STUDENT/Young family man needs your advice!!

SilverYoo said:
Hi everyone.

Im a medical student in their mid 20's a husband and a young father.

I bought my first stake in silver last night. ~ 30 ounces.
I know, not very much but all i could afford at the time.

I'll accumulate close to 250,00 us dollars in debt when i finish
school and concerned about my financial future in medicine.
We have a tax return coming soon and could probably afford to buy another 30-60
ounces of silver. That extra little bit of cash from the return could definitely help
us now but prob not a neccesity. I don't really have savings to speak of.
Is it worth the risk? Could/should i use some of my student loans to invest in silver?

I know the amounts I'm investing are child's play to many of you but if theres anything
you could share with a young guy trying to protect his families future it would be much appreciated.

PS. my first purchase was from Apmex but forums keep telling me there are better places to purchase
silver with less above spot. Could someone point me to a reputable seller?
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SilverYoo,

hey, this is my first post on SS as well but i've been lurking in the shadows for a few weeks or so. i'm also in the states. i do not have a family to worry about but i have similar concerns about investing. my stack is pretty meager at this point but i'm doing a little each month. a little more than what i used to put into my 401K monthly. even though spot is cruising up right now, it has to go up quite a bit to get you back to even after dealer spread and shipping or local sales tax. you should also ask yourself, "will i buy silver at any price?" i've been asking myself that. for example. you said you just picked up 30 oz. would you have picked up 10 oz. if the price were 3x what it is now?

personally, i think i'll continue to pick up whatever my monthly budget allows w/ little concern for spot price, until the national debt is under control (not looking so good there) or until my monthly budget won't buy a single ounce...which seems pretty far off from now.

i'm lucky in that i have a local dealer so i don't have to worry about shipping but i do have state sales tax so sometimes shipping works out to be less. i've found http://www.gainesvillecoins.com/ to be pretty competitive on price. although their posted spot seems to always be higher than silverprice.org. wondering if they're trying to sneak a few cents an ounce in on me. but, total cost of the order is the main thing and they usually come in pretty low and shipping is quite fast compared to others if your item is in stock.

i don't have a firearm right now but am making preparations for a bug out bag to include a firearm, more for hunting than anything. sometimes i feel crazy for thinking about it but hey, nobody needs to know i have it. just keep your preparations between you and your wife. anyhow, i'm sort of rambling but i wouldn't get caught up in the silver to hit $6,000 youtube videos too much. if it does and you have some, great, but who's going to have that kind of cash around to make you instantly rich? and in that scenario the cash probably wouldn't be worth anything.

if you're thinking doomsday, a case of whiskey, carton of smokes will have a pretty high value. enough to feed your family for awhile. i heard someone else on here mention bottles of honey. i've heard u.s. prison inmates w/ no access to cash use packs of tuna for their currency. food for thought. BOOM, horrible pun. i'm out.
 
millededge said:
250k is quite a bit for a med degree. I take it is a good one.

Last time I looked here it costs up to 200k for international students and 100k+ for locals, but if a subsidised positions is gained, then that cost falls to 50-60K total.

A decade or so ago, you'd pay about $32k in a government subsidised position, and unlike the USA, it is not paid upfront. Repayment was deferred until earning above a threshold.

Although you are in a high pressure position, with all the responsibilities and uncertainties, it would be a really high stakes gamble to use debt to buy silver, especially when there is your future at stake.

You already have a bird in the hand, your tuition fees. But imagine if a nanotech replacement was found for silver in industry? Or if China has a meltdown?

I'd agree with others that you will have a vocation which will pay for itself.

It is wise to consider what the future of medicine holds, especially portable and high value skillsets.

I see Obama is doing his level best to socialise medicine over there, which is just too big a fish to swallow.

We have a hybrid. Pretty good public care, when you consider it, coupled to a cartelized College system which ensures a restricted supply of specialists and therefore lesser competition.

For some strange reason I'll never fathom, this especially applies to Dermatology.
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I like your description of the system as a cartel. Another British model that has been successfully franchised here.
 
AS a general thing to do, as a doctor you will be taxed very highly, it might be a good idea to look into investing as a business if you expect to make a lot of money, then you can faze out of being a doctor and live off your business later on and have less tax to pay plus also have something to pass onto the kids. I know nothing about all that, I've just been watching Kiyosaki (Rich Dad) videos lately lol, but something worth thinking about imo and seeking the right help from pros who know.
 
Should i just move to Australia. Whats the economic climate like there
right now? I can't imagine it being awesome because of the global financial
crisis but it's gotto be better than the states
 
SilverYoo said:
Should i just move to Australia. Whats the economic climate like there
right now? I can't imagine it being awesome because of the global financial
crisis but it's gotto be better than the states
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Australia is a shithole country if you don't value rights and freedom. We are the biggest nanny state country of all.

If you're happy to be a slave to the system and want a safe country that is highly managed by the Government than yes come here.


Otherwise look elsewhere.

Australia is a safe, predictable nanny state, some people like it that way, I for one can't stand it.

I'd like to think there at least a few places on earth better than this.
 
Australia - soon to have a national broadband network for Murdoch to pump internet TV straight into your home, with the compliments of the taxpayer.
 
Ernster said:
SilverYoo said:
Should i just move to Australia. Whats the economic climate like there
right now? I can't imagine it being awesome because of the global financial
crisis but it's gotto be better than the states
Click to expand...


Australia is a shithole country if you don't value rights and freedom. We are the biggest nanny state country of all.

