Addicted to Silver

http://seekingalpha.com/article/268...stocks-that-may-be-able-to-ride-out-the-storm

So, just to play devil's advocate here, and beat the same old dead horse. Under normal circumstances I agree with everything being said about stocks. However, under extreme circumstances stocks, bonds, ETFs, fiat currency, could potentially all become worthless with physical PM's being one of the few stores of value that will not degrade over time. I doubt we'll find anyone who would argue against diversification, but keeping PM's in case of emergency is why I joined this party.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Nope, don't recomemd individual stocks. The other theory is once you hear about it on the street, it's too late, the insiders have already acted. I just stayed with an S&P Mutual fund - 500 of the largest companies.

 

I agree to a degree, but feel in the long run the economy will recover and prosper. Now, gold did for me what it was supposed to in bad economies. When the stock market crached, my gold covered my losses in the market and I sold it to cover those losses

 

I'm not saying I think it won't recover and prosper. I'm just not willing to get caught with my pants down. Nobody expects the worst when it happens. I do however think that prices will double by the end of the year.

 

My crystal ball is broken, hopes yours is working. Even though the gold is gone I still have a lot of silver (mostly numismatic).

Will the economy recover by the end of the year? Doubtful, it takes time to rebuild what was so ravaged by bad policy and nothing is getting done with all the political infighting in DC. So, will a booming economy put downward pressure on PM's in the short run? Probably not in a big way, unless PM's are already over priced.

I also live by the rule, the further the time span, the less one can predict the future. Those that do, get lucky. And, more people lose than gain trying to time the market.

 

I agree with those saying mutual funds, that is the best for keeping you eggs in a bunch of baskets on the stock market, To the OP, maybe you don't need to let the wife know about all your business dealings, they do tend to worry way too much on things they don't even understand. My wife knows there's PM in the house, but she has no idea on how much there is. When she first started whining about my metal dealings I tried to explain that all it was doing was changing the form of the money, but she could never understand what I was saying. I have found that spending a little of your "metal money" on jewelry seems to keep them content and out of the way.

I'm not advocating keeping information from your wife and I don't do that with the Mrs. either. But she doesn't need to know exact figures and worry about things the way we do. This is one thing the Italian Wiseguys got right, "don't ask me about my business". But, they never will stop asking, at least mine won't.

 

I handle 100% of the finances in my household. My wife knows that if I am spending money, it's because we have the money to spend. I would definitely recommend that you tread lightly with PM investments unless you have a significant amount of discretionary income that you can afford to lose.

As for silver, when it was at 17/oz I started purchasing more heavily and my wife starting getting a little touchy on the subject. I told her that I was taking a risk, and that I knew the potential outcome good be great but could be horrible. When I sold 300 ounces at 47/oz, any and all reservations she had went out the window. Now she is asking if I should be buying more or waiting. She has started watching the live spot tickers and sends me texts like "silver's down another dollar!".

 

that's awesome, would be cool to have someone watch the price for me lol

 

Growing old with a "Pile of Silver" or a "Loving Spouse"

A few years back when silver was about $9 or so my wife was upset with all the silver I was buying so I sold it all to keep the peace. When Silver hit $18 or so she started apologizing and telling me she should have stayed out of it. I now buy silver and have aquired just a few thousand dollars worth (a lot for us as we are missionaries) for our small nest egg.

But looking back I would have done the same thing all over again even knowing that the silver would increase because keeping peace in a marriage is worth so much more than any monetary gain you might get. I did marriage counseling for five years and finances are in the top 3 issues that cause problems in relationships. If given a choice of growing old with a loving spouse or growing old with a pile of silver, I'll take the "loving spouse" over a pile of silver any day

Juan

 

When it's 300 an oz, then I'd say you're late in the silver game. To me if it stays below 100 an oz. it's still affordable. 200 range is still do-able to most people...Beyond that... Forget about it.

 

One thing I would caution you on is that trading is a loser's game even if you are an expert in technical analysis. Jesse Livermore and Bill O'Neil both caution against it and they are two people who know technical analysis.

 

I would have to go back and check to be certain, but I think long term bonds have outperformed stocks almost continuously since 1980. This doesn't make stocks a worse choice because there were some special one-time factors going on for bonds, but it does remind everyone to check everything for yourself because almost all of these old rules of thumb are untrue upon investigation.

 

I always have a major problem with that type of reasoning. Under the scenario you describe, there will be no businesses, no food, no electricity, no water, no heat, widespread disease, civil war and probably a great dieoff in the population. It's a complete fantasy to sit there and think, "At least I've protected myself by purchasing gold." So you might as well take the chance and bet on prosperity and enjoy life a bit. In the long run we are all dead anyway, but why just sit there and prepare for it?

 

My wife is not into coins at all. However, we've been married almost 45 years, so she lets me do pretty much whatever I want with my hobby. She couldn't understand why I was so happy buying a 1996 mint set for $6.50 that had the W dime, or why I was jumping for joy over a 1970 S small date proof set I bought for $70. I made a terrific trade for both 21 & 21 D Mercs and she could care less. lol

But not everyone cares about coins. To some people they are money to spend.

But PM's are insurance. No matter what happens, each coin has a known amount of PM and a set value for that alone. If cash ever become worthless, we still have some purchasing power.

Let her have her hobbies and just don't try to involve her in yours. Because if you make money, she might want to help spend it. lol I know my wife does.

 

Ya I don't want to be a day trader I just want to have the ability to buy and sell exactly when I want from the comfort of home.

 

I guess I would just say that I have enough money to enjoy life with or without my interest in PM's. I am not rich, but I can afford to live comfortably. PM's are just one of many precautions I have taken in order to be self reliant, and I'm not willing to part with them for cash without something in mind to spend it on just because it could be more profitable. This scenario isn't one I would wish for, nor one that I consider likely, but I like the peace of mind knowing I can take care of the people I care about no matter what.

 

Right on!

It's not clear what those who are preparing for the "ultimate outcome" are thinking. In the most extreme of outcomes, chickens and corn will be worth more than gold or silver. In a more modest outcome, gold and silver will simply be a form of currency that purchases extremely inflated goods.

I too LOVE owning gold and silver, but I don't fool myself (or my wife) into thinking that my reason for having it is for survival in the apocalypse. I just LOVE having and holding the stuff -- it FEELS good to own it. I don't justify it by making up some outlandish "end of the world" scenario. After I die, my kids and grandkids will probably sell at a flea market for pennies on the dollar.

 

My objective is to make retirement as comfortable as possible. I don't want and might not be able to work in 10 years. I want to keep the cash flow the same when I retire to keep the life style the same. Most of my income, outside bills, general living expenses, and a little play money, is spent with this in mind. Right now I am spending 80% mutual funds and money markets with the other 20% in precious metal. So far this year the PM has out scored the other investments. I'm not even going to adjust these percentages unless something really goes crazy with the metals. When the stock market starts moving, when business kicks back in, I plan on shuffling a good bit of the PM into stock. I trying to hit a balance where no matter what moves up or down (stocks or PM) I will have the cash flow needed/wanted.

 

I've always had coins since I was 9! I really got into it in '05! I was going thru a divorce! and was trying to hide my cash away! What better than bullion!, it was fairly cheap! Never did I realize The potential gain that I had aquired! All in all not a bad outcome!

 

+1