My mom is buying gold

[Ex Lurker]

$5000, more or less, worth of Dutch guilders. She's a faithful Fox news watcher and I guess all the gold ads have sunk in. In our family it's considered impolite to talk about things like politics, so we don't much. We have a great relationship otherwise, and as far as I'm concerned, she's entitled to her opinions. I just hope she didn't get ripped off completely. She intends to keep them in a safe deposit box at the bank. I didn't have the heart to tell her that if the shit hits the fan bad enough to need the gold, she ain't gonna be getting into that deposit box.

[NJGeek]

1. I just sold mine

Smart money saying gold near highs and possibly going to retreat

[babylonsister]

2. Does she know how much she'll actually get for $5K? Not a whole

lot. She might be disappointed.

[Ex Lurker]

3. after commission and shpping I figure she'll be getting four 1 oz coins

it's a bad deal, but she already sent the check and it didn't seem worth arguing about at that point.

[babylonsister]

5. You're right, nothing you can do. Hug her, and tell her

she's out of her mind? :shrug: Nah, not Mom. Take comfort it was only $5K?

[Ex Lurker]

7. I hope it's only 5K

if she plans on making more of these purchases, we may have to have a talk.

[babylonsister]

9. Ugh. This is not the way you want mom to spend her kids' inheritance.

She might think she's doing the right thing, but sounds like an intervention might be needed.

Give Mom a hug.

[Ex Lurker]

10. maybe so, I think I'm going to quiz her about her plans

my dad has a good, secure pension, so they're well fixed and this is hardly going to bankrupt them. It might even not be a bad idea to own a small amount of gold, although she probably paid way too much for it. I just don't want her sinking her entire savings into this. I'm trying to be mindful of boundaries, too. They're in their seventies, but mentally/physically sharp and very independent. I don't want to butt in to their affairs, but it may be wise to find out more about her intentions.

[Statistical]

24. Hopefully she gets 4 1oz coins.

If she ends up w/ 4 oz of bullion then she only lost 10% or so in the trade.

However is she went with someone like goldline...... :( Well let's just hope she didn't go with Goldine.

Hell they could have sold her 2.5 oz of "ultra rare" coins and she traded $5,000 cash for $2,800 in gold.

Depending on how much of a scam artist the dealer is markup can be brutal.

[Freetradesucks]

4. The worst is yet to come...

Hard currency may not be a bad idea right now. Unless you think good times are on th horizon, and I don't.

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. The more posts like this I see on DU, the more I buy equities.

Du has become an almost perfect contraindicator. As more folks like you post their opinion that the "worst is yet to come" or "we're all screwed" or "The US is finished" the more I am convinced to buy into the market.

When the sentiment on DU peaked a year ago last March, that the world was coming to an end and the Dow would surely plummet to 3000, only to see the Dow stop its downward trend at 6450, turn around on a dime and gain back 4000 points in short order, I knew DU was the perfect contrarian bellwether.

The more posts I see about buying Gold, the more I know to sell gold short and the more posts I see about our economy going to complete shit, the more I am confident we will bounce back.

If you had invested exactly the opposite of the sentiment of this board over the last 24 months, you would have done very well.

Edited for content

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. The amount of TEOTWAWKI here is at times surprising

different tone than the survivalist bubbas, but TEOTWAKI none the less.

[girl gone mad]

20. That's an odd reason to give your money..

to a bunch of criminals and thugs, but whatever floats your boat.

[Hawkowl]

25. 80% of equities is HFT

Computers trading with other computers. And you feel comfortable with this?

[niyad]

6. maybe you should show her the current issue of mother jones--and the lead article,

titled "the golden fleece" about glen and the gold.

[Stevenmarc]

8. Brilliant, buy gold when the price is high, someone was pretty late to the party.

The bubble will burst way before shit meets fan.

[Liberty Belle]

11. I'll never buy gold again, after judging an investigative piece

written by a reporter who went undercover into a mine in South Africa. After learning how the gold mining not only endangers miners' lives, but how pollution from the mines imperils villagers, I gave up buying gold jewelry and the other contest judges did the same.
Gold to me symbolizes greed and evil. Here is a story about the winning entry, Hooked on a Gold Rush: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/home/moslive/article-444383/Hooked-gold-rush.html

Instead I now take pleasure from wearing jewelry such as Acholi beads, which are beautiful, brightly colored beads made from recycled magazines by women in Uganda. They were war refugees living in a slum and working in a rock quarry before an American in our area saw them, brought some jewelry to the US and began getting it sold through gift shops and galleries. He started a Fair Trade business that today allows all of these women to earn as much as a school teacher and provide a decent way of live for their families.

