Been looking @ lots of information on Gold and the prices ect of it.

Has anyone invested in it
If so have you ideas of the best way to do it?

Even thought im *only* 18 I feel i need to plan way ahead as the future of our country(The U.K) wont be very rosie as far as i can see. So i want to get as much money behind me as I can and have it in a solid, strong, setting so that losses are kept to a minimum and hopefully so profits could be made.

I already have a high interest tax free ISA that im putting money into most months (Plus the lump sum i Put in @ the start) But if the bank fails (Anything could be possible-by the looks of it- its HSBC btw) then problems would start(I know its 'protected' but do you trust the government???). I have that and i have a currect account in a different bank. I just dont want all my eggs in one basket,no matter how well construsted i suppose.


So, Enuf ramblins

What do you think about investment ideas/ investing in gold?

Thanks for reading.

Actually I'd invest in petrol...
I'd build a huge hangar to store it in, so when the price go too high or there isn't any more petrol I'll be able to sell it at explosive (haha) prices!

Or I'd actually use it to drive a V8 Mustang that I'd have bought at a ridiculous price since rendered useless, when everyone would have tiny electro-tricycles with La cucaracha horns...(yes my vision of futur transport is pretty spooky)

NEXT!

Right now gold is losing value, so wait for it to slow down and if possible level off before investing, otherwise you'll end up with less than you paid for before your gold even arrives on your doorstep.

Linky, and it is hardly a cheap investment at $828p/oz.

Metal is always going up and down in price. For example, scrap has dropped very low now, it always drops near christmas but not this much, stupid credit crunch. Prices of Gold wont stay at one price is will always be going up and down in price.

Thanks for that.

Do you have any ideas of the best places to buy it?

I see buillionvault crops up alot.

Im not expecting it to be a cheap investment-but tbh i dont have much else to spend it on.No point me burning it away on fun stuff like Ps3's and booze(I dont drink much really) Im doing ok, work in a solicitors at the moment so iv got a good steady wage comming in and I live @ home- in a year or so my parents guna be moving to the house in ireland we built so my parents can rent the house we have here to me. Theres no mortgage to worry about ethier.

Quote from sam93 :

Metal is always going up and down in price. For example, scrap has dropped very low now, it always drops near christmas but not this much, stupid credit crunch. Prices of Gold wont stay at one price is will always be going up and down in price.

Naturally, but you want to hold off for the lowest price you can get to maximise profits. Which is where the risk, foresight, ability to read a lot of data and expensive programs that predict the future (I made one in college with ~15% accuracy, not great but interesting exercise) come in.

You don't want to buy your gold at $800p/oz as even if they go back up to $900p/oz you've only made $100p/oz, so you'd want to wait for $750p/oz or less (in the last 12 months that is about the lowest it has dropped). That said in the current market with everyone buying gold and oil you probably won't see the prices fall much more.

[edit: Read this and talk to the bank, they will either tell you where you need to be to buy gold, or laugh at you.[

Quote from mongoosetierney :

Been looking @ lots of information on Gold and the prices ect of it.

Has anyone invested in it
If so have you ideas of the best way to do it?

Even thought im *only* 18 I feel i need to plan way ahead as the future of our country(The U.K) wont be very rosie as far as i can see. So i want to get as much money behind me as I can and have it in a solid, strong, setting so that losses are kept to a minimum and hopefully so profits could be made.

I already have a high interest tax free ISA that im putting money into most months (Plus the lump sum i Put in @ the start) But if the bank fails (Anything could be possible-by the looks of it- its HSBC btw) then problems would start(I know its 'protected' but do you trust the government???). I have that and i have a currect account in a different bank. I just dont want all my eggs in one basket,no matter how well construsted i suppose.


So, Enuf ramblins

What do you think about investment ideas/ investing in gold?

Thanks for reading.

Investing in Gold is not a bad idea, but not for everyone, nor that easy.

You're savings should be secure, I would expect to have another 12/18 months of the current financial climate before things start to improve, so unless you're investing a lot of money...the £35,000 guaranteed saving limit will not be crossed (I know I have'nt, and I've been saviing for 2 years now ). In all honesty, the most safest place for you're money at the current time is in 'Northen Rock', controlled by the government it is unlikely that will fail, nor be returned to money men looking for a big profit at the expense of the customers anytime soon. It may not be the most profitable in terms of rates of interest, but it's safe enough for the time being.

