Gyroscopic Investing

barrett wrote:

That's why we microwave pizzas sometimes instead of washing green leaf lettuce and making a nutritious salad. That's all I meant.

Plus, let's face it, dualstow, after eating that leafy-green "nutritious salad", we are still hungry.

Yes! 

On a side note, it astounds me that folks order gold to be delivered through the mail. If I did that, I'd be waiting outside for the mailman 24 hours a day. Is the savings on what the mail order places take above the spot price a so great, or is it just convenient (like microwaving the pizza)?

Regarding mail delivery: I don't own a car, so my only options are to walk it over or use the mail. I walk small orders home from my local dealer-- searching this forum for "hiding places" might turn up a good thread on disguising gold, although I cannot remember if I revealed what I use.

For most orders my best option is the mail, especially now that I use a dealer up in New Hampshire. He expresses the order for $25, and that includes insurance.

I did panic when my 2nd or 3rd order from my previous dealer (A.J.P.M.) was rather late, but it came through and all was well. Plus, now we're temporarily in an apartment with a guard and a package room. Things could still go wrong. In fact, the package will probably come on the same day that renovation on my house begins, but I think it'll be fine. A little stress makes me feel alive.

barrett wrote: Plus, let's face it, dualstow, after eating that leafy-green "nutritious salad", we are still hungry.

My solution to this problem is to add bleu cheese, olive oil, and vinegar. Fills me right up and it's even pretty healthy. The ingredients are all pretty cheap at Costco, too.

100% physical here. To each his own, but I don't really get the "I'm 100% ETF because that's more convenient". You are not supposed to ever sell your whole gold portion (except in armaggedon scenarios). So you can hold a stable foundation (say, 1/3rd of it you will probably never, ever sell) as physical gold and keep the potentially-rebalanced 2/3 in ETFs.

Time for current forum members to vote?

Of all the posters in here so far I'm only recognizing as two (Ad & Dualstow) still being active in the forum.

Here the what the results look like prior to any further voting. Curious to see if current voting changes the percentages in any way.

Vinny

Get the package sent to a UPS Customer center. Go and get it yourself. They are liable for the full value until you put your hands on it. That's recommended by Texas Precious Metals.

77% physical.

ochotona wrote: ↑Mon Mar 30, 2020 9:08 pm Get the package sent to a UPS Customer center. Go and get it yourself. They are liable for the full value until you put your hands on it. That's recommended by Texas Precious Metals.

77% physical.

Your above answer was actually quite priceless to me as it's been one of THE burning questions and one of my fears. What happens if I expend ALL this money and it never makes it to me! Do I ask them can we do this in five separate purchases so the maximum I lose is 20% of the buy? Or, does that raise the likelihood of a loss?

I'm now taking your recommendation as my full gospel but amending it with..."and immediately start driving to each of the banks whose safety deposit boxes you will be using to store it!"

Thanks

Vinny

I wish my dealers offered UPS. If I recall, they all used Priority Mail (USPS). Maybe there’s some way to work that out?

Looking back at page one (2013), ugh. I want nothing to do with gold ETFs now. Also, that New Hampshire dealer did send a shipment to the apartment after we had moved back into our home. Luckily, the package was not lost and made its way back to him.

Dear Mr. Ochotona Princeps,

Thank you for your order.

We have noticed that you have specified a UPS Store as your delivery address:

c/o The UPS Store
6031 Hwy 6 N, Suite 165
Houston, Texas, 77084

As you know, we ship all of our packages via UPS overnight delivery.

However, what is unique about this service is that UPS Capital insures 100% of all of the packages we ship - not a third party, and not self-insurance. In simple terms, UPS has 100% skin in the game.

As part of that commitment, UPS releases their insurance commitment at signature. If a package is stolen at the privately owned UPS Store, they will not insure it from that point forward, even if you have not signed for the package. (A UPS Stores insurance usually covers up to a value of $1000).

The UPS Customer Center is different, because only the client’s signature suffices to release UPS’s liability. This is the reason for the UPS Store restriction - we can of course ship to the store if you have an account with them and are prepared to waiver insurance (once delivered).

Your nearest UPS Center is:

UPS CC - HOUSTON
8330 SWEETWATER LN, HOUSTON, TX, 77037-3616
Tel: 800-742-5877

Alternatively we can ship to a physical address (home or work place).

Please confirm how you wish to proceed.

Kind Regards,

Andrew.
--
Andy McIvor
Email: andy@texmetals.com
Phone: 361.594.3624
959 Hwy 95N Shiner, TX 77984
Visit our Website texmetals.com

dualstow wrote: ↑Mon Mar 30, 2020 9:30 pm I wish my dealers offered UPS. If I recall, they all used Priority Mail (USPS). Maybe there’s some way to work that out?

Looking back at page one (2013), ugh. I want nothing to do with gold ETFs now. Also, that New Hampshire dealer did send a shipment to the apartment after we had moved back into our home. Luckily, the package was not lost and made its way back to him.

Every dealer I know ships via registered insured mail. Those packages don't get "lost" in transit.

Mine were Insured too, yes.

