Why do you invest in silver?

My girlfriends mom invests $60k per year into her 401k and isn't a millionaire if you exclude the value of their home. If you were to buy, say, 25% of that ($15k) in COMEX silver, for example, I think that's a fantastic hedge against inflation, especially if she opts to invest in riskier stocks. Her portfolio is a fairly aggressive one, as she didn't start to save for retirement until about 2003.

 

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Agreed, break even at worst.
But after 17 years of time for prices to increase I think he would do rather well.

I'd like to know what form that 750 oz a year is in? Bars, Morgans, 90% junk...ect?

 

For you it may be too much. For someone else it may be too little and they may be acting irresponsibly for buying so little. Without knowing the other person's situation and level of expertise, there is no way for you to know. But I agree that it is too much for you.

 

750 oz a year is a lot. I don't care what part of the ladder it's coming from

 

^

not really.

if i told you how much gold my 1/2 brothers late grandma invested in gold bars a year, you wouldn't believe me. ill give you this, this smallest bars she bought were 5 and 10oz. its a decent size family and everyone gets at least 2 of the 5oz bars a year! her kids and my 1/2 brothers get the most, its an insane amount.

who knows they may believe silver will hit crazy highs in the future...

 

In response to your original question, I will say I haven't figured out a way to make people pay me for or invest in air, so silver it is....

 

$15k per year is a pretty small investment for some folks. Your point of reference is different.

 

Likewise, I don't see 20% invested as too much either. It depends on your total value of wealth. If you have 6 million dollars, sure, 20% invested in PM is huge. However, if you just have about $40,000, 20% invested is just $8000, less than the 750 oz of silver the original poster mention he intends to buy per year.

So, it's all in perspectives.

 

Just buy 2 green monster boxes every year for the next 15 years and you will be set. The numismatic value will appreciate more than the metal value.

 

In my experiance

In my experiance bullion isnt such a huge investment it is more a way to hold your money than invest it.

 

Try fresh water... If you have netflix its a worth while watch with 4 out of 5 stars.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1137439/

The Bush family is already switching from oil producer to bottled fresh water producer. One main line in the movie caught my attention right off the bat, If you go long enough without water you will cry tears of blood. And as of right now as this movie further explains, corporations are trying to own the fresh water around all of us, saying its no longer public property, even so far to say that collecting rainwater in some places is illegal!

Invest in a giant water holding tank underground? Who knows what the future holds...

 

Why do I invest in silver?

For the chicks, man. Nothing like a flock of coin collector groupies following you around.:mouth:

 

Folks,

Love the responses as I thought it might be a stimulating conversation. For those that pointed out that 15K is a lot to invest in silver year, I do agree. My original thought is to average 750 oz per year...if it surges then I may pull back on investing and would even sell some and then throw it into another investment vehicle...if it dips dramatically (or even 20%) then I double down and buy a boatload. I may very well end of with less than 13.5 oz after 17 years, but it would be close. Storage is not an issue nor does it reflect the lions share of my annual investments as this is not the only strategy I employ in order to afford college, a home, etc.

Thanks for the responses as I continue to learn more and more each day that I am exposed to your wealth of knowledge.

Laimbeer4452

 

I buy silver because it's something tangible that I can see, hold and understand. It has intrinsic value. A year from now my paper money, stocks, bonds, etc. may very well be toilet paper, but 1 ounce of silver will still be 1 ounce of silver. Silver is not my primary savings/investment tool. It's just one of many tools in the bag. Probably the most fun tool though. My kids actually enjoy going to the coin shop with me to pick out something new.

Primarily I buy ASE's and Maple Leafs. I also mix in some Morgan and Peace dollars because I like them and enjoy the history attached to them.

 

I am a collector and I buy silver because I like to collect silver art bars. For me, buying silver art bars, is a hobby. It is not in investment. I like looking at what I collect and I enjoy finding silver art bars that I can get for a decent premium.

 

That's a good approach. Sometimes we forget that silver frequently has a value above melt.

 

Does this hold true for all stocks? As I hold 4 physical Proctor and Gamble certificates and my family owns well over 100.

Sorry for the off-topic btw!

 

I am even newer to PM investing than you are. I am investing in mostly silver as well, with some gold. What started me was Mike Maloney's book, "How to Invest in Gold in Silver". I like how the metals are "off the grid".

 

This is crazy talk. Hopefully nobody believes it.

 

Just sayin'. Not trying to predict the future or anything, because if something like that ever did really happen, well, it just wouldn't be pretty. However, I still like the fact that silver and gold have been recognized stores of value and mediums of exchange for a very long time.

That said, I think a lot of the bullion buying lately is fear driven. Fear of what? I don't know. I do know when I go down to my local dealer to find a couple of ASE's, he'll tell me he's out. He had 300 the day before and someone walks in with a wad of cash and buys every ASE he has in stock. Talk about frustrating. Same thing happens in the ammunition market, but that's a topic for a different message board. Ah well, it has forced me to branch out into Morgan dollars, Peace dollars, Maple Leafs and Canadian silver dollars. That led me to want to learn a little more about the coins I'm buying, which led me here and now I'm learning lots. So, thanks to other peoples panic buying I ended up at Coin Talk.