Should I buy gold?

[dhammapal]

Hi,

I'm thinking of investing in gold. The Buddha's chief patron Anathapindika had a lot of gold. The American and European Central Banks are printing money ("quantitative easing") and I need to diversify from just cash (I wouldn't touch property or shares - there is always dana too of course). I'm not saying gold is a sure winner but is a hedge against inflation and a devaluation of the Australian dollar after the mining boom ends.

One problem is that if things get bad the government might confiscate gold. The Australian government has already introduced a mining tax which basically confiscates money from shareholders.

Can you think of any other considerations I should think of before buying gold?

Thanks / dhammapal.

PS Does anyone know of any online discussion forums on investment options run by unbiased volunteers?

[DAWN]

Me too.

[David2]

The answer from the Buddhist point of view is easy:
Whatever you buy, don't get attached to it.
It is not so bad if you lose money, it just means that someone else won the same amount of money.
To conclude, money is just a tool, nothing we should get too excited about.

From an economic point of view:
I'm not too deep into the matter, but I think experts advise not to spend more than 5-10 % for gold, because it is rather volatile.
They advise to rather invest the money into different investment categories, so one can minimize the risk of losing money.

[Hickersonia]

It is not so bad if you lose money, it just means that someone else won the same amount of money.

This isn't really a major point for most of us, but thanks to the fractional reserve banking system, banks really only have to have about 10% in "real money" of the value that hey are permitted to offer to borrowers... and the markets are driven by borrowed funds (margin trading). The money doesn't really exist, and the whole system can loose millions while a single person or powerful group make billions.

Me, I wouldn't invest to heavily in any one thing because you never know, we could go back to times like the 1930's when the U.S. government effectively confiscated gold and made ownership of gold illegal... :-/

[BubbaBuddhist]

(1) Buy gold, and keep it in a lockbox in a foreign bank.
(2) If we become a fascist society, where the government assumes the right to seize citizen's assets--leave. Move to where you stashed the gold and live there.

BB
Has an answer for everything

[Mal]

... If we become a fascist society, where the government assumes the right to seize citizen's assets--leave. Move to where you stashed the gold and live there.

Can you be certain of getting out? Many Jews tried to leave Nazi Germany but couldn't get a visa.

Did the Buddha stash gold in the forest? Hardly!

If you lose all your money, it's likely you will find shelter and food, through social security payments, working, or begging. What else do you need? If things are really bad, you die. So what?

About ten years ago I decided on a long-term investment policy, leaving me free to think about other things than money juggling. Check out ideas by people like Warren Buffett and Jim Bogle to see how you might "invest and forget".

Buddhist monks don't even handle money, I think the rest of us should handle it as little as possible!

Did the Buddha give any direct advice on how lay people should handle money?

[David N. Snyder]

Did the Buddha give any direct advice on how lay people should handle money?

"The wise and virtuous shine like a blazing fire. He who acquires his wealth in harmless ways
like to a bee that honey gathers, riches mount up for him like ant hill's rapid growth. With wealth
acquired this way, a layman fit for household life, in portions four divides his wealth: thus will
he friendship win. One portion for his wants he uses, two portions on his business spends, the
fourth for times of need he keeps."
Digha Nikaya 31, Sigalovada Sutta

The Buddha advised lay people to spend one-fourth of their income on daily expenses, invest half, and keep one-fourth for an emergency. According to the Buddha, one of
the greatest happinesses lay persons should strive for is to be free of debts.

[Kusala]

Did the Buddha give any direct advice on how lay people should handle money?

"The wise and virtuous shine like a blazing fire. He who acquires his wealth in harmless ways
like to a bee that honey gathers, riches mount up for him like ant hill's rapid growth. With wealth
acquired this way, a layman fit for household life, in portions four divides his wealth: thus will
he friendship win. One portion for his wants he uses, two portions on his business spends, the
fourth for times of need he keeps."
Digha Nikaya 31, Sigalovada Sutta

The Buddha advised lay people to spend one-fourth of their income on daily expenses, invest half, and keep one-fourth for an emergency. According to the Buddha, one of
the greatest happinesses lay persons should strive for is to be free of debts.

Sounds like the Buddha was well ahead of his time.