How to buy Gold
There are a lot of people out there that don't know how to buy gold and many seem to think it's some complicated process when it's actually very easy. I'll list a few of ways that I know of when it comes to buying gold.
Asset Protection — For centuries precious metals have provided financial security from inflation and other monetary turmoil.
Security — Hold physical gold & silver that is fully insured and stored securely for you in a specialized bullion vault near London, England.
Affordable & Flexible — Economical, with no minimum or maximum purchase; 24/7 access to your account and your money.
Barron's calls it "An easy, economical way to buy gold online."www.goldmoney.com
Another way of purchasing gold and or silver, is to go through your broker or through an online brokerage account. You can purchase mining stocks, gold and silver exploration stocks, ETF's (exchange traded funds) and there are several of those. One word of warning on purchasing stocks though. If you go through a brokerage bank, make sure they're not deeply involved with the sub-prime mess. You wouldn't want to cash in on your stocks and find that your money is tied up and not available to you or find out one morning that the bank no longer exists due to bankruptcy. Make sure the companies you invest in aren't mixed up with derivatives and make sure they're not deeply in debt. You can check their annual and quarterly statements online through the companies website or by calling them directly and interviewing them yourself. Have them send you proof that they're not involved with derivatives. If they won't oblige then walk away; there are plenty of other companies out there that would be more than willing to help you. It's your money so act wisely. Perform your due diligence before you make that final step. One thing you should always consider (especially now) is how safe and reliable the broker is. If they fail will you get your money?
You can also purchase gold and silver through local dealers or online gold and silver dealers. You can purchase rare coins and bullion in the form of bars and coins over the counter or you can purchase it online and have it shipped directly to you via your post office and it's insured. Some people like purchasing this way because it is in their hands, not on a piece of paper. You can store it in a safe deposit box at your bank or anywhere you like. You can find these dealers easily. Simply do a google search for gold dealers or coin shops. Just use your common sense and purchase through reputable dealers. Most are reputable but with the gold market becoming more and more popular, there are bound to be a few bad apples popping up. Some will charge a commission which generally isn't over 4% while others will charge a small fee. If you purchase online, you can expect either of the two and a shipping charge that usually isn't more than $20 US
One final way I know of for purchasing gold and silver is from the Perth Mint. I found out about them through www.kitco.com . When you purchase through the Perth Mint, you send them money and they store the precious metal for you and send you a certificate that is government guaranteed and fully insured. You can purchase and sell them anytime. If you for some reason loose the certificate, you can contact them and they will issue you a new certificate for a small fee. You can learn more about this at: https://online.kitco.com/pmcp/
For a more thorough explanation of gold and how to purchase it, please visit: http://goldprice.org/buying-gold/2006_03_01_archive.html
You can also check out the ads throughout my website and learn more about buying that beautiful yellow metal.
Enjoy,
Daniel Duke
Why Buy Gold?
Because you're Safe with Gold!
Gold. If I placed before you $100,000 US Dollars or $100,000 US Dollars worth of gold and told you that you could take one or the other but not both, which would you choose? I know what I would choose and I'm sure you too probably know what I would choose. That's right. I would choose the gold. Why though? It's heavier than paper money and doesn't smell good like newly printed cash, in fact it has no smell at all. You can't carry it around as easily because it weighs so much. There's just something about gold that draws people to it. Is it because it has been valued by man for more than 3,000 years? Is it because all paper currencies (which have always ended in failure) are supposed to be backed by gold because that is where the value of the currency lies or is it because gold has always been the standard we set when we think of value, wealth and even purity. We hear sayings like, that man's word is as good as gold. Companies selling products know that if they tag the word "gold" on the product, it seems to have more value in the eyes of the consumer. When purchasing warranties for example; companies use terms like the silver package, gold package or platinum package. Most choose gold because it's neither cheap nor very expensive and because they see it as good and it serves all thier needs.
At the most basic level, almost all cash is an IOU from an indebted government. Whether that cash be dollars or euros or yen, the issuing entities owe lots and lots of money to lots and lots of people. Furthermore, these IOUs possess no intrinsic value whatsoever. They are not backed by gold or silver or oil. They are not even backed by bananas or vintage baseball cards. They are backed by absolutely nothing.
Even more troublesome is the fact that the cash that we call "cash" is not really cash at all. It is a Petrii dish of short-term corporate debt obligations, mingled with a hodgepodge of obligations from debtors all over the world.
In other words, most of what we ordinary folks call "cash" is the stuff that sits in money-market accounts. And most of the stuff that sits in money markets accounts sits in commercial paper or in quirky financial instruments of one kind or another."
The e-letter goes on with Dan's peers advising him on what to do with his money. Dan Amoss, Editor of Strategic Investment tells Dan Denning the following: "Rather than go to 100% cash, tell your readers to sell however much is necessary to help them sleep at night. Perhaps sell 25%-50% of their stock positions, put 25% in cash, and put 25% into inverse [i.e. bearish] sector ETFs like SKF (banks), SMN (basic materials), SSG (semiconductors), or SCC (retailers). And always hold a position in gold.
The forward earnings estimates for banks in particular are way too optimistic, so they are definitely not "cheap." Loan-loss allowances are near generational lows and must be rebuilt in the coming years to reflect the worsening default environment. So that's why I like SKF. It is a bet that bank stocks will fall, but not necessarily that the overall market will fall.
I've been telling my Strategic Investment readers to expect continued volatility in the coming months, but to not lose focus on long-term opportunities in energy, mining and gold."
You can read the letter in it's entirety at http://www.agorafinancialpublications.com/RudeAwakening/RAissues/2007/SepOct/RA090707.html
Gold is also benefiting from flight to safety. The advantage gold has in this situation is that, once people realize that Central banks will have to become buyers of last resort for $trillions of bad derivatives, they will prefer gold to actual currencies.
Gold is being whipsawed in two ways. One is flight into gold ultimately. The other is selling of gold during stock sell offs. Every time gold rallies right now, it is subject to panicky selling when investors need cash. And right now, everybody seems to need a lot of cash.
This story is only beginning, and I heard one good comment about this present derivatives / credit crisis that ‘the unwinding of credit and leverage will not be denied’. That means that all the leverage out there right now is subject to waves of unwinding. Considering all the leverage in the stock world, that does not bode well at all.
Will derivatives ultimately kill some currencies?" read the rest of his article at http://www.kitco.com/ind/Laird/sep062007.html to find out.
I am far from being an investment expert but I can see the writing on the wall and I am determined to make sure that I protect myself from what I believe is going to be another economic depression. I wouldn't put every cent I own into gold and silver but I would definitely put at least 5% and as much as 40% of my net liquid worth into precious metals like gold and silver.
The time will come when you must sell your gold and/or silver for a great return. Don't let yourself fall to greed and end up with less gains. Don't get me wrong, precious metals are always great to have and I plan on always owning some, but I also plan on unloading some of it when the time is right. I believe that time is a long way off and right now is the time to buy it.
Good Investing,
Daniel Duke
bravenet.com