And The Stack Goes On...

I would guess that to be the case as well. I just turned 62 last August.



Thanks, Hesgut. My investments are large enough that the physical silver I own is still only about 2% of my total investment mix. I want to bring that up to at least 5% and maybe as much as 10%. To reach a figure that size will likely require me to buy some gold or platinum. I would be buying physical platinum right now if I could find some 1-oz. bars. All that seems available at the moment are some 1/10th oz. APEs and some 1-5 gram bars. The premiums on these small amounts are a killer if you want to collect 20-30 ounces so I haven't bought any of these.



Yes, I also wish that. I have a 39 year old daughter and a 36 year old son, so I definitely want them to have a good future. Both are doing reasonably well at the moment, though, and I am grateful for that.



Yes, I would agree that this is all too often the case. When I was working, I was a very highly skilled technical person who added a good deal to the company's bottom line. Because of that, I was appreciated and well paid for my efforts. It is imperative that people be highly trained in a desired technical field these days. I know that this is not easy but then the best things in life rarely are. Many companies out there today continue to say that they cannot find the highly skilled workers that they need and that this is hampering their business expansion plans. We need to allow more of these people to immigrate to the US and we need to train more such people of our own. It is dumb, IMO, to train foreign students to be scientists, mathematicians, and engineers at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels and then just send them home when they would prefer to stay in the US. This is human capital that we are just squandering and we can ill afford to do that.

Speaking of pensions, they are going the way of the dodo. That's actually OK too because the 401(k) plan has largely replaced pensions. In my case, that was excellent and allowed me to retire comfortably at age 55 instead of having to work until age 65, as our former pension plan allowed. Additionally, I got about 30% more money from the 401(k) plan than the pension plan would have delivered for the same time and money invested. IMO, the 401(k) plan is the greatest wealth creation engine ever invented and its invention was basically an accident of interpretation. Yes, it can still be improved but the real trick to getting the most from it is to invest in it to the max allowed. It helps if the stock market cooperates with your retirement dreams, for sure, and it did for me. I was investing in my 401(k) from 1982 through 2004 and, except for the 2000-01 recession, that was a HUGE bull market for US stocks.



Agreed. SS and Medicare will have to be trimmed if these programs are to survive. I have long thought that we need to: 1) raise the retirement age by 1 year per decade that a person is from age 65; 2) increase the amount that the employee and employer pay by 1/2%; and 3) increase the medicare co-pay for those who can afford for them to be raised. These simple steps would ensure that the programs remained viable. It would also help if the US government would stop raiding these funds, spending the money, and issuing IOUs for some future generation to pay.

As to those low-risk investments, I hear you on them. My folks are having trouble earning much of anything on their savings these days. The yields on CDs are abysmal. They used to earn 4-5% on these and that was enough to supplement their retirement money quite nicely. Not so these days and I am scrambling to find them some alternative investments that can potentially earn
a higher yield without being terribly risky. Big cap blue chip dividend paying stocks, Asian mutual funds, and REITs seem about the best, although one must watch the interest rates very carefully so as to not be blindsided by rising rates.

Going waaaaay back to a question on page one...regarding airtight containers...there is a food storage contraption (can't remember what it is called, sorry) that sucks the air out of the bag and then heat-seals the bag closed. (Remember boil-in-the-bag veggies?} I have one in the basement and I need to get it out. I think new models are still out there. Since the plastic used is safe for food, maybe it is safe for coins.

Thanks, Merlin. I'm doing about what a lot of others on here are doing so there are plenty of us bullion / insurance guys here.

You did a darned good job with the junkyard prowl yourself. That's quite a return you have for a few hours work and a $1000 investment. Not a thing wrong with that and unlike me, you don't have to wait for your investment to prove itself valuable. Perhaps you will use a bit of the profit from this to buy a few silver coins or bars? That would be good.

I just received 5 more mint tubes from APMEX, to go along with the 58 Morgans I paid under $25 each for from dealer. I am thinking my next purchase will be some 5 oz bars from Silvertowne. I can't believe they have free shipping and let you use a CC for the same price.

50 oz of silver shouldn't cost more than about $20 to return. How did you figure $33?

http://www.usps.com

http://postcalc.usps.gov/

Small fat rat priority box $5.20
Registered, $1700 insurance $16.05

$21.25.

You can't beat that flat rate 5.20 deal Ed, which figures up to like $5.69 seems like, as I use it often myself....

No, we can't beat that with a stick. I will use this method from now on!



Concealment is a very important part of PM security. Having my silver inside a safe is a good measure but disguising the safe so that it does not even look like a safe is even better.



Making even a small fortune honestly is a long and difficult process. It took me about 35 years to accomplish and that with serious dedication. I can understand why others do not or can not do this. There have been a lot of sacrifices along the way but now the pay-off is occurring. I do not let any of this go to my head, though. I am WELL aware that I had a lot of great opportunities in life that many others have, unfortunately, not had and I have been free of many (but not all) of life's bigger troubles as well.

Yes, my safe is heavy but that is not what holds it in place. It is the 8 hardened steel bolts sunk into the concrete floor and wall studs behind it that really do the job.