Gold is a physical element. If you have something other than the physical element you have something other than gold. You have a claim on it and hope the custodian will turn it over to you at some time. The thing is......if you're not demanding possession now when promises are being honored, when will you? Will you demand it when promises are being broken?

Maybe you have gld or a futures contact, which are more like a bet on the paper price.

If you have paper bets on gold and not actual good.....what's stopping you from getting the real thing?

100% Physical for me. Some overseas, rest in local depositories. "NONE" at home, only few silver coins in case of emergency.

Now the wisdom of HB's advice about keeping some assets overseas has become apparent. Australia shut its border, even to its own citizens, for months and still hasn't allowed everyone to return. How would well would you survive if you went on international holidays then found yourself locked out for six months?

I still had some ETF back when I answered this poll. I only have bullion now.

Hal wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 1:07 am Now the wisdom of HB's advice about keeping some assets overseas has become apparent. Australia shut its border, even to its own citizens, for months and still hasn't allowed everyone to return. How would well would you survive if you went on international holidays then found yourself locked out for six months?

How many Aussies are they not allowing in? The government website says they can come back, but they have to quarantine for 14 days.

Kriegsspiel wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 6:21 am I still had some ETF back when I answered this poll. I only have bullion now.

Same. 100% bullion coins: eagles, krugerrands, philharmonics, leaves( ), and a britannia.
EDIT: and Australian kangaroos/nuggets

Kriegsspiel wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 6:25 am How many Aussies are they not allowing in? The government website says they can come back, but they have to quarantine for 14 days.

Ah, yes. but how many quarantine places are there

This is a Federal government decision not to make the additional quarantine places available. The reason it isn’t doing more is obvious. It wants to force the states to make more flexible quarantine options available so that it can commence permitting students and possibly tourists back in, and it cannot do that without State agreement. It also hasn’t approached the States to ask about their scope to take back returning Australian residents from that State for quarantine. A state being asked to consider expanding quarantine for tourists or students may well give one answer, and a completely different answer when asked to arrange accommodation for some of its own returning residents with relatives in the State. The Federal Government doesn’t want to hear that the States will do something for their returning residents, that they don’t want to do for foreign students and possibly tourists. The Federal Government, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison, is holding offshore Australians to ransom.

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2020/1 ... d-aussies/

Highly recommend everyone hold some assets offshore in case of an emergency as HB suggested.

I basically have two portfolios:

1. PP consisting of all ETFs
2. Cash + physical gold of varying percentages

As far as I'm concerned the cash and physical gold create a hedged position. Paper and metal are a nice offsetting combination. I selected 0 - 19% as that seems to be most representative to me. However, my PP allocation itself is 100% ETFs. I consider the cash and bullion to be a separate portfolio entirely. I don't ever plan on rebalancing out of physical.

Most of my gold is in IAU. I do have a small percentage that's physical along with modest pile of silver that I bought speculatively a couple of years ago.

Ad Orientem wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 4:38 pm Most of my gold is in IAU. I do have a small percentage that's physical along with modest pile of silver that I bought speculatively a couple of years ago.

Good stuff. I do think that silver is more "useful" in physical form than digital form. Since silver is less valuable it would theoretically be better for everyday barter in a SHTF scenario than gold. But in the ETF space there's less reason to have any preference for it.

Smith1776 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 4:40 pm

Ad Orientem wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 4:38 pm Most of my gold is in IAU. I do have a small percentage that's physical along with modest pile of silver that I bought speculatively a couple of years ago.

Good stuff. I do think that silver is more "useful" in physical form than digital form. Since silver is less valuable it would theoretically be better for everyday barter in a SHTF scenario than gold. But in the ETF space there's less reason to have any preference for it.

The argument for using SLV over physical silver is liquidity, logistics, and storage. I have a fair pile and had to rent a much larger safe deposit box for it. If I get anymore, I think I would opt for SLV for the sake of convenience.

Ad Orientem wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 4:46 pm
The argument for using SLV over physical silver is liquidity, logistics, and storage. I have a fair pile and had to rent a much larger safe deposit box for it. If I get anymore, I think I would opt for SLV for the sake of convenience.

I meant preference for SLV over GLD, not SLV over physical silver. However, your point is well taken.

For new money into gold, right now I'm not sure ETF's might make more sense considering the high markup over spot price that most dealers are charging for bullion. Lock in gains (or losses) with ETF's then convert to bullion when markups come down..............assuming they ever will.

Lonestar wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 2:45 pm For new money into gold, right now I'm not sure ETF's might make more sense considering the high markup over spot price that most dealers are charging for bullion. Lock in gains (or losses) with ETF's then convert to bullion when markups come down..............assuming they ever will.

Such a conversion has issues with taxability.

Xan wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 3:32 pm

Lonestar wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 2:45 pm For new money into gold, right now I'm not sure ETF's might make more sense considering the high markup over spot price that most dealers are charging for bullion. Lock in gains (or losses) with ETF's then convert to bullion when markups come down..............assuming they ever will.

Such a conversion has issues with taxability.

All the more reason to get your taxable money into real Gold as quickly as possible. You can always lose the gold in an unfortunate boating accident or accidentally forget to record your sale of it on your taxes.

Hard to do that with an ETF.

Tread carefully friend. The IRS is not known for their sense of humor.