Should I Invest, Save, or What?

So my CD account is about to mature and the rates at most banks are pretty poor right now, so I've been thinking of what else I could do with the money. I was thinking of buying a large amount of silver, or coins, and thinking of either saving some or selling some to make a profit. What's your opinion? Keep it in the bank, or switch it to something that could increase in value faster than a CD account.

 

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if your thinking coins, bullion is the direction IMO. Unless you get some great deals out there.

 

:hail:

 

I agree, buy bulk silver, but if you choose coins, make sure you have done your research prior to buying. Money sitting in the bank does nothing for you but lose value everyday. They are printing money as fast as they can. Soon inflation will be knocking on everyones door. Thats what I think.

Steve

 

At least money in the bank can gain interest and it can only go up. What about a Roth IRA? You are money is already taxed that you put into it so when it's time to retire you can with drawl w/o having to pay taxes.

I wouldnt put all your money into coins, I would do half of what you plan on doing, from there deversify your portifio having a mutual funds other stocks.
Some stocks to focus on: consumer staples, discretionary, and healthcare. "These are DEFENSIVE stocks that will survive through good and bad times. Most of my positions are in these stocks. Some names include 3M, Procter & Gamble, Kimberly Clark, Exxon Mobil, Walmart, Costco. Everybody's got to eat and wipe their butts regardless of the state of economy. Many of these companies survived through the Great Depression.

That's the benefits. You can sleep at night knowing your money is doing well. There are NO guarantees that you won't lose money. It's just that these stocks are the best. They pay good dividends too. "(taken from Yahoo answers)

I like the point out the writer of that paragraph made a great statement. I may not agree with it all but in a broad since the author makes a valid point.

I will leave you with this, the other day I was told by an old man only 2 things in life are a given, Taxes and death...

 

I was thinking about an IRA, but I still don't quite understand them, and with a limited income right now, I don't know if I'd be able to contribute to it too often. Wachovia has really been pushing their way-to-save accounts, but you can only add $100 a month so the rest of my money would be sitting around tempting me, and I would have to wait a while to put it all in there. The good thing about it is that the rate is like 5%, the best there is for no minimum.

I'm really thinking about silver, gold, or coins. A nice certified indian head or some morgans or something. I have until Thursday to decide...there are so many banks and not enough coin dealers in my are...so many options...

I was thinking about stocks too, but I'd rather do that through a bank too or at least a place that doesn't charge you an arm and a leg per transaction...

 

Your most important goal at this point is to preserve wealth. Inflation appears to be a greater threat to your wealth than lower commodity prices at this time. The market will do strange things with hyperinflation as some things will inflate faster than others and no one really knows which things will rise fastest.

A CD only locks you into fixed dollars at a time that the dollar has too inflate. Of course, all it takes is one significant election to change the outlook significantly. The thing I would suggest as someone totally without any recognized expertise in investing (legal protection) is to put your money into low grade silver US coins with as little numismatic premium as possible. Absolutely do not go over bullion value since melt is a fraction of bullion value. This limits your risk to the commodity itself. Premiums for bullion coins are for suckers because you always pay it and almost never get it back.

Now if your really depressed about things, the ultimate commodities are survival seeds, farm tools and guns and ammo. This is what you would need your silver and gold for anyway in the worst case scenarios.

Of coarse, you could invest in sand since so many have their heads burried in the stuff and think we can go on like this for an extended period of time.

 

Water Filters:smile

 

I'm just going to dig a hole under and behind my basement, and I'm just going to take my stuff and my money and I'm going to go live down there. Bye.

But really, are there any places you would suggest buying bullion grade US coins? I have looked at APMEX, Provident Metals, and Golden Eagle Coin so far, and I have purchased from APMEX in the past. Should I go check out the coin dealers in my area(haven't really done that very recently), and see what they think/have to offer?

 

Depends on how much you have and how long you want to invest for and if you will need access to it in case of an emergency. Silver in 10 oz or 100 oz bars, or $500.00 bags of face value junk coins are a few options. You can read up on it here:
http://www.cmi-gold-silver.com/buy-sell-gold-silver.html
There are many other options and you need to research your particular situation.