Secondly, don't panic, it's not great...but not as bad as the press have made it out to be (I love watching ITN news, it's like the producers ask "how scary can we make the news today guys?" only for someone to reply "I know lets tell them all that everyone is out to get them, while nicking their jobs and shagging their dogs at the same time...that should get middle England in a twist....we'll just tell the Scots that there all going to die when Independence comes hahahaha" nb. they always seem to forget the Welsh:shrug. The Northen Rock fiasco wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the press leaking out that they were going to go through a 'lean' spell. If the bank still had all the customers instead of them running away then they would have survived. But the press whipped up the frenzy and then the rest is history so to speak.

Thirdly, watch the pension, if you have one. Mine had a high risk policy in which 50% of my payments was used to by shares in high risk markets. I've since reduced my high risk shares to 20% (I like the gamble) while the rest is in safer markets.

Fourthly never trust the Nigerian bankers.

I wasn't just talking about gold. In scrap metal the prices per tonne for non ferris metals like copper fell £300 overnight, it is still going down now, hopefully it will go back up after christmas, it wont go up before christmas though as scrap always drops just before christmas.

Im not panicing just looking ahead and reckoning that there wont be much of a state pension left by the time i (We?) get to that age. Mabye il just die spectacularly @ around 55...could be fun.

um...moving on.


Pension, il have to look into that thanks, but i doubt il be in this company til i retire. Or are the pension's 'transferable'- not in the literal sense but i mean would they not be nulled if i left within a certain time. *note to go look @ contract of employment added to brain*

Quote from Paranoid Android :

Actually I'd invest in petrol...

It can't be stored in the long term. Over the course of years, the composition changes (lighter chemicals evaporate) and the possibility of contamination increases exponentially. It's a short-term commodity; that's why the oil futures market works the way it does.

Back on topic, stockpiling gold is an extremely wise move with the current global economy, especially in the US. As P5YcHoM4N already mentioned the market has been fluctuating wildly recently, but the general trend of the past ten years or so has been sharply upward. So I would make a purchase sooner rather than later.

Quote from mongoosetierney :

Im not panicing just looking ahead and reckoning that there wont be much of a state pension left by the time i (We?) get to that age. Mabye il just die spectacularly @ around 55...could be fun.

um...moving on.


Pension, il have to look into that thanks, but i doubt il be in this company til i retire. Or are the pension's 'transferable'- not in the literal sense but i mean would they not be nulled if i left within a certain time. *note to go look @ contract of employment added to brain*

Most pension are, the one I've got is arranged by the bank in partnership with the bank. If I was too move job, my new employer would start to make payments, but at the starting level, and not the level I was getting if I was in my previous employment after 5 years. It's defenately worth looking into because most people leave it late to save for their retirement and that truly is in the long run

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7657178.stm


What do we think?

Anyway iv opened an account on BullionVault.com But i wont be buying any just yet.

MoneySavingExpert.com would be a much better place to ask this question - Interesting thread here.

As a general rule of thumb - invest 10% of your savings in Gold, and hope you never need to use it!

The protected savings limit is now at £50k btw.

The value of Gold will go up in the recession (imo) because people like you are buying it because currency seems to be worth less and less - but at the same time if it sorts itself out then there could be a flood of Gold on the market...

Quote from mongoosetierney :

What do you think about investment ideas/ investing in gold?

When investing keep a cool head and don't follow the crowd, look for value. When everyone is running scared it is a good time to be looking to buy solid long term investments like property in good locations or bluechip shares in solid companies. Be paitent though and only buy if you can get it at a good price (i.e. below fair value). It's not what you sell something for but what you buy it at that counts the most. Having cash available to buy in times of crisis is a very valuable thing as most will have their's locked up in assets or be to scared to do anything.

Invest in Gold? I'm not so sure that would be a good idea at this time. Gold has had a great run already over the last five years and I suspect that if you are a buyer of gold now you would most likely be buying it from smart money that has been in gold for sometime and now is looking for value elsewhere.

As for investment ideas I could fill pages and pages on stock market, currency or property related ideas, but at the end of the day the best way to invest is in something you know really well and have a strong interest. If there isn't anything like that you can think of then pick something and start small while learning.

People loose the most when they chop and change based on fear or greed not having any real strategy. Often in a very bullish market people start gearing their investments aggresssively and then when markets have tanked and fullen substantly they change to a conservative approach. What they are doing is the exact opposite to what will make the most money long term. When markets are down and depressed thats when you need to start investing aggressively and as the markets turn bullish and everyone is getting caught up in the fervor of it all you should at that point be adjusting your strategy to conservative approach getting ready for the next down cycle so that when it does occur your cashed up ready to take advantage of good value when you see it. If you follow the crowd you will end up buying high and selling low every time.