How to Buy Gold (Without Getting Ripped Off)

A viewer emailed me asking how to buy gold. He knew I didn't personally invest in gold. But he asked how he might go about investing in gold.

So in today's video we'll look at five important questions you must answer when buying gold:

1. Should you buy gold in a retirement or taxable account?
2. Does a gold IRA ever make sense?
3. Should you own physical gold or gold ETFs?
4. What type of gold ETFs are best?
5. If you wanted to buy physical gold, where's the best place to buy it?

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#gold #investing #robberger

ABOUT ME

While still working as a trial attorney in the securities field, I started writing about personal finance and investing In 2007. In 2013 I started the Doughroller Money Podcast, which has been downloaded millions of times. Today I'm the Deputy Editor of Forbes Advisor, managing a growing team of editors and writers that produce content to help readers make the most of their money.

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DISCLAIMER: I am not a financial adviser. These videos are for educational purposes only. Investing of any kind involves risk. Your investment and other financial decisions are solely your responsibility. It is imperative that you conduct your own research and seek professional advice as necessary. I am merely sharing my opinions.

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: Some of the links on this channel are affiliate links, meaning at no cost to you I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase and/or subscribe. However, I only recommend products or services that (1) I believe in and (2) would recommend to my own mom.

[bingoknows]

I hold physical gold not as an investment, but mostly as a back-up to my savings.

[supersteve]

Physical gold is very profitable. It makes very good returns for people that collect the premium when buying it and selling it. They do pretty good.

[thegoonch]

Costco has 1 ounce gold bars available occasionally for ~$40 over spot, free shipping. Either PAMP or Rand, depending on the deal. But it usually sells out within two hours.

[Troy_Campbell]

Gold and Silver are good wealth preservers. If buying physical gold, I recommend buying from reputable online dealers or local coin stores and buying in smaller increments, 1oz coins vs. Kilo bars for example. Do some research, you can find 1oz American gold coins at a 5% markup (premium). Apmex is a decent option but they usually charge more than other online dealers. I do agree with buying American coins (Buffalo or Eagles), they typically hold value better over time, and Canadian & British coins are well-recognized as well. Note anything under 1oz will have much larger markups but if SHTF 1/10ths and 1/4s would probably be easier to bargain with.

[RobWilliams]

Gold is not an “investment” per se. It’s insurance and a store of value.

[RobWilliams]

Look at Jason Hartman’s, Hartman index. He shows the value of assets over time - how many barrels of oil in 1974 would buy a median price home vs. today. How many oz’s of gold will do the same. With few exceptions (2008, 09) it shows that it takes about the same amount of gold today. How many dollars does it take you today vs. 1974?

[chrisa.]

Keep in mind that when buying small amounts of gold and silver bullion online you are usually paying shipping charges which negates any low premiums and/or special sales they may be offering and depending on your state and method of payment you may also have to pay tax. So unless you are buying enough quantity to get a bulk discount and/or free shipping it may be better to buy from a local dealer where you'll usually only pay their premium over spot. Some dealers won't charge tax if paying with cash as long as the transaction is under 10K.

[d.s.]

PHYS is a better way to buy gold than GLD, while GLD has outperformed PHYS over a 10 year period, PHYS is literally based off of the Spot price of Gold and has no dividend or option contracts.
So I am just referring to a Pure gold play!
However GLD is way better if you know how to sell covered calls for income and want to actively manage the fund

[namuscamus]

If buying gold or silver is something you've chosen to do, it might be worth your time to check if your state charges sales taxes on in-state and/or online purchases. Many states have no taxes at all when purchasing precious metals from local coin shops

Edit: Owning physical metal isn't without fees, though. It is common for significant mark ups from actual spot/market price depending on purity, weight, year, etc.

[peterizzo]

I have around 5% of my portfolio in physical gold just for peace of mind. I've had good experiences online with Provident Metals. Today, a 1 oz US Gold Eagle costs $2017. Spot price is $1929. That's about a 4.5% markup. I'm in California and have never paid any sales tax. Definitely going into smaller sizes will increase the markup percentage.

[danielwbader]

You took the gold out of the wrong place. It's there to provide stability by providing a non-correlated asset, so it should be replacing at least some bonds. If you do a 45/27/18/10 split, that is, taking 10% off everything for 10% gold, you end up with much closer results, significantly more stability, and higher Sharpe and Sortino ratios.

[sky]

Money is not meant to control people, rather it is meant to be put to work producing more money for you. You cannot build wealth without putting money in its rightful place...

[cerealspiller]

What is the recommended way to SELL physical gold?

[bencarter]

Buying the gold miners is probably a better option for multiple reasons. GDX is one way to do this in a diversified way.

[cesarpenailillo]

Great video as usual. Very informative and keeping very simple!

[rhmbob]

My view on gold is that it would serve as a means of bartering and holding a physical asset of known value in a doomsday scenario (or more likely, some kind of disaster where we wouldn't have access to other assets for a period of time...)

I would have zero interest in owning "paper" gold (Gold ETF or otherwise).
With that, the IRA route isn't possible as you aren't allowed to physically hold the gold yourself.

Owning physical gold also means that nobody knows how much you own nor would they know when you sell or transact it (and by "they" I mean Uncle Sam and/or the IRS and/or other people)... Having it in an IRA or owning paper gold doesn't have this advantage.

I don't own any gold but have considered it ... what I have also considered is that owning ammunition and shelf stable food might prove to be much better "investments" than gold or silver in the doomsday scenario ...

Just some thoughts... not financial advice!

[hughmcwilliams]

Have some GLD (5%) I in my 457, first time hearing about GLDM

[mattpenn]

Any comments on IAUM? It's an ETF that doesn't own physical gold but has a tiny fee. I have some in an IRA as part of a test portfolio for a retirement Bucket 2. It's part of a Golden Butterfly portfolio, lower returns than equities, but the lowest back tested ulcer index... Exactly how a bucket 2 should perform.

[brandonlesco]

I think precious metals should largely be viewed as a fun hobby that will (likely) allow you to recoup your initial investment should you really need to. Nothing more, nothing less. The “precious metals community” is really a mixed bag of people, a majority of whom I would classify as borderline delusional.

[SamuelBSR]

Hi Rob, I just wanted to correct you. Both GLDM and IAUM hold physical gold in vaults. That's what their docs say.
They do not operate with futures.