Creating A Strategy

As with all investments it is imperative that you have a strategy in place and set goals. Formulating a savings plan and committing to it for the long haul is how you build wealth for your future. Also be aware that most legitimate financial advisers suggest that at least 10-20% of your savings be in precious metals. In the investment community this is common knowledge. However, strategies for acquiring these metals isn't so common.

Before you get started there are a couple of questions you should ask yourself regarding your savings:

1. How much money do you have saved right now?
2. How many years you have worked in your life?

Now divide the savings amount by the number of years you've worked. (That's your yearly savings amount)

Divide the yearly savings amount by 12 (months). (That's your monthly saving amount)

3. Now, are you building wealth or just working until you die?

If you answered the latter, you definitely need a saving strategy. Once you have a plan on paper you can start to build wealth by implementing a system that helps you hold yourself accountable for your commitment.

Here are some preferred guidelines to help you create a strategy:

• Know your purpose for investing in precious metals (saving, hedging, estate building, trading, etc.)
• If you are only looking to trade silver or gold, as opposed to saving, I suggest also looking into precious metal stocks or ETFs, even though I personally don't like "paper gold".
• Determine monthly or weekly amount you are willing to pay yourself (save)
• Set a silver/gold ratio to maintain, e.g., my personal start-up preference of 100 ounces of silver for every 1 ounce of gold.
• Know what form of bullion you prefer and why (bars, coins, rounds, etc.). For example, most investors prefer gold bars over gold coins because because bars come at a lower premium and are available in higher purity.
• Know where you will store your precious metals once you reach a high volume
• Determine if you will employ the general "buy low/sell high" investing strategy
• Establish a relationship with a local bullion dealer. Go in to possibly make a minimal purchase(make sure you have done enough research on buying bullion to at least sound knowledgeable). You can use the BBB (Better Business Bureau) to search for local bullion dealers but I would suggest using usmint.gov. Note that many sites listed through the US Mint have purchase minimums.

After making these determinations you will be well on your way and ready to make your first precious metal investment. Look to our "Resources" page for more information to help guide you in making those important decisions. Feel free to contact us before making any decisions.