I have no debts. Each pay either goes into savings or metal. I feel free to do as I wish. I guess it comes down to income?
It comes down to disposable income Well, it's probably not the best term, but it's the term i use for income after basic living expenses (and tax of course) are taken out. Eg, after housing, food, bills are taken out, how much is left over for discretionary spending. Not to go too far down that rabbit hole, but in my opinion that is where the rich/poor divide really opens up. People might think that a 50K vs 70K income (before tax) is not hugely different... but when you calculate the disposable income left over, the 70K income would have proportionally much more than just a 5:7 ratio. Likewise, if you're comparing the 70K income to a 140K income (before tax), the disposable income would be much more than double the income proportion of 7:14 (or 1:2)... it's more along the lines of 1:3 or 1:4. Note: Obviously all that stuff depends on how affluent your lifestyle is. Please don't go there Back on topic - it depends who's buying PMs too, and where from. Do the well-off people buy PMs, or paper PMs or none? Are SS members more like the average wage earners? How much does debt play a factor in their disposable income? What age demographic are they in and what capital do they have that is already available for such purchases? Actually thats a point - are people buying from pay-to-pay, or do they have lots of capital and just look for bargains? Personally i'm pay-to-pay (and may always be).
I have minimal debt, which is to say I have a mortgage payment and a small auto loan. Here in the US, it is extremely hard for the middle class just to keep our heads above water, let alone save any sort of wealth. I want to stack more than 1-2ozs per week, but that is all I can reasonably afford :/
Dools, small consolation if none at all, but the middle class solely exists to ensure society exists. Everywhere. :/
Yes. It's unreal how things can add up for the middle man. Insurance premiums, health care costs, enormous taxations, blah blah blah.. Guess I should feel fortunate to be able to get what little silver I can afford?? Yeah right..
The only debt I have currently is interest free for another little while, so I'd rather be putting my disposable income into silver/gold than paying off the debt quicker (since it's not accruing interest). When it comes to the last payment whilst in interest free, I'll pay it off in full with some savings. When I had my car loan I was still paying double repayments into that to bring it down quick - albeit still buying silver, just not as much as I can now.
Umm no! Ha ha. World view I guess. Mmm what should I put my hard earned fiat into this week. Cheap gizzmo crap that dont last or into real assets.
I am - as much as I can reasonably afford after necessities and then a little bit more, and I skimp on the luxuries most of the time - not saying I don't treat myself every now and then, or spend a hundred bux once a month on some beers and poker, but pretty much everything surplus is into PM's or held in cash ready for PMs.
It is important to have some luxuries as well in my opinion. I mean, I pretty much split my left over money between PMs and computer gear - which probably isn't the greatest way, but you know
YeH I agree, my left over goes into PMs and anything else that produces like a beehive etc. Man the simple life truly is a happy life.
Your ability to add gold and silver depends less upon debt and more upon net worth and cash flow. Having no debt means little if your cash flow just barely covers expenses. I have a home mortgage and car payment but still have plenty to purchase metals. With sufficient cash flow you can add to your stack without touching savings.
I have a mortgage so I am pretty heavily in debt, will take three years of combined family disposable income to pay off the mortgage, if we were that way inclined. Spending about 32k a year servicing the debt. We are split between paying down the debt to reduce the mortgage, and investing in PMs. I also get sidetracked and buy other, less liquid, collectibles to speculate on. It is hard to justify buying silver when for the same outlay I can make better gains by paying down the debt. However in a hyperinflation situation the debt will become less and the silver will pay a chunk of the mortgage so I guess it makes sense to have some, just in case. I would like to add a 1kg and a 10kg Dragon to the stack, and some pretty coloured 1oz and if we didn't have the debt I would say 'stuff it!' and just buy it.
I'm in a similar situation. Prefer to paydown mortgage and add to the Offset so to have a buffer in case of any unexpected events. PMs are a buy a small amount, once every 3 months luxury. Even so, it still adds up over 5,10, 15 years. However paying down existing debt and buying an investment property is more of a priority.
Interesting reading here guys I am a self employed tradie/auto dismantler(4x4) Although i have no debt, if i didnt put my disposable income into shares or pms last couple yrs Id have $125k in the bank instead of the $68k i would get if i sold my shares and my silver now! Not sure what the moral of my story is :-(