Gold
 

For those who are buying gold, who are you buying it from? I have only looked at Goldine and Rosland. Have you kept the bullion yourself or had a second/third party handle the storage?

Any reason you have chosen not to buy gold? Personally, when I look at the large large amount of money being printed, I just don't see how inflation will be avoided. Frankly I don't see how the dollar itself will survive without some serious gov't spending cuts.. but now I'm just ranting I suppose.

I have talked to a couple "professionals", I'm just looking to gain info from any and every source available.

Thanks guys!



Any idea why China is getting out of US dollars and buying tons (literally) of gold? *rhetorical question*

And while I'm on the topic.. some of you people should really take an interest in what is happening outside aviation. Who's flying what for whom will likely be the least of your problems in 5-7 (maybe less) years.

Try directing some of you "forum hero" time towards emailing/writing your gov't officials. Although many will not put much weight in your concerns, it sure beats running your mouth like a school girl on here...

The Titanic is sinking. Are you just going to keep dancing or are you going to start looking for life boats?

/ RANT

First, I agree with you that inflation is almost inevitable, and the government is doing the exact wrong things (as evidenced by other economies that have tried it) to fix the problem.

I haven't bought gold, and will not, because long term, it's a horrible investment. Sure over the last 6 or 8 years it's done really well, but over the past 50 or even 30, it's more like 2%/year.

The Goldline commercials that say gold is the only hedge against inflation and the only asset that isn't someone else's liability are just lies. ANY hard asset (land, buildings, equipment, and yes, even gold) are hedges against inflation, and LONG TERM real estate and the stock market have outperformed gold by leaps and bounds.

None of these assets are someone else's liability unless you borrow the money for it, and gold is in that same bucket. So the marketing is mostly misleading at best and lies at worst.

If you're looking short term, gold might be great. If you're looking long term (the 5-7 years you mention) real estate is almost certainly better, and the stock market is probably better.

As a final thought, in a "collapsed economy," gold won't be the currency people use. A trade economy will develop, and a generator or gallon of gas will buy you a load of food. Gold has no practical value, so it won't be worth much in an economy where people are trading and trying to survive.

Interesting points.

I was looking at gold as a means to preserve wealth.

As I sit here pondering various scenarios, it would seem that an investment in firearms (for future sale/barter) may actually have more value that gold. Firearms/munitions are the example that popped into my heads; I'm sure there are others.

I've read a few articles on the stock market (long term expectations) and I have a new outlook on it. The traditional theory that the market will yield ~8.5 % return (based on past performance) seems flawed in the historical sense. If you look back several hundred years, this "consistent" growth of the stock market has been on the heels of significant evolutions/inventions. Progressing from the automobile to trains, planes, rockets, computers, and the internet.

Without some significant invention, there should not be the expectation that the stock market will offer "historical" returns.. returns that have been based on huge innovations.

Another thought,
Now seems like a great time to take an adult-ed farming class :(

There are two main reasons to invest in gold.

There is an argument for owning gold in the case of economic collapse. In this case you would want to have physical possession of gold coins, perhaps buried under your garage floor.

The more likely situation for the U.S. is high inflation. To profit from this, I believe that the best choice for betting on the price of gold is mutual funds that invest is the stock of gold mining companies. Individual mining stocks are highly speculative, and there is a long history of fraud in individual gold mining stocks. The only problem is that you may be late to the party. Gold is up so much over the past ten years that I have a hard time believing that it will go up all that much higher.

Joe

KA,

Do you recall how many ads for mortages, refis, and other real estate instruments were on the airwaves, TV just a couple of years ago? Do you remember all the pros telling you how to invest in real estate? Bubble.

Do you remember people making a living "day trading" 10 years ago and experts talking about quaint "brick and mortar" business models. Bubble.

Gold advertising is everywhere now, the price has skyrocketed...make sure you have a seat when the music stops playing.

WW

WW.

Good point. Although my motive for purchasing gold isn't necessarily to make money per say. Unless the FED / US as a whole really tightens the proverbial belt, most experts agree that MASSIVE inflation is ahead. My goal with gold ownership is to have equivalent money 10 years from now; or equivalent purchasing power (if that makes sense)

If every thing melts down so bad that the U.S. dollar is worthless you will be wishing you had invested in LEAD of the .223 or .45 ACP variety.

In the case of economic collapse gold will be useless. It'd be better to stock up on MRE's, tents, batteries, fuel etc..

Like I heard someone say once... "gold is not an asset class, it's a religion"