Thinking about making automatic monthly purchases of silver through silversaver(dot)com

[웃 910]

Was on a forum the other day where a guy recommended buying precious metals. He says he regularly buys gold and silver (but buys 70% silver / 30% gold with each purchase).

He said he uses silver saver (dot com) to make regular weekly $30 deposits, straight from his bank.

It seems like a decent idea but I'm wondering if you guys may have a different opinion.

Here is the site: http://silversaver.com

Does it seem legit...I just don't like paying fees. I could simply buy 1 share of SLV each week and could avoid fees that way. But then again I probably wouldn't be as disciplined in making the purchases each week...

Good or bad idea?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Moved out of P & R into Off Topic.

[Heracles 417]

You saw that too about silver hitting a 30 year high hey?

[evli1966 88]

I noticed the Silver climb but I do not think it is stable enough to buy in for long term.

I beefed the gold purchasing in mid 2008

Was on a forum the other day where a guy recommended buying precious metals. He says he regularly buys gold and silver (but buys 70% silver / 30% gold with each purchase).

He said he uses silver saver (dot com) to make regular weekly $30 deposits, straight from his bank.

It seems like a decent idea but I'm wondering if you guys may have a different opinion.

Here is the site: http://silversaver.com

Does it seem legit...I just don't like paying fees. I could simply buy 1 share of SLV each week and could avoid fees that way. But then again I probably wouldn't be as disciplined in making the purchases each week...

Good or bad idea?

I wouldn't do Auto purchases unless your comfortabel with the compnay itself.

[slim 1,533]

Was on a forum the other day where a guy recommended buying precious metals.

Good or bad idea?

First thing is, if you're going to "invest" in precious metals, are they being delivered to your house or are you "buying" them only on paper?

There are two schools of investing in metals, gems, etc. First school says it's a great way to diversify your portfolio since they're typically wonderful investments and hardly ever "crash" like some stocks or bonds could. It would be great to invest in them to balance out your portfolio..... but that "paper" is only as good as the grid it's saved on.

If the SHTF and the lights go out permanently, what good is that paper? Wouldn't it be better to have actual silver/gold/diamonds/etc. sitting in your basement?

That's the second school. The "what if the lights go out and the dollar is useless?" school. You won't be able to call your broker and cash-in those certificates, will you?

Because of this, many say having the actual metal in your house (or safe deposit box, etc.) is the way to go. I've also heard that gold - while holding the best long-term value - is impractical because what will you need to buy/barter that's worth (or used to be worth) several hundred dollars? More likely you'll be trading your metals for things like food or medical supplies and won't be cashing them in for a house in Arizona or a trip around the world when you retire. I've even heard of folks investing in pre-'64 US coins in lieu of gold/silver bullion because it'll be easier to "value" after money is worthless.

You don't need gold bars to buy a dozen eggs or a goat. Silver would be better in that situation.

If you're going to invest in metals, I recommend lead and brass before any others. A nice little hill of ammo can get you just about anything you need and trades just as well, if not better, than gold or silver. Traditionally, all it's done is go up, up, up in price. 12 ga., .45 ACP, and .223/5.56 will all be worth their weight in gold when the lights go out.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

You want to physically possess your precious metals.

[alienlovechild 75]

You saw that too about silver hitting a 30 year high hey?

Good point

Isn't it kind of foolish to buy at record high prices? Why didn't you buy when the prices were far lower?

[웃 910]

Good point

Isn't it kind of foolish to buy at record high prices? Why didn't you buy when the prices were far lower?

$21.40s is not that high, if I am looking at 10 years out. Could go much higher than that (anyone's guess). Could go lower too.

I seen it between $10 and $11 in January of 2009...Point is if I was buying $30 worth a week it really wouldn't have made much of a difference if I started buying in January 2009. Plus the idea didn't cross my mind until a few weeks ago...

It's more about the discipline of setting $30 a week aside. Am I really gonna discipline myself to open another saving account and deposit $30 each week? No. But if I setup a $30 auto weekly deposit to purchase silver with this particular company then that $30 will be pulled aside.

$30 per week = $1560 per year = $15,600 in 10 years

If silver jumps to $40 over the next 10 years I could be looking at nice college fund for my future offspring.

Edited September 27, 2010 by Lord Infamous

[웃 910]

Also, accumulating it at such a steady (and light) pace it really doesn't matter where silver goes. My average price will be close to the market price unless there are massive spikes/drops. Silver is known to be one of the more volatile metals though...

[luckytxn 2,265]

I would suggest that you google this topic and do more homework. The last time I saw the metals go to record highs was during another huge economic disruption during Carter's presidency and after he was gone and the markets stabilized the metals prices plunged down and almost all that purchased at high prices lost their azz. At least at the low amount you are investing means you won't lose too much but the ones that will be smiling are the ones that bought it at a cheaper price.

[Danno 1,228]

Interesting topic.

I have a friend who has bought a lot of silver, one of the guys he buys from is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb2khSOemoo

You can also Check Craigslist for people selling coins or rounds.

SOme places sell a little cheaper but charge more for shipping so besure to factor that in when pricing.

