Younger people joining the precious metals stacking crowd

[Paul]

As the title suggests it appears the we are building a steady group of growing younger folk here on the forum 

 

I would be very interested to know :

 

• what has brought them here?
• what prompted to start investing than traditional saving ?
• how big an influence has the internet / youtube / facebook / social media been in you getting an interest in precious metals ?
• how does your peer group and families feel about this sort of investing and what opinions on it have they gave you ?
• what are their feelings on society / monetary system / world politics and what is going to happen within their lifetime

 

 

Up until this year and joining this forum i thought i was the 'crazy / the odd one ' buying and stacking precious metals, even at the mid 32-33 when i started

 

I thought it was just one of three types of people invested in this sort of stuff

The preserve of the aged/pensionable folk,

Coin collectors lacking in interpersonal skills & bodily hygiene (as i have seen at the couple of coin fairs i have attended

and

High flying City of London banker types / oil sheiks and eccentric billionaire financiers nursing LBMA good delivery bars like James Bond's Blofeld nursing his cat in this lap

 

 

Would be interested to hear young peoples thoughts on this since life is not just what is indoctrinated into you at school 

 

[Danny-boy]

Up until joining this forum i thought i was the 'crazy / the odd one ' buying and stacking precious metals, even at the mid 32-33 when i started

Same here Paul!!!

Great to see some younger members joining lately.

[Ares]

Wanted to buy since 14/15 but didn't have the cash and my dad did it, I got bit, it went from there. Mixture of it actually being intrinsically valuable, the history of it, and the middling to strong odds that in the future it'll be worth more than I paid for it (eventually).

 

Didn't particularly feel that teachers were particularly indoctrinating me and my peers either to be honest.

[oliversw5]

Im 24 am I a young pup?

[Danny-boy]

Im 24 am I a young pup?

Yes!!!

[Paul]

Im 24 am I a young pup?

 

Yup - a young pup for sure 

[Kman]

"young pup" sounds really condescending to me 

[oliversw5]

To be fair, I saw some guy post who was 16 and felt a bit old!

 

Ill throw my 2 pence in though, Ill try and answer each point. 

 

I don't save money at all, I invest it all, I have never had above 1000 in my bank account because I make full use of my overdraft. In my opinion saving money in a bank account is pointless by the time you account for inflation (most the time). I came to the forum to research diversifying my share portfolio which consists of oil shares (I'm a contrarian investor by nature), I wouldn't say I was influenced by social media in anyway, Ive always danced to my own beat and done my own thing; not to say I haven't watched various you tubers to gain valuable information.

 

My mother collects coins world coins and notes, she supports what I do because its only a step further than what she does, the only difference is my coins and bars are linked to the commodity and her collection is not.

 

My thoughts on the monetary system are rather extensive, I find it comical the government are telling people to save their way out of debt. That is the worst advice you could give someone because of the way the fractional reserve system works, the fact that most people believe that a bank can only lend what people deposit is frankly scary at best. When the penny dropped for me and I realised that banks create money out of thin air and then cream the interest I realised that I needed to get my finances in order and Ive been building a portfolio of assets ever since. 

 

In the future, Ive got the yanks down as being marginalised, I think Iran, China and India will yield more power on the global stage. I think Britain needs to act fast and why they don't have a sovereign wealth fund baffles me because the transfer of wealth is only going one way. I think the Euro will stay together but there will be strong changes in how it will work such as tougher immigration policies and countries grabbing more power back to prevent the onslaught of the eastern block flocking to their lands.

 

I don't think it is crazy or odd to stack precious metals. For myself the goal is to have 10% of my wealth portfolio in predominantly gold, I currently have 3 oz of gold and about 50 oz of silver which is about 6% of my portfolio. When the next market crash happens the gold will be the 1st thing I will be selling to top up my equities portfolio because thats when you make the most money.

 

For the record I have attended 4 universities in 3 countries (I work 6 nights a week to fund my further education) and you are right I have never been taught about gold or silver and I study business management which includes lots of topics on finance and investment, infact I once gave a presentation on silver in 2009 as a second year in which my professor who was a investment advisor told me she had never even considered silver before. I should have listened to my gut instead of going into shares at that point because I would have made a killing but oh well.

