6 minute read
Finance/Children
Is Gold a good investment?
Hey Taylor: Can you explain the whole investing-ingold thing? So many people have told me I Taylor need to buy Kovar gold but no one has told me why. What's the real incentive there? - Mitch
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Hey Mitch: I'd be happy to fill you in on how this works. I think buying gold and other precious metals is a smart way to put your money to work, provided you know what you're doing.
Investing in gold can be as simple as buying the physical metal and storing it in your closet, or as complicated as having shares in different gold-related companies. How you buy into this commodity depends on how much you have to invest and how much risk you're comfortable taking on. Owning gold bullion is the simplest option, but there are a few ways to go about it.
Before I get to the "how" portion, here's a little info as to why gold is a good investment. First and foremost, it preserves its wealth extremely well. People have been using it as a currency since the dawn of time, and it's held strong throughout. Gold also resists the inflation that kills paper currencies. While an ounce of gold was worth about $35 in the 1970s, it's now worth more than $1,200. Meanwhile, if you have $35 in cash that you've been holding onto since General Ford was in office, that's worth... $35.
That, in short, is why you see so many pawnshops and other small vendors advertising that they buy and sell gold. However, there are other options for anyone who doesn't feel comfortable keeping such a valuable commodity stashed away in their home. The most popular choice is probably gold exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. Essentially, this method allows you to own shares that are physically backed by the material you're buying; one share is usually equal to one-tenth of an ounce of gold. Buying these ETFs turns you into a proud gold owner who doesn't have to bury gold bricks in the backyard.
Another way that some people buy into gold is by investing in actual gold-mining companies. While this is still effectively a gold investment, it's a riskier one that requires a lot of extra research. Blindly buying shares in mining companies isn't a smart practice.
I believe investing in precious metals is a great way to diversify. You shouldn't turn all your holdings into shares of gold, but it's worth diverting a portion of your funds to this market. If you decide to go this route, make sure you buy from a credible source. As long as you're getting a fair deal on a good product, you should be able to grow your wealth. Go for gold!
Taylor was raised by good ol' blue-collar workers and following in their footsteps led him to take on massive debt at a very young age. It didn't take him long to realize having debt wasn't his cup of tea, and he worked his tail off so he could enjoy financial freedom and independence. As an entrepreneur and financial professional, his work has been quoted and published in a variety of different media on topics such as financial management, budgeting, saving, business, investing, and more. Read more about Taylor at GoFarWithKovar.com
Legal Disclaimer: Information presented is for educational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. To submit a question to be answered in this column, please send it via email to Question@GoFarWithKovar.com or via USPS to Taylor Kovar, 415 S 1st St, Suite 300, Lufkin, TX 75901. Per the old Chinese saying, “May you live in interesting times,” it may be that the most interesting of times are those when people do not want to hear the truth – as in the present, or so it would seem. I did not intend to write a followup to my recent column on Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), but the feedback has been some of the most reactionary I’ve received in forty-four years of writing this column. Ergo, a follow-up. Several parents of kids diagnosed with ARFID pointed out that it’s a legitimate mental health diagnosis. Right, and like all mental health diagnoses, that means nothing. A diagnosis of brain cancer – a MEDICAL diagnosis –refers to a malignant tumor. A diagnosis of arteriosclerosis – a medical diagnosis – refers to thickening and hardening of arterial walls. Both conditions are objectively demonstrable and verifiable, as is the case with all medical diagnoses. Ah, but a mental health diagnosis refers to nothing other than a set of behaviors. The behaviors can certainly be verified – as in, “my child refuses to eat anything but junk food” – but no underlying, physiological cause has ever been proven for any mental health diagnosis. They don’t refer to conditions that some people “have,” although that is what mental health professionals want you to believe. Without any tangible evidence, they claim that their diagnoses reflect such things as biochemical imbalances and brain differences. The FACT is that no one has ever proven that a mental health diagnosis represents something someone “has.” ARFID, like all mental health diagnoses, is a construct, a fabrication. The problem – as reflected in the feedback in question – is that parents would much rather believe their picky eaters “have” something that’s
causing their tongues to reject normal food, than believe they created the problem by catering and enabling. One explanation absolves the parent of responsibility; the other does not. Which is more palatable, pun John intended? Bingo! Rosemond One parent wrote that her child “started controlling his eating at six months.” How, pray tell, does a six-month-old “control” his eating without parents who cooperate? My daughter, when we introduced pureed foods, initially spit most of them out. She attempted, in other words, to control her eating. Most infants do. On a taste scale of 1 to 10, they want 9 and 10 only. We simply scooped up the rejected food and put it back in her mouth. She’d spit it out again. We calmly repeated the sequence until she figured out that’s all she was getting. Or, the designated feeder would simply walk away, occupy him- or herself for a while, and then try again. Eventually, Amy stopped attempting to control what we fed her. How does a person of any age accustom themselves to eating something that may initially taste somewhat, uh, “different”? They eat it, that’s what, and in short order it no longer tastes different at all. I can envision how our experience with Amy might have devolved into a full-blown battle of wills and eventually, as another reader put it, “dictate the entire life of our family.” We simply resolved not to allow either of our children to “dictate” anything to us. Per the Chinese adage again: Picky eating does not have to become “interesting.” It can be, and should be, nipped in the bud. Family psychologist John Rosemond: johnrosemond.com, p arentguru.com.
