Gold for Your Golden Years: Precious Metals for Retirement

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Gold for Your Golden Years: Precious Metals for Retirement

May 30, 2012 379 view(s)

There is a saying among young people today: stay gold. While this is referring to keeping one's sense of independence and to avoid corruption rather than precious metals specifically, it certainly is a good piece of advice for younger adults who are looking to plan for their retirement earlier. Diversification is extremely important as the world learned in the economic downturn that happened toward the end of the first decade of the 2000s.

There are a lot of ways that you can diversify beyond stocks, bonds, savings accounts and other ways to save for your golden years, but investing in gold and other precious metals remains a good strategy. What we want to talk about today are some ways you can go about leveraging these investments to create a strong investment portfolio no matter what kind of cash resources you have right now. Even students in college can purchase gold or silver coins as a way to start their own collection and build some wealth on the side. Gold and silver both have a history of being a safe harbor for wealth; this is why not only do some of the wealthiest individuals in the world have substantial holdings of precious metals, but nations do as well.

When many younger adults think about retirement it seems a long way off, but that is precisely the point. Stocks, bonds, and even cash fluctuate wildly and have done so for decades, but the value of precious metals like silver, gold, and platinum has proven to be relatively consistent. These metals are markers of value and they allow you to put your wealth into physical form - literally. Don't worry, you are not going to have to save up tens of thousands of dollars and buy gold bars to horde, there are plenty of other sensible options out there.

Gold bullion coins are one convenient way to store your wealth that does not require thousands to get started in. You can also look into purchasing silver coins that cost a small amount each or, if you are really industrious, purchase bags of junk silver to store away. There are many ways to get started that are not going to require you to have a lot of capital upfront.

You might also consider converting all or part of an IRA into a self-directed IRA so that you have a precious metals component in your more traditional retirement account. This can be done very easily these days and is a very good way to make sure you have a number of options to help strengthen your retirement portfolio and lower its level of volatility. The closer you get to your golden years, the happier you are going to be if you have not taken a lot of losses and instead have seen growth through sensible investing.

Don't let time pass you by when you can start investing in gold at any age. You can avoid the capital gains tax that is applied to many other more traditional investments and receive an excellent return. If you decide to sell off part of your holdings, then chances are going to be good that you will be able to get your money back on gold or silver even when the dollar is not doing too hot. Good luck doing the same with stocks or bonds when you need the money most.

So think it through, learn more about precious metals investing and find out if this might be a good way to secure your future. You've got to stay sensible if you want to enjoy years that are truly golden.