Investing in gold can be pretty risky. Lots of people got their a**es handed to them last year buying gold in a panic. It was up around a thousand an ounce at one point and then rapidly dropped below $800 at one point. Now it’s trading around $850-$875/oz. I had thought about buying gold coins when it was around a grand but thought better of it thank God. I did OK in gold mines (briefly) but got out pretty quick when it became clear that there were no safe investments on wall street. These days, I think I would be more inclined to buy platinum than gold. I saw platinum trading below gold recently. It makes one wonder WTF is going on. Honestly, I think paying off debt will be the best investment an American can make here in the next decade. I don’t think there’s really a safe investment these days that beats or even keeps up with inflation anyways (except maybe a college degree in something useful).
Thanks for those comments. You know a lot more than I do about investments even if you, too, are perplexed about what one can safely and profitably invest in. My thoughts are that certain precious metals, although they may fluctuate greatly in value depending on political stability or instability, ALWAYS have some intrinsic international value. When I was in college I read about the out-of-control inflation in the German Weimar Republic in the 1920’s that made the paper currency literally worthless. It didn’t mean much to me. But later I happened to meet an old woman who had lived there in those days before emigrating to America. She told me (still with emotion!) how her family survived by trading jewelry for food! Maybe, as one lacking financial expertise, I’m oversimplifying things. But it strikes me that the last of last resorts in a real economic collapse would be gold, or something equivalent. You mentioned platinum but I don’t know anything about that. I’d appreciate your telling me what you think about my thoughts. I’m not suggesting gold is a panacea or get-rich-quick investment but that gold may be the ultimate safety net in a time of total collapse. I don’t put all my “eggs in one basket” but what do you think of it as that sort of thing? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Regards,