Protect Your Future

We have to find the “silver” lining on the resulting vote late Wednesday on the Congress. This is a “gold”en opportunity to take your 401k, IRA and other retirement investments to “platinum” levels.

Yes, that’s right, friends. Precious metals are the items in which to invest your future. As a retired banker who worked at companies like Entrust, I managed the bank’s retirement programs, I can tell you that if you relying on your bank’s retirement products to grow or even tread water, you are sadly mistaken. This may have been true even 10 or 15 years ago, but not anymore.

The bank pays maybe 3% at best on your investment, and some charge an annual fee as the trustee/custodian of the plan. Some charge a percentage, generally 1-1.5%, and others charge a flat fee, up to $50. No matter the amount or how it’s calculated, it is a large chunk of your money for very little return on investment (ROI).

Precious metals, on the other hand have a great potential for a greater ROI, although the risk could be greater. But keep in mind, while there is no federal insurance to protect the investment, if you bought gold in 1975 at $35 an ounce, today that gold would be $1,283 for that investment. Not a bad ROI.

Why am I sharing this with you? Well, the Congress and the President have agreed to devalue your money again with this latest debacle of an “agreement” to kick the proverbial can down the road a bit. This will push the debt to well over $17 TRILLION.

And that’s not all. The new Fed Chairperson-designate, Janet Yellen, is expected to continue the Fed policy of quantitative easing, which is the printing of money, making the dollar worth less than it is now. That is a problem, because eventually, hyper-inflation will be lurking on the horizon.

So, buy gold and silver. It is your hedge against the looming disaster that is our economy. And remember this. The FDIC insures your retirement plans up to $250,000. If we see a repeat of the banking crisis of 2008, your plan may be worthless if your bank fails along with others, and the government is unable to protect your plan. Then, you can take your plan and make wallpaper out of it.

If you can hold it in your hand, it has real intrinsic value, unlike your plan statement.