If you're happy to be a slave to the system and want a safe country that is highly managed by the Government than yes come here.


Otherwise look elsewhere.

Australia is a safe, predictable nanny state, some people like it that way, I for one can't stand it.
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ernster its not that bad !!! your a slave to the system anywhere until u learn how to beat / work your way around it australia is a great place good food fresh air not anywhere near polluted as other countries theres a lot i dont like about it but i'd rather live here than anywhere else my advice silveryoo is dont put all your eggs in the 1 basket .Can you transfer your degree to here ? we need more doctors .then you have less debt .the americans i have met say australia is like a big country town our cities are tiny compared to the states. sound like you got some decision making to do good luck buddy hope you make the right one
 
Complete your degree...obviously....focus on paying off your debts and just you any left over cash to buy silver, whether it is coins or bullion. Just stick with small amounts and know the places you can use to sell when you need the cash. if it was me, I would not think about getting rich but using silver as a substitute instead of the bank. When you need the extra cash for Christmas presents or a small holiday etc, sell the Silver you have stored....

Once you have completed your Degree, you will have the knowledge, insight and more money to invest big if you decide to do it later....
 
hi silveryoo, am kind of offtopic but i reckon if i was a med student id call myself "silver scrubs"
 
Argentum said:
hi silveryoo, am kind of offtopic but i reckon if i was a med student id call myself "silver scrubs"
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Hahaha nice. I've never been good at
making usenames. I'd probably have to open a
new account to change it huh?
 
Bulawan pilak said:
Once you have completed your Degree, you will have the knowledge, insight and more money to invest big if you decide to do it later....
Click to expand...

Economics and money wont be taught at university doing a medical degree, not even if you do an economics or finance degree.
reading most of the posts here will set you straight "money" wise.
by the way, when one watches movies about finance and brokers, they always make fun of doctors in them.
wonder why ?!
but i cant get past $250k for the med degree,
dont know whats gonna happen, but get some arable land somewhere in Montana and live there :)
 
THUCYDIDES79 said:
Bulawan pilak said:
Once you have completed your Degree, you will have the knowledge, insight and more money to invest big if you decide to do it later....
Click to expand...

Economics and money wont be taught at university doing a medical degree, not even if you do an economics or finance degree.
reading most of the posts here will set you straight "money" wise.
by the way, when one watches movies about finance and brokers, they always make fun of doctors in them.
wonder why ?!
but i cant get past $250k for the med degree,
dont know whats gonna happen, but get some arable land somewhere in Montana and live there :)
Click to expand...


In "Fooled by Randomness" Taleb gives an example of a lotto winner vs a dentist who become neighbours. Outwardly they are both equally rich with similar houses, cars, assets.

What is different about the two, is that the lottery winner gets success one in a million lifetimes, if he was to live his life over and over.

The dentist, would become more or less wealthy, but always well off in every lifetime they lived. Difference being that they might be a celebrity dentist making multi-millions or a suburban nobody dentist who makes only a million.

I thought it was a good lesson.
 
The most important thing is to consider everything and discount nothing. when I began to really wrap my head around things (aged 20) it was a total paradigm shift and I found it highly stressful, now I just understand it and accept it and continue to learn. The most important thing is to look after your mind. I find it helpful to wargame possible scenarios (specific to my circumstances) and decide how I'd react ahead of time. That way if they come to pass, you'll never be flat footed.

The other thing is, silver is more speculative than gold, do you want more upside potential or more safety?
 
Actually, I meant that once he completes the Degree, the money from the job would change helping pay off the debt more and leave disposable cash to invest.....that is looking at a Doctors salary....the knowledge will come from time saving and stacking Silver in the mean time..... :p
 
As my name suggests I am a few years along from where you are and work in Australia as a Doctor. Across the world costs for tertiary education are rising, but you have to view the loan you take out as an investment in developing a unique set of skills that will undoubtedly enhance your future earning capacity. I have a student loan and make minimal repayments. Like most people on the site, What money I can get my hands on I invest in Silver bullion and have done for three years now. As a Doctor you will always find work somewhere in the world, people will always have a need for the care you can provide. I think the only concern is that as an employee of a public health care system you may find yourself in the situation similar to other public sector employees eg teachers, police etc where governments desperate to balance their spreadsheets begin cutting back funding to health and education services, and hospitals like any business will have to possibly cut back on wages and staff. You will undoubtedly be better off and somewhat from the risk of losing income or losing your job compared to someone working in the retail sector for instance where as the global recession deepens these types of jobs will be very vulnerable. Even though you feel you have only purchased a few ounces of silver, you already have more in your possession than a significant proportion of the population... If there is indeed only around 1 Billion ounces of physical silver available to buy at present it doesn't leave much to go around the world if everyone wants even a single ounce. I always find it interesting that so many of my 'highly educated' colleagues find it odd that I invest in physical bullion, yet have little understanding of the economic situation we are in... It will become very apparent soon that Australia's comfortable ride through the first part of the recession will come at significant cost... I personally have made use of the banks low interest credit card rate deals over here to borrow money to buy bullion. If you transfer balances across you pay a very low interest rate 2-3% PA for up to 18 months. I last purchased bullion around $26 in the last dip with this... the recent gains back have already more than covered any interest I will incur in the next few months paying it off... I like the strategy of just putting a little aside each month and accumulating... Usually just before options expiry when the price usually falls... If we are right 30 dollar silver will be comparatively cheap... and it certainly will provide financial backbone for your families future.

regards

DrJ
 
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