 

Thats my 2 pence for what its worth

 

ATB

[Scuzzle]

I'm no young pup, I'm in my mid 40's,  I found the site when investigating the cheapest places to buy gold and silver. For many years now I've been saying that gold and silver are good to have in your investment portfolio and advising my family to get some which thy never did, I personally never had enough spare money to invest myself even in small dribs and drabs.  One of my hobbies was restoring and running an old classic car which soaked up all of my spare cash and when that was written off in a road accident I decided the insurance check would buy me some gold and silver to put aside for the future.

 

Personally I see gold as being better than bank interest, if you look at the peaks and troughs in recent months it should be possible to buy half a dozen ounces at £800 and sell when it hits £1000 and make a quick £1200, far better than the 1.5%-2% I would see in a savings account and you might even get away with doing this twice in a year.  I realise the price could tank but I just think too many of the major currencies are too volatile for that to happen.   Silver I see as more long term and there is the possibility that one day it will do what gold has done and rocket in price.  Whatever happens with either gold or silver I am prepared to wait it out as long as it takes.

 

As for the Youtube stackers I'm not sure, many of the Americans seem like nutters with their stack of PM's and their shotgun behind the door waiting on the end of the world.  Personally I'm of the opinion of getting my value when the spot price rockets and my stack will be as an opportunity to increase my savings rather than insurance against a financial reset.  I can see how paying slightly extra for varied coins and flipping them for a profit can help relieve boredom and bring down the average cost of your stack, for every 4 types of coin you pay an extra pound on even of only one fetches an extra 30% a couple of years down the road it brings all 4 down to less than the cheapest coin you could buy at the time.  I'm still learning what those might be.

[HawkHybrid]

 

 

Personally I see gold as being better than bank interest, if you look at the peaks and troughs in recent months it should be possible to buy half a dozen ounces at £800 and sell when it hits £1000 and make a quick £1200, far better than the 1.5%-2% I would see in a savings account and you might even get away with doing this twice in a year.

 

from the charts I've seen, gold mostly goes from

~£750-£785 with the odd jumps outside of

this.(gold one year chart) cycle time maybe

~2 months.

 

does anyone else feel that coin collecting/stacking

is a bit like a real life treasure hunt?

(I'm so due for an ultra rare find ... ehem in pristine

condition, no indecipherable manky coin  ...  )

 

HH

[SilverPirate]

Im 24 am I a young pup?

I got cloths older than you.

[Clancularius]

Mainly me researching on the economy and how silver/gold are forever while all fiat currencies are destined to fail.

I also would've saved my money in a bank but with stories of banks pretty much owning the money you earned and put in the bank rules out that option. I'd much rather save my money in the form of commodities such as silver and gold.

The internet has been a huge factor in getting me involved in precious metals and overall freeing me from the indoctrination taught in schools; without it I wouldn't be here.

Haven't told my peer group and family yet but I will be soon.

My dad has similar feelings to me on world politics and what will happen in our lifetime however only I understand the urgency of what will happen in the next 5-10 years, which is pretty sad as I'm only 16 and can't really get my own house and sustainable job yet.

[Hookythestacker]

Mainly me researching on the economy and how silver/gold are forever while all fiat currencies are destined to fail.

I also would've saved my money in a bank but with stories of banks pretty much owning the money you earned and put in the bank rules out that option. I'd much rather save my money in the form of commodities such as silver and gold.

The internet has been a huge factor in getting me involved in precious metals and overall freeing me from the indoctrination taught in schools; without it I wouldn't be here.

Haven't told my peer group and family yet but I will be soon.

My dad has similar feelings to me on world politics and what will happen in our lifetime however only I understand the urgency of what will happen in the next 5-10 years, which is pretty sad as I'm only 16 and can't really get my own house and sustainable job yet.

Think very carefully before you tell anybody that you stack PM, because you can't untell them so easily. Ask yourself if they need to know and also who they might tell.

[Hookythestacker]

Wanted to buy since 14/15 but didn't have the cash and my dad did it, I got bit, it went from there. Mixture of it actually being intrinsically valuable, the history of it, and the middling to strong odds that in the future it'll be worth more than I paid for it (eventually).

 

Didn't particularly feel that teachers were particularly indoctrinating me and my peers either to be honest.

You didn't notice the indoctrination because they are really good at it. No, I don't believe that either, but I do know a few foil hatters who do.

[HelpingHands]

@Clancularius

I agree with Hooky. If you discuss the mechanics of the banking system that's fine but if you tell friends that you are buying pms you may have problems down the line. You could always point people in the right direction by asking questions such as 'when you deposit money in the bank whose money is it?'.

