I Bask in the Awesomeness of Gold

[Cortopassi]

...to tweak me emotionally to no end. 

Part of me hopes it goes sub $1000 to wash nearly everyone out.

This is where I am not supposed to be watching daily...

[mathjak107]

or possibly yearly.  it just seems to have no bottom .  it hit 5 year lows  today.

[Libertarian666]

You guys should be happy you don't have my asset allocation. If you did, you would probably be suicidal at this point.

[buddtholomew]

You guys should be happy you don't have my asset allocation. If you did, you would probably be suicidal at this point.

How are you coping?

[Libertarian666]

You guys should be happy you don't have my asset allocation. If you did, you would probably be suicidal at this point.

How are you coping?

I'm fine, since I have enough cash to support my spending in "retirement" for at least a couple of years, and I also have other assets that are doing okay although not fabulously. I'm also working on a personal project that looks as though it might be very profitable, although of course that is not a sure thing.

The result of all this is that I don't have to sell any gold for several years at minimum, by which time I expect some of the simmering crises to erupt and push it back up.

[mathjak107]

You guys should be happy you don't have my asset allocation. If you did, you would probably be suicidal at this point.

what are the allocations ?

[Libertarian666]

You guys should be happy you don't have my asset allocation. If you did, you would probably be suicidal at this point.

what are the allocations ?

Very roughly 50% gold, 35% Swiss Francs, 5% silver, 5% cash.

[gizmo_rat]

Very roughly 50% gold, 35% Swiss Francs, 5% silver, 5% cash.

For some reason I thought you were 100% gold.

The Swiss Francs has thrown me, is it a long term stability type hold or an expectation of the masters of the universe doing the job properly next time ?

[mathjak107]

You guys should be happy you don't have my asset allocation. If you did, you would probably be suicidal at this point.

what are the allocations ?

Very roughly 50% gold, 35% Swiss Francs, 5% silver, 5% cash.

i agree , i would shoot myself for making a bet on such a wild shot that the dollar would collapse and hyper inflation would soar.  i think i would have preferred vegas with those odds and at least got dinner and a show .

just curious why you would make a speculation like that and bet the ranch on it too?  how long have you been doing this ?

[Libertarian666]

Very roughly 50% gold, 35% Swiss Francs, 5% silver, 5% cash.

For some reason I thought you were 100% gold.

The Swiss Francs has thrown me, is it a long term stability type hold or an expectation of the masters of the universe doing the job properly next time ?

I bought some Swiss annuities while they were still available for purchase by Americans. They are paying 2% or so, which is a lot better than I can get anywhere else, and I like the long-term prospects of the Swiss Franc relative to the US dollar.

[Libertarian666]

what are the allocations ?

Very roughly 50% gold, 35% Swiss Francs, 5% silver, 5% cash.

i agree , i would shoot myself for making a bet on such a wild shot that the dollar would collapse and hyper inflation would soar.  i think i would have preferred vegas with those odds and at least got dinner and a show .

just curious why you would make a speculation like that and bet the ranch on it too?  how long have you been doing this ?

I have had a very large gold allocation for many years, but most of what I have I bought in the late 90's, at an original cost basis of about $400/oz. overall. So I'm still up quite a bit from my entry price.

Hope that helps.

[sixdollars]

Very roughly 50% gold, 35% Swiss Francs, 5% silver, 5% cash.

i agree , i would shoot myself for making a bet on such a wild shot that the dollar would collapse and hyper inflation would soar.  i think i would have preferred vegas with those odds and at least got dinner and a show .

just curious why you would make a speculation like that and bet the ranch on it too?  how long have you been doing this ?

I have had a very large gold allocation for many years, but most of what I have I bought in the late 90's, at an original cost basis of about $400/oz. overall. So I'm still up quite a bit from my entry price.

Hope that helps.

How have you handled gold/silver storage?  I imagine you have quite a large stash by now and am assuming most of it is held in physical form.

Also, if my math is correct 50 + 35 + 5 + 5 = 95.  Where is the remaining 5%??

[mathjak107]

storage fees    lol

[sixdollars]

storage fees    lol

hah, to be fair, it's probably similar in many ways to a mutual fund expense ratio (depends on the absolute value of storage fees)... though I guess you might argue that gold has not returned what stocks have to make up for this - of course this ultimately depends on your time horizon and whether you think the past results predict future performance

[gizmo_rat]

I bought some Swiss annuities while they were still available for purchase by Americans. They are paying 2% or so, which is a lot better than I can get anywhere else, and I like the long-term prospects of the Swiss Franc relative to the US dollar.

Nice, I think I'd sleep soundly with that portfolio if I'd had it for quite a while.

[Libertarian666]

I bought some Swiss annuities while they were still available for purchase by Americans. They are paying 2% or so, which is a lot better than I can get anywhere else, and I like the long-term prospects of the Swiss Franc relative to the US dollar.

Nice, I think I'd sleep soundly with that portfolio if I'd had it for quite a while.

That's why I still have it. Whenever I think about changing it, I think about the additional risks I would be taking, and decide not to bother.

[Libertarian666]

i agree , i would shoot myself for making a bet on such a wild shot that the dollar would collapse and hyper inflation would soar.  i think i would have preferred vegas with those odds and at least got dinner and a show .

just curious why you would make a speculation like that and bet the ranch on it too?  how long have you been doing this ?

