How important is gold for your investment portfolio?

[97guns]

i am not an end of the world doom and gloomer and my metals have been performing well without any end of the world happenings. the sole reason for me taking the position in metal is that i DO NOT have any confidence in the fiat dollar system that is in place around the world. the printing presses are running wide open and this does nothing but dilute currency leading to more inflation. things are definately happening at a faster pace now and inflation will steepen and possibly go parabolic. the solution for everything is print more money and that is a very bad thing.

the FED is stuck, he can not raise interest rates, like i said THE ONLY SOLUTION IS PRINTING MORE MONEY.

[disneysteve]

i am not an end of the world doom and gloomer

i DO NOT have any confidence in the fiat dollar system that is in place around the world. the printing presses are running wide open and this does nothing but dilute currency leading to more inflation. things are definately happening at a faster pace now and inflation will steepen and possibly go parabolic.

Sure sounds like a "doom and gloomer" to me.

[Mr Nice Guy]

i am not an end of the world doom and gloomer and my metals have been performing well without any end of the world happenings. the sole reason for me taking the position in metal is that i DO NOT have any confidence in the fiat dollar system that is in place around the world. the printing presses are running wide open and this does nothing but dilute currency leading to more inflation. things are definately happening at a faster pace now and inflation will steepen and possibly go parabolic. the solution for everything is print more money and that is a very bad thing.

the FED is stuck, he can not raise interest rates, like i said THE ONLY SOLUTION IS PRINTING MORE MONEY.

When you say Fed and fiat currency in the same paragraph that is a giveaway. Oh and what "things" are happening at a faster pace now? lol

[97guns]

i guess you guys havn't filled your gas tank in a while then or your just one of "them" that "they" have hoodwinked or maybe your so lucky that your wages are increasing at the same pace so you dont even feel it.. the consumer see's higher prices but it does not compute with them that the driving force behind higher prices is the printing of money.

c'mon y'all cant be this blind, if they cut american idol down to a half hour show you'd be throwin a fit.

[BuckyBadger]

How is gold going to be more useful in this scenario than canned food and potable water?

[bjl584]

i guess you guys havn't filled your gas tank in a while then or your just one of "them" that "they" have hoodwinked or maybe your so lucky that your wages are increasing at the same pace so you dont even feel it.. the consumer see's higher prices but it does not compute with them that the driving force behind higher prices is the printing of money.

c'mon y'all cant be this blind, if they cut american idol down to a half hour show you'd be throwin a fit.

I just filled up the other day. It is a few dollars more than it used to be, but I don't drive that much, and the increase in gas prices has not effected my ability to continue saving and investing.

And, I've never watched American Idol.

[disneysteve]

I just filled up the other day. It is a few dollars more than it used to be, but I don't drive that much, and the increase in gas prices has not effected my ability to continue saving and investing.

And, I've never watched American Idol.

Same here. Gas is still not close to where it peaked a couple of years ago when it topped $4/gallon. I filled up a couple of days ago for $3.55. Even if it goes to $4 again, at 25mpg and 12,000 miles driven per year, that's a difference of only $40/month vs. $3/gallon. That's not even one dinner out for my family.

I also never watch American Idol, or any other reality show for that matter. I truly don't understand the appeal of those shows.

[MKKShah]

i am not an end of the world doom and gloomer and my metals have been performing well without any end of the world happenings. the sole reason for me taking the position in metal is that i DO NOT have any confidence in the fiat dollar system that is in place around the world. the printing presses are running wide open and this does nothing but dilute currency leading to more inflation. things are definately happening at a faster pace now and inflation will steepen and possibly go parabolic. the solution for everything is print more money and that is a very bad thing.

the FED is stuck, he can not raise interest rates, like i said THE ONLY SOLUTION IS PRINTING MORE MONEY.

I don't know the how the FED works. However, the I am not proposing holding on to cash either. As a matter of fact, I now moving away from cash and into other asset classes. I was thinking more along the lines of a diversified portfolio including stocks, bonds, but wanted to do my due diligence regarding precious metals, esp. gold.

Just curious, why do you think stocks / bonds are not a great idea? The dollar itself may inflate but these assets (even if dollar denominated) will likely keep up with inflation, right?

[MKKShah]

How is gold going to be more useful in this scenario than canned food and potable water?

I guess you could trade the metal for these?

Again, I don't believe such a scenario will happen, or that one can be reasonably prepared for such a scenario.

[disneysteve]

I guess you could trade the metal for these?

Not likely. If you were in a catastrophe situation, would you give up your water and food for a lump of metal that has no intrinsic value or practical use? Doubtful. You are much more likely to barter for something of value, perhaps a gallon of fuel for your generator or some medical supplies or something else. That's something all the doomsdayers don't seem to understand.

[bjl584]

Not likely. If you were in a catastrophe situation, would you give up your water and food for a lump of metal that has no intrinsic value or practical use? Doubtful. You are much more likely to barter for something of value, perhaps a gallon of fuel for your generator or some medical supplies or something else. That's something all the doomsdayers don't seem to understand.

I will take guns and ammunition. Then I could just take your supplies from you.

[MKKShah]

Not likely. If you were in a catastrophe situation, would you give up your water and food for a lump of metal that has no intrinsic value or practical use? Doubtful. You are much more likely to barter for something of value, perhaps a gallon of fuel for your generator or some medical supplies or something else. That's something all the doomsdayers don't seem to understand.

I agree.

Again, the original intent of the post was to solicit ideas on gold being a "store of wealth", and therefore a good asset class to own towards diversification of one's portfolio, and not in preparation for a doomsday scenario (which is a discussion in itself). I also don't think the doomsday scenario is likely.

So what I am hearing is that:
a) Gold is not very important for most people
b) Even if you do own gold, do so for a tiny fraction (say under 5%)
c) Gold has had a huge run and therefore riding a bubble now. So don't get in now.
d) Gold is pitched very hard by a group of people called "doomsdayers"

[MKKShah]

I will take guns and ammunition. Then I could just take your supplies from you.

While you may be sarcastic, I really don't think a doomsday scenario can happen. Not in the good ol USA.

[bjl584]

While you may be sarcastic, I really don't think a doomsday scenario can happen. Not in the good ol USA.

I agree. Short of something unforeseen like a meteor strike or a plague of somekind from a virus, then it will probably be life as usual.

[disneysteve]

Take a look at this chart:

Common Sense on Mutual Funds - John C. Bogle, David F. Swensen - Google Books

It shows the long term return of stocks, bonds, T-bills and gold. This only goes to 2005 so doesn't include the recent spike in gold but still, the chart is pretty informative. The moral of the story is that gold returns virtually zero over time. Yes, people who bought in a few years ago have made out really well but folks who have been holding for years and years have seen an average return of next to nothing.