By the way --- Someone came in recently and asked about buying GOLD
I've always felt Gold is gambling. Why? Because the basic premise for owning gold is that it's a "hedge" against something going really wrong with the world. It's a fear trade. Unless you use the stuff to make something - what are you going to do with it? It doesn't pay a dividend to hold it. It goes up and down like a yoyo and I've never figured out WHY except for fear. I don't want to own fear. I want to own the FUTURE and PROFITS and DIVIDEND (cash stream).
Add to that -- who actually is holding your gold? Will they have cash when you want to sell and cash out? Or did the world market crash wipe them out too? Something to consider. This - of course - holds true for ANY investment - but I'm not buying stuff because I think the world is going to hell.
The Gold ETF (GLD) is DOWN 31% over the last 5 years.... while Altria (MO) is UP 126% in share price and has paid almost $10 in cash dividends on a $34 purchase price (back in November 2011).
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