[Cointreau]

I got cloths older than you.

I have a thirty year old shirt that looks like new.

[MikeOxlong]

A form of saving, numbers on a screen are no fun and I very much want to save for a rainy day. A hobby which I quickly found I enjoy not just holding my coins but researching too.

I guess without an informed community on YouTube I would not have been able to so easily learn about coins + gold silver. The other social media no effect.

It's not something I discuss with friends though it would be met with scorn and derision. My gf thinks it's a bit sad and does not share my enthusiasm but that doesn't bother me!

None will have an informed view on either of these topics, not that they are ever discussed

[Guest]

I am 53 now and when I was 18 I managed to buy 20oz of silver and some Sovs. I sold them when I needed cash and so never followed up and built wealth but building wealth is important and it is fun and it involves short term sacrifice for long term pleasure.

Pm coins are a great way to build wealth but shares are important and property is important.

With the benefit of hindsight the only bit of advice I can give you is try hard to buy assets and Never sell assets except to buy more or get something better with more potential for the future.

[ArthGoch]

Like the posting directly above I am in my early 50's and started 'collecting' in the early 1980's and soon after leaving Uni'.

 

One observation that I have over the years is the amount of people that 'play' with the concept of PMs and for a number of reason they wain in their approach.

 

The biggest factor that I have observed is that peoples priorities change and for the most part this is encapsulated in the Guy Fawkes screen-shoot at the head of this thread. However the need to liquidate the asset more times or not does not come at the time when they have been able to maximize/gain the return on the investment 

 

Thus I think I take a differing approach from many that have posted above and would be cautious in advising younger people to invest in PMs from the outset. If you are disciplined to know your mid and long term objectives I think you could build in a portion of PMs to your investment strategy, but if you are going to need liquidity in the short term PMs should not be considered. When you are in a position to balance short term liquidity vis-a-vis the potential for capital growth this is the time IMHO that you dip your toes into the concept of PM as an investment. 

 

If, and like me, the principle approach had been to 'collect' then by all means enjoy a hobby that can be financially rewarding in the long term

[KevinG]

I see it as a long term investment.  

I don't think it's worth in letting your money stay on the bank. 

The interest rates are getting lower and lower. 

Soon you will have to pay extra to the bankers.

This way i save some money each month.

[jc1989]

I am 31 and got into it as I can't save cash very easily. PM's are a great saving mechanism and obviously I hope they will keep pace with inflation and other economic ups and down.

The internet has been vital to allow me to do research, join forums and make purchases. I listen to podcasts and YouTube videos which are all part of the learning process.

my mum and gf think PM's are good but worry about security and liquidity. ( they don't know where the stash is) lol

Long term I think silver will increase due to demand from industry particular PV solar panels which are being rolled out in more and more countries. I think Gold will hold it's value and if I sell a couple of sovereigns a month in my retirement it will buy me as much as a couple of sovereigns would do in 2015.

I must also admit to getting the bug by playing a computer game called Skyrim where my character went around robbing and pillaging medieval castles/forts/ruins etc... I had a big treasure chest full of gold and wanted some in real life lol

[SilvergunSuperman]

Not sure if 35 qualifies as one of the younger ones on here as I've been quite surprised by how many are around the same age or younger.

 

I first started looking into PMs last summer when I was considering somewhere to put some savings, looking at the usual things like ISAs and premium bonds etc. It was actually my boss who told me a bloke in the pub he knows was buying some gold each month and it got me curious. I looked at sites like Bullion By Post etc which opened my eyes to the variety of gold & silver products available from small sizes upwards and I found the idea of owning some treasure quite appealing.

 

It was around the same time I was doing more and more reading on politics and the global economy, and this further enforced the idea that PMs could be a good option.

 

Only my girlfriend and immediate family know I buy PMs but I don't think they see it as a sensible store of wealth or savings as I do, more a luxury hobby that I am fortunate to be able to afford. I wish my gf would see it differently to be honest as she wants to spend her savings on a house extension we don't need.  I tease her by saying I'd rather bury a 1kg bar of gold in the garden for the same price but I don't think she'll go for that.

[Hookythestacker]

 

 

 I wish my gf would see it differently to be honest as she wants to spend her savings on a house extension we don't need.

 

That's on the big list of things that are Never going to happen   , but at 35 I'm sure you have worked that out. And they never get tired of buying things you don't need. Ever.