Author: Joe

Retirement Advisors Look to Gold and Silver IRAs for Clients

Posted on by Joe

A hedge against inflation in 2024 starts by considering alternative investments. One such alternative investment is purchasing gold and silver bullion. Savvy investors have been hedging inflation and balancing their retirement savings for decades through the acquisition of gold and silver coins and bars.

Some call it diversification when they have ownership in multiple stocks and mutual funds. Purchasing Bonds is another means to diversify a financial portfolio. Few get advised to purchase physical gold and silver as the ownership is not considered sexy and Financial Advisors typically don’t get a commission when recommended.

Do Financial Planners and Family Offices Recommend Gold and Silver?

Financial Advisors and Planners are now doing what’s best for their clients by stabilizing portfolios by purchasing physical gold and silver.

Over the past decade, financial advisors and even media financial advisors like Dave Ramsey have persuaded individuals and clients to buy physical precious metals as an investment.

Starting in 2012, we have seen a strong economy, job growth, and favorable spending habits by consumers. As the recession was starting to be in our rearview mirror stocks and mutual funds were an excellent investment choice few advisors recommended buying physical metals.  The markets were strong over the last 10 years and diversified investment options like physical gold didn’t have a good return on investment compared to those opportunities in the stock market.

Speculative gold mining companies did well over the past several years as the Spot Price of Gold increased and their raw gold was getting better returns. But those companies trade on the traditional stock exchanges and they have significant overhead of leases, equipment, and employees. The return to the individual stock owner was typically less than expected.

What Family Offices have turned to more in the past several years as the Spot Price of Gold and Silver has increased is the purchase of physical bullion.

Buyers of Gold and Silver are not purchasing these Assets for the short term. They purchase physical coins and bars for the long-term hold and to offset inflation. The dollar declines, product prices increase, and gold and silver hold stable.

Now with inflation on the rise and many investors worried about the future, advisors are looking to diversify their clients’ portfolios by purchasing physical gold.

Investment in Gold and Silver may see strong returns over the next few years and investors looking to keep their principal and who are not as bullish in the current stock market will look to buy precious metals.

 

Goldco Gold IRA

Purchase Gold and Silver with CASH Savings vs. using a Self-Directed IRA?

When buying physical precious metals, one should consider these options.

  • Purchase with Cash – Cash Savings on Hand – Contact a Precious Metals Company – Fund Your Account and Purchase the bullion.
  • Purchase within an SDIRA – Rolling Over an Existing IRA or 401k allows you to keep retirement funds intact. The Best Option Today for those looking to purchase $20,000 or more in physical gold or silver is Goldco.

How does one decide which gold or silver IRA company to buy from? Reading reviews on gold IRA companies is a good place to start. We reviewed The Plug’s 5 Best Gold IRA Companies page and they provided insights and share information that would take hours to find and review. Having a source that puts the best precious metals dealers options in one place and lets investors know which companies have good reviews and which companies are accredited by the Better Business Bureau saves time.

Precious Metals IRA companies are not all the same. Made more popular in the last 15 years these companies can walk an investor through the paperwork to get the  SDIRA opened, and funded, and you can buy gold in a short period. If you choose to make your IRA an LLC then there is more paperwork and tax recording, but having the ability to control your physical gold or silver investments allows you to control your future.

If you decide to use funds from your savings versus any current IRA or 401k, then working with a Gold IRA Company is still the best choice. These companies sell only the best and highest quality metals to ensure their clients are completely satisfied before a purchase is made. The depth of knowledge, the explanation of precious metals investing, the educational sources, and more are given by these businesses to ensure complete knowledge before any purchase is made.

Owning a Metals as a Physical Asset

When you own physical gold you own an asset. When you own a physical asset you determine the safest method of storage. If you have a secure safe or secure location,  then you can choose to hold your asset yourself. Purchasing with CASH allows you to hold the metal physically and securely at home or any place you choose. However, many banks don’t allow physical metals secured in safety deposit boxes. Check with your bank before you buy.

If you are rolling over a retirement account into a precious metals IRA you cannot take possession of the physical gold yourself. You must place the gold in a secured storage facility.  In addition, when you purchase within your IRA there are specific IRS-approved gold or silver assets you can buy. The IRS has a list of the specific approved items on their website or you can work with a representative with one of the recommended IRA companies. These companies have specific knowledge of the assets they sell that would be approved for your IRA.

Tighten up on your retirement account and diversify your portfolio with alternative investment options. Get onboard with the financial planners and advisors who are recommending diversification of investments for the immediate future.

Final Thoughts on Gold and Silver SDIRA for Diversification

The retirement vehicle of an IRA is a valuable asset to invest for retirement. The Self-Directed IRA is not an option many traditional investors think about or are presented by their advisors. We hope you take some of this information and choose to think outside the box when it comes to retirement savings and providing for your family after your death.

What better way to conserve your retirement for the 10, 20, 30, or more years of retirement than by owning physical bullion?

So check out the company and articles we mentioned above and get more information to educate yourself before you make your next investment decision.

 

A Budget Is My Friend

Posted on by Joe
This article was revived from the old budgetwisefinancial.com website with the help of archive.org. This information was repurposed for those looking for the old website.

As I was preparing this article on budgeting for the Women’s Money Week 2012, I thought what more can be said about this subject.  Over the last year or two, it has been the most talked about subject for personal money management.   I know that budgets are not sexy.  I am not going to tell you how to budget or why budget.  I wrote about these not too long ago.

Instead, I am going to try to paint a rosy picture.  Budgeting is not straining your dollars just to pay bills or to put the handcuff on you.    The process gives you the freedom to live the life you want to live.   Without a plan, money tends to shift to the area of least resistance.  That’s the hole in your purse.  The short term immediate gratification will win every time.  You will not make the hard decision.   I am not going to say that the budget makes everything perfect. There is more to successful personal money management than budgeting.   But, you will feel better knowing that you have a plan for your spending.

Instead of focusing on the short term discomfort starting a budget may cause, think of what you will gain.   Let’s do a little exercise.  What do you really want to do that is fun?  If I asked you what you want to accomplish, you will probably feel obligated to give me a grown up, financially responsible answer, like get out of debt or save for retirement.  These are cool, but not always fun.  Life is to be lived and enjoyed, as well.

So instead, if money was not an object and you could be, do, or have whatever you want in 2013, what would it be?  Get that picture in your mind. Write it down with a date when you will possess it. Begin planning and saving for it, even if it is $10.  Now start moving: call and get prices or go out and touch and see it, if is a physical product.   Instead of doing the obvious, like whipping out a credit card or asking someone to get it for you, think about how you will obtain it creatively.

Now when you spend money frivolously, think about that goal. By default, you are changing your behavior to think and plan ahead.  You have identified a more rewarding reason in the future to curtail your spending in the present.   If you really desire X, over time, that desire should override the impulsive purchases.   When you buy something that you shouldn’t, an internal alarm will sound. That is your subconscious mind trying to help you.  Don’t ignore it, listen to it.  Before long, you will find yourself enjoying more of the things you really want to be, do or have.

This post is part of Women’s Money Week 2012. For more posts about budgeting see Budgeting Roundup.

Samirian Hill, “The MoneyWise Teacher” is founder and president of BudgetWise Financial Solutions, LLC, where they teach people to manage money wisely. She is a financial educator, contributing writer and blogger. She enjoys golfing, cooking, and reading.