silver – Annienygma

A Lesson in Silver

My silly little silver investment has paid off, not in dollars, but in knowledge. I’ve not only learned how to read price charts now but I’ve also realized that there is a big difference between investing in precious metals and the stock market.

While silver, gold, and other precious metals might go up in price you never know exactly when that is going to happen. It is also something of a chore should you decide to sell. If you don’t sell it locally then you have to arrange for a sale with an online broker, package it all up, ship it to them, then wait for them to pay you.

That alone is a pain in the tukus.

The stock market, on the other hand, is a whole lot easier. You buy your stock, wait a bit for the price to go up, then press a few buttons to sell it. You’ll get paid within minutes. I learned this after making a few experimental trades with my new brokerage account. I made a $40 profit just playing around in the past couple of weeks, while the value of my silver has essentially remained flat.

Even better, I’ve learned that certain stocks issue dividends. Buy these stocks and you will receive a small amount of money every one to three months (depending upon how they do their accounting). They are like buying a cow and then selling the milk!

If I can learn how to combine the two methods of investing for dividends and harnessing stock price increases, I should be able to grow my little nest egg into a tidy profit over time. It won’t be overnight, especially with the current stock market fears, but it’s something to look forward to.

In essence, my silver investment may have ended up being a short-term bust, but it taught me more than I would have learned had I not experimented. I’ve even gotten a little memento to keep in my pocket to remind me of what I’ve learned.

What have you learned from your mistakes? Please share your stories in the comments below.

My Silver Has Arrived

The fruits of my very first investment have arrived. The mailman delivered the package just a bit ago. My hands shook as I opened the box.

I cried as I held that silver in my hands for the very first time.

I’ve done it. I’ve made my very first step into the big leagues. Tears are streaming down my face as I write this. All of my life I’ve been told that you have to be rich in order to have investments yet here I am, living on minimum wage, holding ten silver rounds – my first investment – in the palm of my hand.

The big dogs might laugh at me for my paltry purchase but I don’t care. My tiny little paycheck might not be much but that’s not going to stop me! I’ll invest and I’ll keep investing until I achieve my goal of true financial independence. And once I figure out how to do it I will stand on the rooftops and shout it out to all of my friends. You don’t have to remain poor, even if all you have to your name is a minimum wage income. For far too long the realm of building wealth has been the domain of the Big Dogs; let’s see how they like it when us scrappers enter the ring.

Unlike those rich farts I don’t need a lot of money to live on. That gives me a big advantage. It may take me a while to do it but I know how to save money and I’m learning how to make it work for me. They’ll be no stopping me once I figure it out.

But for now I am going to sit here and play Scrooge MacDuck. I’m going to close my eyes, play this silver through my fingers, and imagine what it will feel like as my safety net builds. After that I’m going to march my happy butt down to the bank and stick nine of these coins into my safety deposit box. I’m keeping one in my pocket for inspiration.

I’m Making a Profit!

The other day I mailed off a check to buy 10 ounces of Silver Bullion at $16.45 an ounce.

I checked the market prices today.

I bought ten ounces of the stuff; that means that so far I’ve made $4.10 on my investment and it hasn’t even arrived yet! Oh my God! That’s over half of an hour’s wage!

Okay, so in the long run four bucks isn’t much but it’s a start. Even better, that’s a helluva lot more than I would have earned if I had stuck that paycheck into savings. It would have taken me YEARS to make that much money at 1.5% interest!

I’m chuffed, to say the least. My very first investment is actually earning a profit. Can’t wait to see what I’ve bought!

My First Investment

Note: this website runs a bit behind my real life. Judge my numbers accordingly.

Baby steps can move mountains. I know this; I used a progression of baby steps to not only manage to survive while raising my kids as a single mother, I used baby steps when I began my computer repair business and to learn how to start a website, write and publish books for extra money.

But it takes money to make money, or so the saying goes. It’s the ones with the big bucks to invest that make the fortunes. I don’t have big bucks; all I’ve got to start is one $160 paycheck. Sticking that puppy directly into my savings is highly tempting; the money will be insured and I’ll earn a few pennies in interest.

Can I do better than that?

I stumbled upon an article the other day that declared the death of the Silver Market. I’ve heard time and again that the most successful investors sell when others are buying and buy when others are selling. Silver has been used as currency for thousands of years; even now it is popular in the jewelry market. I’ve always loved silver jewelry, so much so that my daughter even bought me a sterling silver Mother’s Ring for my birthday earlier this year:

With that in mind I decided to check out the Silver Market. I quickly read up on it, learned how to figure out the current price of silver, and how to buy the stuff. There are two ways to do it. You can buy paper Silver, which is essentially a piece of paper that says you own X amount of silver that is stored somewhere else, or you can buy pieces of the metal yourself in the form of coins, rounds, or bars. If you buy pieces of silver, they will be shipped to you so you also have to work out how to keep them safe until you decide to cash in your investment.

The good thing about actually buying the pieces of silver is that I could stash them away somewhere. I wouldn’t be tempted to spend them every time I check my bank balance. More importantly, I would have something to actually hold in my hand for inspiration whenever I became plagued with doubts.

Worst case scenario I could have it melted down by a jeweler to create jewelry if the investment fails to pay off. I’d have a pretty piece of bling at least.

I found a reputable dealer online after a bit more research. To my delight, they were running a special: ten troy ounces of silver rounds at spot (market) price. Since most places charge a bit over market to cover shipping and make a profit I was delighted. To maximize my investment I decided to lock in the price on their website and mail them a paper check. They charge extra if you pay online.

So now, not only am I doing better than many Americans because I have more than $500 in the bank, I now have an investment in precious metals on the way. They will ship as soon as my check clears the bank.

I have no idea what the heck I just ordered to be honest. According to the description I will receive a tube that contains ten silver “rounds” – whatever that is. All I know is that it will be .999 pure silver bullion. I know that I’m taking a risk, considering how little I know about this stuff but you know what? I’ve wasted more than that doing stupid stuff before.

I’m scared but exhilarated just the same. I’ve made a baby step, wrong or right. That’s progress at least. Whatever happens, It sure beats the hell out of just sitting here reading books and wishing for something to happen.

I’ll keep you posted.