Gold has been around for centuries and it is often considered as a symbol of wealth and power from then till now.

Precious metals, in particular gold, has always been a popular investment choice for investors.

Why would you want to invest in gold?

Generally, people invest in or purchase gold for 3 reasons:

1. They are looking for an alternative investment to the share market.
2. They want to hedge (protect) themselves against economic crisis or currency crisis.
3. They want to make money from the increase in gold prices

For no 1, this is normally done for diversification purposes. You’ve already invested in the stock market, properties and now you want to invest in other assets.

For no 2, this is due to the fact that gold prices normally acts in reverse (or negatively correlated) to the economy and the currency. Meaning, if the currency weakens (value of the currency goes down), the price of gold will increase, and vice versa.

For no 3, well, that’s why people invest isn’t it? They ride on the increase in price. For this case, they invest when the gold price increases.

Currently, the US Dollars is weakening and the gold price is increasing - which begs to the question -

Is this the time to invest in gold?

My opinion, yes, this is the time. I personally have begun to invest in gold for these two reasons - the weakening of the US currency and the uncertainty of the recovery of the economy.

Well, look at the gold charts and it will tell you. Or go to the jewelery store and have your gold valued - you’ll be pleasantly surprised that the current value of your gold is greater than the time when you purchased it.

For me, investment in gold is always for the long-run. Well, you can speculate and watch the gold price movement like a hawk, but it will be easier if you do that in the stock market.

Ways you can invest in gold

There are a few ways you can invest in gold.

The usual way is to buy gold ornaments (your wife would love that idea) or to purchase gold coins or purchase gold bullion.

You can also invest in gold through exchange traded funds (or ETFs) or invest shares of companies which operates gold mine or companies which sells gold.

A more sophiscated or savvy investor can also look at commodities, derivatives or spread betting.

Whichever way you like, you should follow what you are comfortable with.

In summary, investment in gold is always a good alternative to invest in shares. While you’re expanding your investment, you may wanna put gold as one of your investment preference.

Photo courtesy of motoyen

Please read the disclaimer

Other posts that you may be interested in:

• Credit card debt - why you shouldn’t pay the minimum amount
• Powerful methods to get you out of your credit card debt
• The secret to having money

Collection of Articles On Personal Finance (Carnivals):

• Carnival of everything about personal finance - 9th Edition
• Carnival of everything about personal finance - 8th Edition
• Carnival of everything about personal finance - 7th Edition
• Carnival of everything about personal finance - 6th Edition
• Carnival of everything about personal finance - 5th Edition

…

…

Popularity: 11% [?]