I have spent many hours looking for
great investments and trying to find why some investments are better than
others. My first investment as I was growing up was some 1992 silver eagles 1oz
coins. I bought these after working with my dad and mom. I would wake up and help him
deliver newspapers before school. I was only 11 but my grandfather and grandmother always
told me to buy silver because it was a great way to save. The key word being
SAVE.
Moving forward I never really had a
mentor to guide me with investing. I learned of who exactly Warren Buffett
was when I was stationed in Omaha Nebraska while I was in the Air Force. I
started investing in stocks young but other things stopped me from really
spending time to understand investing.
During the Crash of 2008 everyone
who gave advice to us in the Air Force were saying now is NOT the time to buy.
This was true as few people bought anything. When asking most people they said
they have sold to not lose anymore money. I was 26 and put some money into Coke (KO),
and ConocoPhillips (COP). Looking back I'm happy I didn't sell. I also bought
some gold and later sold it.
The quick rise in Silver and Gold
after 2008 was not a surprise to me as that is why I was buying it. But the
problem is with silver and gold to make any money you need to sell. There are
benefits to gold and silver as they can help hold wealth. Just holding gold and
silver you don't make any return. Note: (This is why it is not a good
investment but average and why I want income producing assets.)
I have done research on gold and
silver I do know the thousands of years of history I have read Mike Maloney's
book Guide to Investing in Gold and Silver. I have listened to countless
hours of how the dollar will crash and people owning gold and silver will be
rich. I think this is flawed analysis because gold and silver throughout time
are over and undervalued but someone else has to want the asset at a higher
price. To me it ends up being a pyramid where you hope you are not at the
bottom when it breaks down and the ones above you sell. That is why in Warren
Buffett's letter to his share holders he has a category where an asset doesn't
produce anything.
There is no investment that has the
impact on ones purchasing power as does a dividend growth stock where it grows better
than inflation. An interesting blog from Dividend Growth Investor Blog:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/506941-dividend-investing-misconceptions?source=yahoo
Here he shows how you can own an
asset and the misconception of it only returning 2% is to new investors if you
been an investor form the beginning you are rewarded.
Apple has done the same a
divided paid is not to attract new investors now but to reward past investors
and reward the ones who buy now and stay in the years to come with divided
growth.
All investments can go down and not
survive but to have an income producing asset if it produces that passive
income that is what in the end matters.
One last thought is the conspiracy
that the dollar will collapse. Currencies have collapsed in the past and a new
one has been born. The dollar is a rare currency throughout history a collapse
would have consequences not seen before. Before this was to happen I think a
solution would be conceived. There is always crisis in the world and the ones
who don't lose their vision will succeed. I think an investment strategy on
this fact alone. Strategies of fear will not profit and will not be my choice as an
overall investment strategy.
Sheldon
Disclaimer: This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed
here are my own. All data and information provided on this site is for
informational purposes only. Please do your own research before investing.
