Hi all! I’m a 26 year old writer/software tester and I ‘study’ economics on Mises.org for about 30-40mins most nights after work and at weekends to learn as much as I can about liberty and economcs. I’ve been doing this for about a year now.
I would very much like some advice about buying some gold/silver or investing in something ‘solid’ to protect my money from inflation etc. I really do not have much money/savings at all - it would be a small amount each month that I could afford (or perhaps I could save up for a few months at a time) - maybe some coins or small bars. I am worried about getting ripped off. I’m not sure where to buy and how to keep my purchase private/safe/secure etc. I don’t have a very well-paid job but I think my industry is fairly secure right now. I have no outstanding debts but I am struggling meeting the bills every month now I’m living on my own again.
I’m concerned that if the economy really goes down hill very badly (I’m talking future riots and food shortages kinda stuff) - then how do I access or use my gold/silver - who would accept it? If I buy bars how might I use them for smaller amounts etc? Could I get it into e-gold etc for buying stuff online? If it’s in a bank might the banks or government take it?
I have been looking eagerly at the following websites:
http://www.guernseymint.com/ - nice looking stuff and they say they can keep it protected for you; would maybe have the advantage of being tax-free offshore in Guernsey?
http://www.e-gold.com/ - OK I’m still trying to get my head around how this works - can you actually buy ‘stuff’ (i.e. food, clothes etc) with e-gold? If so, how come I’ve searched and searched but cannot find any website accepting this currency? How do I actually get gold into it / out of it? I udnerstand you can’t trade e-gold for cash, so do you have to request your gold first, then change to cash elsewhere? Please advise.
Should I really go with gold over silver? Silver seems like a ‘gentle start’ to me but I do worry that gold prices will be going up so I’d need to buy asap… ? I’m sorry for all these questions - I’d very very much appreciate some experienced/qualified advice from you guys, especially if you’re based in the UK. I’m a total n00b!!! [8-|] I truly love this website and its cause of liberty but I’d prefer not to be utterly broke when the time comes to once again claim back some freedom from our tyrannical oppressors!
Bump; I’ve wondered constantly on how to make any sense of starting at all. Everyone says to do this & do that, but never explains (throughly) on how.
Edit P.S. Methinks this would make a prime subject for use in the wiki section Edit P.P.S Just noticed the UK in the OP title, but it would still help reagrdless I think.
Hi Nitroadict, yes I appreciate advise from my brothers and sisters across the oceans too! It’s just I assume there might be certain things I need to look out for over here which differ from the US, Europe etc… also I suppose there are different prices, laws, taxes and fees, and local/specific knowledge is really what I’m after, but as I said… all advice most welcome.
What’s this wiki you mention? Sounds like a good idea for us “noobs” either way!
You might want to try an investment forum. This is an economics forum, not personal investment or business advice. Personally, I’d be scared to get investment advice from this bunch. Most of them are professors (out of touch with reality), teenagers (mooching off of their parents), anarchists (black marketers) and professional video game players (prima donnas). Definitely not the crowd I want investment advice from.
I’ve recently opened a Pecunix account. Try that instead.
Generally, everything located in liberal countries and tax havens should do. You should refrain from buying digital gold held in US, since the government has been harassing them for a while (confiscating their gold, starting legal suits etc.).
Are you up for a chat? I would like to suggest some things for you but would prefer privacy. I am not an adviser but was in a similar position to yourself not too long ago and was able to find some things you might be interested in?
That’s only an exchange service, so you still need an account on e-gold, Liberty Reserve, Pecunix or others.
BTW, I wouldn’t recommend e-gold at all. Apart from the fact they’re located in US and the management is in legal trouble (IIRC), I’ve seen very bad rates on exchangers. So even if you manage to open an account and buy some gold at a decent price, you’ll still stumble upon many exchangers that charge 50-90% fee for selling it.
I would recommend you choose gold over silver. Silver and the other metals such as palladium and platinum are primarily industrial metals. It is highly likely that the prices of those metals will decline right along with the economy. Gold on the other hand has widespread use as a store of value, so it’s value should not suffer as much with a declining economy.
For more information about purchasing gold and silver, check out: www.kitco.com
I don’t know about the UK, but probably there’s no tax (VAT) on pure gold. And it’s owned by Chard, a reputable company.
They have a list of companies that accept e-gold on their website: http://www.e-gold.com/unsecure/links.htm and you can’t get gold in/out; you can exchange pounds for egold, and vice versa, via any of a number of exchangers, but you can’t actually deposit gold that you own (you used to be able to) or have them ship gold to you (AFAIK they’ve never done that, though they used to claim it was possible). There was (is?) a site that would take your orders for things from companies that don’t take e-gold, take payment in e-gold, and make the purchase for you, so you could use e-gold to pay for anything; you also used to be able to get a debit card that worked with e-gold, so you could withdraw whatever national currency from any ATM, etc.
