Advise a high school student!

wheatguy

I began collecting coins about 5 years ago in middle school, and gradually lost interest after about three years. Through a couple of small "entrepreneurial" ventures over the past few years in which I bought and sold electronics via Craigslist, I've managed to save a bit of money and recently purchased about $40 face in 90% silver. I have about $500 left and was debating with myself whether I should either:

Use the rest or a solid chunk of my funds to purchase silver, gold, or if I should wait for PM's to possibly go lower before buying again. I wanted to buy some because I do not have any immediate need for the money and wanted to sock away some silver/gold for a few years.

I know there's no magic solution or definite answer, just wanted to hear some members' opinions and input.

Thanks in advance.

carew4me

Stay liquid. keep it in cash. $40 is 90% is nothing to sneeze at and a nice start.
I have a teenager, something will come up and you will need the green.

derryb

Have a good understanding of WHY you are buying PMs. Know what makes them desireable and know what does not. Unless you're spending a fortune, catching a bottom is not as important as adding to your holdings. If PMs eventually reach the price that you expect, it will not matter if you bought silver at $20 or at $15.

Do not buy PMs for the quick buck. Buy them for long term, deep space storage.

MGLICKER

Rather than locking the money away in metals, consider reinvesting the money in the business that you have been doing well at.

Precious metals are generally a good idea, but they make folks old and grumpy.

mkman123

you already have a good start with the 40 fv 90%. I say put that $500 aside in case of emergency/savings and anytime you have extra money buy some extra pms with it but that $500 you may need at any notice for emergencies and whatnot

lcoopie

I think you should invest the money in electronics via Craigslist
and consider numismatics a hobby.

wheatguy

Thank you guys for the input. I would reinvest the funds but I no longer have the time nor energy to do so because of the rigor of the classes I am enrolled in this year so I figured I might as well put the money into PM's instead of keeping the money laying around. Silver, to me, does not seem like it will go much lower so I thought it might be a good idea.

The advice to keep the money in case of emergencies is a good one, and I believe I will do that unless a very good deal for a little more of silver comes up.

SaorAlba

When you get into PM you are thinking longhaul. I still have most of the PM I bought even as teenager - and that was a while ago. Crazily enough I have two krugerrands I bought when I was about 17 that ended up sinking me for about 20+ years, but nowadays they are worth more than twice what I paid for them. PM's are a longterm insurance policy - not to be trifled with for funds to take a girl out on a date or something. Best to keep cash aside for important things like that.

ricko

PM's are definitely long haul, but it is also wise to have a cash reserve.....Cheers, RickO

erickso1

As others have said, if you are planning on holding for that time frame you'd probably be better off in cash ( or short term CDs. Very short term). You won't earn much, but you'll be liquid.

mhammerman

You obviously have some kind of business acumen or at the least, an interest in business. It might be best to save your cash bullets for something you may want to do that will require some start up money.

Putting a little silver away as a form of savings is a good enhancement to your long term wherewithal. I know a guy that bought a house with 90% that he had been faithfully stacking away. If you will put a little 90% back when you have some extra cash, it won't be long till you have a pretty nice stash. It is easier if you set a goal for yourself, like $100 face of 90% or something like that because it will give you that extra nudge to try and achieve your goal. After you meet that goal then go on to smoething else like ASE's or numismatics.

Doubtful that planning on liquidating your silver as part of your business plan is a good strategy because the value of silver at the time you need the cash may not be in your best interests. The good thing is that 90% is very liquid and can be turned into cash quickly. I never saw a downside to stashing some 90% as a form of savings...but that's just me.

jmski52

I agree with the idea of holding some cash back while adding a little 90% over time as a savings strategy. So, my advice is to seek out another $200 in 90% silver if you can find a reasonable deal, and put the other $300 aside for contingencies.

bronco2078

You could always use your cash to roll search and keep whatever silver you find.

derryb

<< <i>You could always use your cash to roll search and keep whatever silver you find. >>


And the winner is. . .

Have your bank order you a $500 box of silver halves. Keep the 90% kennedys (1964) and the 40% kennedys (1965-1969) and return everything else to a different bank. If you take them back to the same bank, they may refrain from ordering you more in the future. If you carefully uncurl one wrapper end with your fingernails, you can repack the paper rolls for your returns.

hchcoin

<< <i>You could always use your cash to roll search and keep whatever silver you find. >>



I really like this idea! In my town, we have a large national bank that will accept your searched through half dollars without blinking an eye. In addition, since you are in high school, the tellers will be more likely to help you out and not care about returning the silver. Just be polite and thankful. The tellers at my bank bend over backwards to help my kids when roll searching.

scotty1419

<< <i>

<< <i>You could always use your cash to roll search and keep whatever silver you find. >>


And the winner is. . .

Have your bank order you a $500 box of silver halves. . >>



Let me know where I can place my order!

wheatguy

I hadn't thought of the CRH idea, I'll definitely give it a shot over the summer when I have more free time.

dontippet

I like the searching idea was well. I'm not too thrilled about the cash idea only because it is easy as a teenager to blow $500 without even thinking about it. If you kept roll searching, then you continuously have that money earmarked.

roadrunner

Plan your bigger PM purchases around the usual 6 month bottoms that tend to occur in Dec-Jan and June-July each year. In those instances you can at least know that a rising market will not be far away. Don't chase prices
either once they are well underway. There's no reason you can't sell 1/3 of what you bought at those dips into the highs typically seen in March-May and October-November of each year. There's no guarantee that we ever
see $50 silver again...or even $35 for that matter. Take it 6 months at a time then see where you stand. No one knows where gold and silver will be in 5-10 yrs from now even if we think we can forecast it. Let buying low
and selling higher be your guide.

TwoSides2aCoin

My advice,… if you're not going to college, find a partner who is, and learn how to cook.

wheatguy

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Roadrunner, that concept of 6-month lows and highs is new to me and is very interesting, I'll definitely have to look into that.



<< <i>My advice,… if you're not going to college, find a partner who is, and learn how to cook. >>



I initially took this as a Breaking Bad reference, but a four-year university is definitely in my future plans.

Burks

I don't have much to offer in the way of help but what I can offer is encouragement.

Congrats on taking steps to secure your financial future. I'm 28 and didn't start my career or retirement until I was almost 27. So I'm about 4-5 years BEHIND where I want to be. It's going to take a lot of hard work and sacrifice to get caught up. You are ahead of the ball game. Keep it up. You have a bright future.