I'm no financial advisor. That said, what I've done is to spread my few assets across a wide spectrum of classes. IMO, oil is a little risky because it is a normal boom or bust kind of investment. In that regard, I have a little raw land with the possibility of mineral development. That leaves other uses as well. The timing of any investment is one of the really hard things to pull off. What I'm looking for is a steady decline of the dollar after it stays below 80 vs. a steady increase in the price of PMs. With a 401K in stocks, you have the added complication of timing a coming market decline. You have to stay on top of things and listen to your gut and calculate your risk. ;)Yeah, I've seen some dire predictions for 2014, was thinking about making the switch between Christmas and New Years, try to hit a home run. :^) You may be right about the .80 index, I'll do due diligence before I do it.
Just to clarify what you probably already know, the index is the relation between the dollar and a group of foreign currencies, so troubles in their economies will cause the dollar index to rise.
What I think "may" be a sign of an imminent and major increase in PMs is a special telltale where the dollar is declining below an "apparent" line the central banks have drawn (i.e. 80), while the price of PMs are rising without sellers having much of an impact on price. One might construe that as sign manipulation was becoming ineffective, if prices are indeed being "managed".
Just my two cents worth... ;)