to find a gold coin from 1000 years ago, it would still hold value. The same is not true for other paper currencies. You should look into the definition of fiat currency.

 

[tudobem]

Pay off all debt first.

This.

Go to http://daveramsey.com, and get familiar with his "Baby Steps". It would definitely be worthwhile to pick up one of his books, or better yet to find a local church offering one of his Financial Peace University classes and sign up for it. He will walk you through the logical order of steps to take in order to get out of debt and secure your family's financial future. He also covers the details of investing wisely.

FWIW, gold is a lousy long term investment. Averaged out over the long term it has historically only grown at around 4% per year. The stock market has averaged around 12%. Again, this is long term average, not year-on-year or even in 5 year segments.

 

[Labeeman]

I do agree with the Dave Ramsey program, if you follow it you will be way ahead of the game and be much happier. A lot of his advice is just common sense which is lacking now a days. As far as gold being a bad investment I don't know about that. It holds value over time and has been used for thousands of years as a medium of commerce. I don't believe the dollar can make that claim. In the early 1900's you could buy a very nice suit with a 20 dollar gold piece or a 20 dollar bill, now fast forward to 2012 and lets see what you can buy with a 20 dollar gold piece compared to a 20 dollar bill. There is no comparison. The dollar is losing value everyday and if the powers that be keep printing money like they are doing now(85 Billion/month) it soon won't be worth the cloth that it is printed on. I'm not an investment guru but the best advice I can give is to diversify your financial portfolio. Keep some in cash, some in precious metals (gold,silver), land and then possibly stocks and bonds.

 

[tudobem]

Having a little (actual physical) gold would not neccesarily be a bad thing, but I think it would basically be a feel good thing instead of an "investment". Compare it to a stock or a mutual fund----gee, this stock/fund is at the highest trading price it's ever been at, maybe now would be a good time to buy!

I have heard the analogy of the buying power of gold then vs. now, namely using the $20 gold piece to buy a suit scenario. Biggest difference with comparing it to the dollar of today is the change in the gold standard vs. fiat currency.

And if (more like when) the SHTF, canned goods and ammo would be a much better investment..... About the only use for gold in that situation would be to trade it for more canned goods and ammo....................

But hey, if you want some gold (or silver), then by all means go get you some!! Old coins are pretty cool to have, and the right ones are worth more than their weight in gold (literally) for the right historical value.

 

[Drumyha]

We know that gold is a precious metal. It has a big value in the market. In fact, gold investment is good. Do not believe the hype and surely not the people wearing tin foil hats to keep the CIA from stealing their thoughts - gold investing isn't as great as they would have you think. Gold is really a fantastic investment if you are in the right place at the right time and over the long run, is a loser. (1000 loans payback installments)