 

Well I will agree with you as in regards to Taxes. So you think that letting the boys on Wall street take care of your money is a good idea. Well if that allows you to sleep good at night then so be it. And you trust banks to. None of this is relevant because the original post for this thread didnt indicate how much money was available to work with. I was posting with the idea that it was probably not to much, or they wouldnt be posting here for advice in the first place. Lets see if the member seeking advice will be helpfull & give us a ball park idea as to how much they are working with.

Thanks,

Steve

 

One word...."Plastics."

 

Less than $1000, I don't have a lot to work with, but it is enough.

 

It really depends on how much money you are talking about.

If its $4-5 grand ..ok ..sure, it would be fun to buy 2-3 bags of junk silver ($100 face value bags of Mercs) and search them and see if you find anything with any numismatic value. After you are done playing with them, buy a old ammo box and dump them in there and slip it under the bed for a rainy day.

If you are talking about dropping $20 grand..that's another thing entirely.

 

Buy a couple rolls of Silver Eagles and put them in your sock drawer. 2010 will have no numismatic value (extrememly common) but they are easy to sell when the time comes (when silver hits $50 an ounce).

 

Andrew289 gave you the best advice then.

Steve

 

Depends on what you need the money for. If it's your retirement, you might want to research further before wasting it on bullion or coins. If it's just savings, how long are you going to hold onto it...until you're dead? Buy a boat or a summer house so you and the family can actually enjoy the money and have something to show for it. If it's sitting around in a vault collecting dust it will never matter what it's worth.
Guy~

 

Slamster17, there are some important facts unsaid which would greatly affect my opinion. How old are you, how long before you need the money back, if the money was stolen the day you got it back from the bank, would it affect your life style severely, when do you wish to retire? do you have dependents who know little about coins they might inherit, are they protected financially if you died, etc.

In general, inflation does not occur without indicators. You will see inflation coming like a tsunami, desperate problem, but if you are close to high ground, you can make a run for it.

Bullion can drop like a rock. Compare it to a 8.4 earthquake under your house. No warning, life looks great, and then, great losses. Same for stocks, but % usually is slower than bullion.

I have traded though a bullion cycle and crash, and then 10 or more years later, I bought back in when gold was under $300. Now almost 20 years later it is over $1200. But there are stocks that I could have bought cheaper and they would be worth more today % wise.

One should have a portion of savings in cash or negotiable instruments for emergency short term funds. A portion in Bullion or high grade certified coins, a portion in stocks ( heavy on dividend stable), a portion in real estate, and a portion in insurance. The ROTH IRA is a wonderful instrument. Check out what you can have in your Roth. I contributed the maximum I could to my ROTH after it came about, Wish I could have done it always. You can use the money in your ROTH to buy gold and silver bullion, as well as stock, etc. You put in taxed money and when you are 58 1/2 you can take out whatever and the compounded gains, tax free. Any age can have a ROTH IRA, just that the money has to be earned through salaries, bonuses, etc, not through pensions, investment income, etc.

Jim

 

Desertgem gave some good advice. Many factors to consider before an answer can be concluded. I'm no Dave Ramsey but if this is the only $1k you have to your name, you should just leave it in the bank in case you need it. Period. You are not at a point where you need to worry about investing.

If your bank account is well padded and this is just an extra $1k on the side that you don't need, you obviously have several options. Make sure if you put it in a roth that you won't need it for a long time. Basically kiss it good bye. You pay the taxes up front, but to benefit, it will need to sit there a long time for you to gain. Most have large penalties for early withdrawal. Meaning you initially PAID a large percentage up front, to lose money to fees and inflation if you ever need it early. In that case you'd be money ahead leaving it in the hole in your basement.

If hyperinflation hits, it basically becomes worthless and you won't have access to it quickly anyway. This is why it's good not to have everything in one basket.

 

I'm 21, the money has been in the CD for about 2 years now(I let it roll over once) and I have been able to get by without it so I guess having it stolen wouldn't affect me too much, but it would still suck. It would be nice to retire around 55-65, and I don't have any dependents (that I know of :bigeyes

I guess from what you are saying an IRA would be a good idea, I just don't really have a steady income, because I am still a student and I work when I can. So I would really only be able to put in what I can now, and wait. I also like the idea of getting more in stock, but I'm virtually clueless there, and I'd love to get some more gold and or silver.

Looks like I still have a lot to look into...crazy thinking about retirement before I even have a full time job...