I have had a very large gold allocation for many years, but most of what I have I bought in the late 90's, at an original cost basis of about $400/oz. overall. So I'm still up quite a bit from my entry price.

Hope that helps.

How have you handled gold/silver storage?  I imagine you have quite a large stash by now and am assuming most of it is held in physical form.

Also, if my math is correct 50 + 35 + 5 + 5 = 95.  Where is the remaining 5%??

It is stored safely, which does add some expense ratio, but my overall portfolio ER is still about 0.25%, which is pretty good by any standards... other than the Bogleheads', of course.

The rest is miscellaneous junk like cash and stocks. I don't worry about it because it is insignificant to my results.

[mathjak107]

At least you got a 4%  return or so for 25 years of waiting . It could have been worse.

[Libertarian666]

By the way, I'm ignoring mathjak107, as I don't want to be drawn into a contest as to who can be the most irritating. I happily yield to him on that score.

[Stewardship]

At least you got a 4%  return or so for 25 years of waiting . It could have been worse.

Where did you get 25 years and 4% from?

[mathjak107]

he said is cost was about 400 bucks back in the 1990's .- 20- 25 years 1140 is between 4-5%  .

[/quote]

I have had a very large gold allocation for many years, but most of what I have I bought in the late 90's, at an original cost basis of about $400/oz. overall. So I'm still up quite a bit from my entry price.

Hope that helps.
[/quote]


you can do the math yourself.
http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator/co ... ulator.htm

[buddtholomew]

Libertarian666, glad to hear you are comfortable with your portfolio. I purchased additional gold on Friday (GLD) to restore asset allocation to just outside my comfort zone  I guess it's known as lowering ones cost basis..

[Libertarian666]

Libertarian666, glad to hear you are comfortable with your portfolio. I purchased additional gold on Friday (GLD) to restore asset allocation to just outside my comfort zone  I guess it's known as lowering ones cost basis..

Congratulations! Although I don't like GLD, as no one does who has read its prospectus (at least a few years ago).

Fortunately or unfortunately, it would take a miracle for me to be able to lower my actual cost basis, although since I have done some "tax gain harvesting" in the past, my tax basis is now much higher than the current price.

[Cortopassi]

Libertarian666,

On the GLD comment, I have just skimmed Ken Fisher's book "The Only Three Questions that Still Count" and it was a bit of an eye opener and is doing a good job of resetting my attitude.  If you don't know, the questions are:


    What do I believe that’s wrong?
    What can I fathom that others can’t?
    What is my brain doing to mislead me?

There are many consensus answers, like everyone believing "debt is bad" that he does a pretty good job of ripping apart.

I only say this because of the concerns on GLD and I know what you are inferring from the prospectus, but here we are in 2015, 7 years since I started investing in gold, and GLD is still around.  The "paper" gold markets haven't blown up.  Inflation, much less hyperinflation, is nowhere to be seen.  If all the gold is going east, China isn't doing a good job of using that to their advantage, etc, etc.  All the over and over tools used by bloggers to entice buying into gold.

Likewise, the book opened my eyes to P/E ratios, and how their being high signifies nothing.

He definitely has an equities slant and comes right out and says he was burned in 2000 and 2008, but kept the faith, and the market rewarded him.

I have slowly over the years stopped listening to KWN, then Jim Sinclair, then TF Metals, etc and I have opened myself up to opinions on all sides related to gold and equities.  It is a slow process, but it is helping me.  Makes it easier to wake up in the morning and go "oh well" when gold is down again vs. getting pissed at the world for not recognizing its value.  I know it will happen eventually, and if not, well, at least with the PP I have the other assets to make up for it vs. still being all in on gold.

[Libertarian666]

Libertarian666,

On the GLD comment, I have just skimmed Ken Fisher's book "The Only Three Questions that Still Count" and it was a bit of an eye opener and is doing a good job of resetting my attitude.  If you don't know, the questions are:


    What do I believe that’s wrong?
    What can I fathom that others can’t?
    What is my brain doing to mislead me?

There are many consensus answers, like everyone believing "debt is bad" that he does a pretty good job of ripping apart.

I only say this because of the concerns on GLD and I know what you are inferring from the prospectus, but here we are in 2015, 7 years since I started investing in gold, and GLD is still around.  The "paper" gold markets haven't blown up.  Inflation, much less hyperinflation, is nowhere to be seen.  If all the gold is going east, China isn't doing a good job of using that to their advantage, etc, etc.  All the over and over tools used by bloggers to entice buying into gold.

Likewise, the book opened my eyes to P/E ratios, and how their being high signifies nothing.

He definitely has an equities slant and comes right out and says he was burned in 2000 and 2008, but kept the faith, and the market rewarded him.

I have slowly over the years stopped listening to KWN, then Jim Sinclair, then TF Metals, etc and I have opened myself up to opinions on all sides related to gold and equities.  It is a slow process, but it is helping me.  Makes it easier to wake up in the morning and go "oh well" when gold is down again vs. getting pissed at the world for not recognizing its value.  I know it will happen eventually, and if not, well, at least with the PP I have the other assets to make up for it vs. still being all in on gold.

Each person has to do what lets him (or her) sleep at night.
For me, that means not tying my financial fortunes to the whims of the US government any more than I have to.