That was the title of a piece in Friday’s Journal. I didn’t read it, because I know it told about stocks and bonds to buy, all denominated in dollars, of course. I saw a commercial on Fox News before I wrote this, and the commercial said, “No monthly payments.” I have no monthly payments to make on my ‘retirement portfolio’ either.
Speaking of a ‘retirement portfolio,’ a week ago an old customer of mine called, who had made two trades back in 2011 and 2012, and I hadn’t heard from them since. The man and wife are now 80 and 82, and they still live in the same house about 150 miles from me, in a nice little town, of just a couple of thousand, have been married over 50 years and still live in the same house. Their purchase was about $50,000, and it might have been a stretch for them then. The wife was calling, but her husband was listening, and he was chiming in on the conversation. I took current prices for what they had bought 14 and 13 years ago, and it was $189,000. As I write this, it would be over $200,000. The whoops and laughter were comforting to me, but not nearly as much as it was to them. They’re not selling, but wanted to know how they had done.
I have no idea whether their purchases were ‘up’ or ‘down,’ but it wouldn’t have mattered, because if there are ups and downs like there are now, who cares? Prices of EVERYTHING have gone up in 14 and 13 years, and they will continue to go up in dollars, as the dollar value goes down, (inflation) because there is no limit on how many dollars will be printed to pay government bills.
As dollar values go down, it becomes more difficult to pay living expenses with paper dollars, as prices go up. As dollar prices go up in everything, so do the prices of gold and silver, so you will always ‘break even’ or better if you save in metals. If you have a physical ‘savings account’ in gold and silver, you can always sell some if you need dollars. Another client of mine lives in a little town about 40 miles from me. She and her husband are 72, both retired CPA’s and delightful people. They just completed a $550,000 two storey garage on their property, and didn’t have to borrow a dime. “J” says she still has gold she paid $400 for a long time ago. It just sat there, and the rest still sits there. That’s their ‘retirement portfolio,’ and since they’re both CPA’s, they now all about stocks and bonds, but they save in gold, and a tiny bit of silver, to eventually barter with when the ultimate end of paper money ceases to be anything but insulation. Colorado Gold charges nothing for people who bought it from us. They just had to ship it.
My ‘retirement portfolio,’ just sits there in my safe also, and I may have to sell some, as I have a patent search ongoing, and if the search proves good, I’ll be glad I saved in metals. Patents are very expensive to obtain. I haven’t bought any of late, because I just bought a great Jeep and a new sofa, but if my idea gets patented, I’ll buy a lot of gold, since it requires only a 63rd of the storage space of silver, and I have a of silver anyway.
Prices of virtually everything seem high now. When the Ford Model A came out in 1928, at about $300, I’m sure it must then have been a really high price, and it probably really was then, when men were working for $3.00 a day. When I first began doing precious metals in 1977, and gold was $250, and silver $1.25, they seemed high then. When I bought my home in 1991 for $150,000, it was really high then, and the doc I bought it from, had advertised it several times with no results. I was driving by and saw the ‘for sale’ sign, and since I have always loved old things, and was tired of my modern home In Durango, I told him I’d buy it for his $150,000 price. Today, it’s the same 1887, 3400 square foot, brick, ‘Queen Anne” Victorian, and it would sell for a million dollars to people who love old houses. Local realtors want me to list it for a million, but it’s not for sale. A contractor customer of mine, says it couldn’t be built today for $3,000 a square foot. It cost $8,000 to build in 1887, and electricity was added a few years later.
Like gold and silver, it’s the same 1887 $8,000 house I bought for $150,000 35 years ago, and in 1991, gold was $369, and silver was $70. I’m quite sure those prices 35 years ago, seemed very ‘expensive,’ and sine I was then in the business, I’m sure people who bought then, thought they were taking a big chance. I did, when I gave $150,000 for my house! I quickly sold my modern house on ’College Hill’ in Durango for the same price I paid for my Victorian in Montrose.
Colorado is a blue state, but the western slope, where I live, is 100% conservative, and mile long pickup truck parades with horns blowing and American Flags flying happen occasionally, and I add my 1941 truck in them sometimes. Out of my 2nd floor solarium, which has 7 windows, and my office, I see three – 14,000 foot peaks 30 miles away, which still have snow on them, although here, the lilacs, tulips and forsythia are in full bloom, and trees have green leafs sprouting on them. Here, the elevation is 5800′, there is little humidity, and maximum temps in summer rarely go above 94, or below 14 in winters. We had 7’ of snow all last winter, and this is considered “high desert.’ If you’re tired of big cities, crime, graffiti, and certain races, you might love this town of 30,000!
-Don Stott don@coloradogold.com