[Grey]

14. I would love to recommend your post.

That is such a good story.

[niyad]

16. would you post this as a separate OP?

[earthside]

15. Silver and Gold.

I invested in silver and gold and precious metal stocks about six years ago when I saw this economic debacle coming (remember when the "smart" money was telling us that there wasn't a housing bubble).

Well, while most folks took a bath in their 401Ks full of corporate equities, I did great, and I'm still ahead.

Now, is gold nearing a high? Is it about to retreat? I don't think so. As long as unemployment stays above seven percent, as long as foreclosures keep breaking records, as long as we have streaks of declining retail sales, as long as the Dow roller coasters up and down hundreds of points ... I think gold and such is a prudent investment.

When it comes to protecting my puny amount of capital for retirement, I'm not going to let an idiot like Glenn Beck influence me one way or another. The important thing is to do what will benefit you.

[Axle_techie]

17. If done right

Gold can be a smart investment. Done right is not ordering it over the TV ads, but going to estate sales, auctions, flea markets, etc. with a magnifying glass and knowledge of gold markings. Made many hundreds of dollars doing it small time...

Course, nowadays you can just get it from a vending machine. http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/27/news/companies/gold_atm/index.htm

[Cleita]

18. Gold is not a good investment.

Tell her that. In the future it will be only worth what someone wants to give her for it, like jewelry. There is no wealth in those things like gold, silver and diamonds anymore.

[spin]

21. Gold is something you buy low and sell high ...

As with stocks, the problem is the timing.

Some say that gold is a hedge against inflation. I once heard that in the Old West a cowboy could buy a new Colt Peacemaker revolver for a $20 gold piece. Today, that same gold piece could buy you a new high quality revolver.

[Cleita]

22. It's not even that anymore. It's just decorative.

Back when we had a gold standard against the dollar it was worth something, but if you really had to rely on your jewelry these days to survive, you wouldn't get much. Your Gucci boots, your iPod and other electronic gear might be worth more if you needed to trade for food and water in a Mad Max world.

[Mimosa]

26. That is so true

Everybody has jewelry of some sort. But you can't eat gold.

[Warpy]

19. Just make sure she doesn't buy any more

Gold is a hedge against inflation, but it doesn't generate any income at all from interest or dividends. In addition, it's a particularly bad deal now because there's a bubble in that particular market which has risen much faster than the inflation rate.

Be glad it's only $5000 and not everything she owns. When the bubble pops, the price won't go to zero, but it will fall.

[Onceuponalife]

23. Did she get the idea from Glenn Beckkk?

I just read this article 2 days ago. If it's not too late, you should have your Mom look at it. It might save her thousands of dollars.

http://motherjones.com/special-reports/2010/05/glenn-becks-golden-fleece

[onethatcares]

27. keep this in mind.

if and when the defecation hits the whirling blades, that gold is gonna be as worthless as the paper money. Who is gonna carry change for a 50 dollar gold piece paid for 5 bananas and a loaf of bread? Or in other words, what are you going to get for that gold? Paper money worth paper?

The gold scam is just that. Better to buy canned goods and ammo.:wtf:

[Gaedel]

29. If things just get a "little bit bad"

If we don't go t a complete Mad max scenario, but just have a stock market disaster, China calls in the dollar denominated debt, and the US government just lets the treasury printing presses roll (like Germany in the 1920s), then the gold buyers would prove to be pretty damn smart.

[the other one]

28. Gold is smart.

It has retained it's position as a store of value for thousands of years, and that won't change soon or ever.

Inflation adjusted it is still cheap by historical standards. Price target is $2200.

Buy from and sell to your local coin dealer for the best price and for anonymous transactions.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

32. I want to recall there are new 1099 rules with a threshold of $700

Which if true and upheld, cars, coins, etc will be generating a lot more paperwork

[era veteran]

30. Anytime they are selling on TV is a bad time to buy.

That's why they are selling!! BTW Glen Bekkerhead pimps gold too.

[EstimatedProphet]

31. There's nothing wrong with buying gold sensibly

There's plenty wrong with buying it as part of a scam.

[Bloofer_Lady]

33. Reminds me of that Twilight Zone episode where gold isn't worth anything in the future.

I would stock up on food or something more tangible.