Is now a good time for seniors to buy gold?
Gold might be the world's oldest investment option; long before stocks, bonds or cryptocurrency, you could hold onto shiny metals in the earth and wait for the value to go up. Even today, gold is a good choice for many investors when putting together their portfolios.
While gold can be useful for anyone putting together an investment portfolio, it is an especially good option for seniors. For myriad reasons, right now is an especially good time for seniors to consider moving some of their money into gold.
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Is now a good time for seniors to buy gold?
There are several reasons why now is a good time for seniors to consider buying gold. Here are a few of them:
Inflation is high
High inflation has been one of the biggest news stories in the country for the past year and a half. In September, the annual rate of inflation was 3.7%. While that is lower than the peaks we saw recently, where the rate of inflation topped off at 8.9% in June of 2022, it's still higher than the Federal Reserve's target of 2%.
When inflation is high, your investments can actually end up losing you money. If the inflation rate is 5% and your stock investments are only going up by 4% year-over-year, you're actually losing purchasing power. Gold is thought to act as a hedge on inflation, though, as its value tends to go up with inflation.
Get started on your investing gold journey here.
Gold has a stable value
Gold has been a popular investment for a long, long time. No matter what happens in the world, it is likely to maintain that value, at least over the longer term. Other investments could in theory hit a skid and lose a huge amount of value, so gold is a solid option for seniors who don't want to risk being left hung out to dry in their later years.
Diversification
Diversification is a key part of building a strong portfolio. If all of your money is in the stock market, you could end up losing big portions of your value if the market takes a dip. That might not be so bad if you're young, as there is plenty of time for the market to rebound and for you to end up ahead.
As a senior, though, you don't always have that kind of time – you need your money to maintain value right now. So, having at least some of it in gold could help to protect you against possible downturns.
Liquidity
As a senior, you may find yourself in a place where you need cash quickly. Let's say you have an urgent medical need or have to travel somewhere at the last minute. Gold is very liquid. You can sell it quickly and have cash in your wallet without much delay. The same can't be said for some other investments, like stocks or bonds, where you have to go through the market.
How seniors can invest in gold
There are a few options seniors have for investing in gold, including investing in a gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) or buying physical gold bars and coins.
A gold ETF is a market-traded fund that invests in gold. Your money is pooled with other investors, and when you sell your shares you earn the difference between your buy price and sell price. Physical gold can be purchased online or at precious metal retailers. If you do choose to go with physical gold, don't forget to make sure you have a safe place to store it.
Another common way to buy gold is a gold IRA, but as those are designed for retirement savers, it likely isn't the best fit for seniors.
You can start learning about gold investments online here.
The bottom line
Now is a good time for seniors to consider investing in gold. Inflation is high, so gold can act as a hedge and help protect you from losing your purchasing power. It can also help you diversify your portfolio and give you liquidity in case you need cash fast, all of which are perks that can be beneficial to seniors.