But: e-gold’s servers are based in the US. There’s a serious risk the US government will shut them down and steal all the gold (they already did that once).
It’s not that type of conversation but thanks for your concern. When I offer to help, it’s help and not a sales pitch. I am not selling anything… will not personally benefit. I know a company that can help. They helped me. It’s not the type of company that needs new business. I know the Directors well and consider them friends. Thank you.
It’s not that type of conversation but thanks for your concern. When I offer to help, it’s help and not a sales pitch. I am not selling anything… will not personally benefit. I know a company that can help. They helped me. It’s not the type of company that needs new business. I know the Directors well and consider them friends.
I wouldn’t neccessarily be chosing gold over silver, it depends on what your stomach can handle, can you put your head on the pillow at night and not think about your investment too much??? Silver is also a monetary metal and always emerges as such during economic crises. Have a look at a the last 100 years of silver prices incl. the 1968 -1980 gold and silver run up. Gold hit around $850 U.S per ounce and silver $50. Since then gold has taken out it’s all time high but silver is nowhere near it. Adjusted for inflation gold should be $2400 + per ounce and silver $128 per ounce. We are miles off that.Economy slowing in the West but demand in the BRIC nations is still very strong. Even Kitco have had huge delays in their silver deliveries very recently even though the paper price has been smashed as people are now wanting to take delivery.The gold to silver ratio has always come back to around 12 to 1. For most of the last 3 years the gold to silver ratio has been floating between the 45 - 55 to 1 range. Right now it’s above 75 to 1 - prepare for explosive moves in the silver price in the next 12 months.
Gold certainly is a better way to go for wealth protection and long term capital appreciation but if you can stomach the volatitlity don’t let anyone deter you from buying silver at a pace that you are comfortable with at what history should prove will be extraordinary low prices.
I wouldn’t neccessarily be chosing gold over silver, it depends on what your stomach can handle, can you put your head on the pillow at night and not think about your investment too much??? Silver is also a monetary metal and always emerges as such during economic crises. Have a look at a the last 100 years of silver prices incl. the 1968 -1980 gold and silver run up. Gold hit around $850 U.S per ounce and silver $50. Since then gold has taken out it’s all time high but silver is nowhere near it. Adjusted for inflation gold should be $2400 + per ounce and silver $120+ per ounce. We are miles off that.Economy slowing in the West but demand in the BRIC nations is still very strong. Even Kitco have had huge delays in their silver deliveries very recently even though the paper price has been smashed as people are now wanting to take delivery.The gold to silver ratio has always come back to around 12 to 1. For most of the last 3 years the gold to silver ratio has been floating between the 45 - 55 to 1 range. Right now it’s above 75 to 1 - prepare for explosive moves in the silver price in the next 12 months.
Gold certainly is a better way to go for wealth protection and long term capital appreciation but if you can stomach the volatitlity don’t let anyone deter you from buying silver at a pace that you are comfortable with at what history should prove will be extraordinary low prices.
OK firstly thank you to everyone for their sound advice it is really very much appreciated. I think I am much clearer now about how this all works but I still have a few suggested links I’m reading through. I think I can put the digital currencies on the backnurner for now, it seems a little complex, risky and not as straight forward as I’d like.
I have had mostly recommendations for gold, although I might also buy some small amount of silver as I really cannot afford much gold at the moment and it seems as though I’d be able to get silver in higher and more divisible (i.e. useful) quantities for not too bad a price.
About gold then; should I save up for buying a bullion bar or grab some coins immediately? Which coins would you recommend and how are they different etc? Can anyone from in or around the UK suggest a reputable dealer or is there a price-comparison website of some kind?! Can anyone knock/recommend http://www.guernseymint.com/ or http://www.taxfreegold.co.uk/ ? What others are there? I know one gentleman said that the latter was owned by a reputable company - Chard.
I would recommend caution when buying physical gold. Besides legal issues (which might not be of concern), physical gold might be harder to store and sell. When selling it back, it still has to conform to the bullion standard.
On the other hand, digital gold/silver is available even in 1/100 divisions of a gram. Depending on the currency provider, you can actually use it to buy stuff online.
Yes that’s what first attracted me to digital currencies, the fact that the currency is so divisible. However many people I’ve talked to here and elsewhere have expressed concerns over their safety, accessibility etc. Which e-currency providers could you recommend me to look into?