There are a ton of vids on Youtube to learn from, some from dealers but some from other silver buyers.

www.apmex.com

is another major seller.

Here is a 30 yr chart.

[Kar_98 10]

Let me ask you this: if silver is so much better than printed Federal Reserve Notes, why is this company trading the former for the latter?

[scandal 951]

$21.40s is not that high, if I am looking at 10 years out. Could go much higher than that (anyone's guess). Could go lower too.

I seen it between $10 and $11 in January of 2009...Point is if I was buying $30 worth a week it really wouldn't have made much of a difference if I started buying in January 2009. Plus the idea didn't cross my mind until a few weeks ago...

It's more about the discipline of setting $30 a week aside. Am I really gonna discipline myself to open another saving account and deposit $30 each week? No. But if I setup a $30 auto weekly deposit to purchase silver with this particular company then that $30 will be pulled aside.

$30 per week = $1560 per year = $15,600 in 10 years

If silver jumps to $40 over the next 10 years I could be looking at nice college fund for my future offspring.

Silver futures are trading at 30 year highs. How much headroom do you think you have here? The best argument for silver was that photography kept consuming it. Since film photography died and was replaced by digital, I really don't see that argument anymore.

Let's say you are right and prices double from here. So your $15,6K invested doubles to $30K. I have news for you: that's not going to get your kid through a 4 year college. Even at current in-state public tuition rates that would barely be enough. Private or out-of-state, forget about it. And given the increase in tuition rates, they'll be much higher a decade from now. So... plan on saving more, or having your kid borrow, or work, or get some hefty scholarships. Or all the above.

As to what I think of the idea, I think you're buying at the top of a market. I was long GLD until about 2 years ago. I wouldn't be doing precious metals now at these prices.

I'm just looking for yield these days. Good dividend producing equities, and also some moderate exposure to high yield bonds. There are two ETFs I have big positions in -

*SDY which tracks the S&P Aristocrats Dividend Index, whose 50 constituents have raised their dividend each and every year without fail for the past 25 years. It's my only significant equity exposure at this time. I like the dividend stream in these tough equity markets.

*JNK which tracks a Barclays junk bond index.

I've also been buying junk bonds directly. With treasuries yielding essentially zero, CDs yielding less than 2%, and higher quality corporates also offering no yield, I've turned to the junk market for the first time in 2 decades as an investor. I'm getting 6-7% yields on maturities of about 5-7 years on bonds rated about S&P B+ or higher. There's risk of course, but I'm buying issuances from companies that I actually recognize and know something about (mostly IT or energy firms), so I hope the default risk is mitigated by that. Still, it's a bit of a crapshoot.

At a 7% yield you will in fact double your money in approx 10 years, which is what you said you are aiming for on SLV. Wouldn't you rather do that on a stated yield, rather than a speculative capital gain that has no plausible basis? I know I would.

Good luck.

[Danno 1,228]

Let me ask you this: if silver is so much better than printed Federal Reserve Notes, why is this company trading the former for the latter?

He is not making an even trade, in the short term this profit is desirable.

[Danno 1,228]

Silver futures are trading at 30 year highs. How much headroom do you think you have here? The best argument for silver was that photography kept consuming it. Since film photography died and was replaced by digital, I really don't see that argument anymore.

Let's say you are right and prices double from here. So your $15,6K invested doubles to $30K. I have news for you: that's not going to get your kid through a 4 year college. Even at current in-state public tuition rates that would barely be enough. Private or out-of-state, forget about it. And given the increase in tuition rates, they'll be much higher a decade from now. So... plan on saving more, or having your kid borrow, or work, or get some hefty scholarships. Or all the above.

As to what I think of the idea, I think you're buying at the top of a market. I was long GLD until about 2 years ago. I wouldn't be doing precious metals now at these prices.

I'm just looking for yield these days. Good dividend producing equities, and also some moderate exposure to high yield bonds. There are two ETFs I have big positions in -

*SDY which tracks the S&P Aristocrats Dividend Index, whose 50 constituents have raised their dividend each and every year without fail for the past 25 years. It's my only significant equity exposure at this time. I like the dividend stream in these tough equity markets.

*JNK which tracks a Barclays junk bond index.

I've also been buying junk bonds directly. With treasuries yielding essentially zero, CDs yielding less than 2%, and higher quality corporates also offering no yield, I've turned to the junk market for the first time in 2 decades as an investor. I'm getting 6-7% yields on maturities of about 5-7 years on bonds rated about S&P B+ or higher. There's risk of course, but I'm buying issuances from companies that I actually recognize and know something about (mostly IT or energy firms), so I hope the default risk is mitigated by that. Still, it's a bit of a crapshoot.

At a 7% yield you will in fact double your money in approx 10 years, which is what you said you are aiming for on SLV. Wouldn't you rather do that on a stated yield, rather than a speculative capital gain that has no plausible basis? I know I would.

Good luck.

Would it make more sense to invest in real estate... using the "buy it while it is down" concept you mentioned?

* nice to see a post from you, it's been a while.