The five laws of gold
Website design By BotEap.comWe live in an impatient age, and when it comes to money, we want more now, today, not tomorrow. Whether it’s a deposit for a mortgage or paying off those credit cards that drain our energy long after we stop enjoying what we buy with them, the sooner the better. When it comes to investing, we want easy wins and quick wins. Hence the current craze for cryptocurrencies. Why invest in nanotech or machine learning when Ethereum is stuck in an endless upward spiral and Bitcoin is the gift that keeps on giving?
Website design By BotEap.comA century ago, the American writer George S Clason took a different approach. In The Richest Man in Babylon, he gave the world a treasure trove—literally—of financial principles based on things that may seem outdated today: caution, prudence, and wisdom. Clason used the wise men of the ancient city of Babylon as spokesmen for his financial advice, but that advice is as relevant today as it was a century ago, when the Wall Street Crash and Great Depression loomed.
Website design By BotEap.comTake, for example, the five laws of gold. If you’re looking to put your personal finances on solid footing, wherever you are in life, these are for you:
Website design By BotEap.comLaw No1: Gold comes with pleasure and in increasing quantity to anyone who invests at least a tenth of their earnings to create a heritage for their future and that of their family. In other words, save 10% of your income. Minimum. Save more than that if you can. And that 10% is not for next year’s vacation or for a new car. It is for long term. Your 10% can include your pension contributions, ISAs, premium bonds, or any type of high interest/restricted access savings account. Well, interest rates for savers are now at record lows, but who knows where they will be in five or ten years? And compound interest means your savings will grow faster than you think.
Website design By BotEap.comLaw No2: Gold works diligently and with satisfaction for the wise owner who finds profitable employment for it. So if he is looking to invest rather than save, do so wisely. No cryptocurrencies or pyramid schemes. We are focusing on the words “profitable” and “employment”. Make your money work for you, but remember that the best you can hope for on this side of the rainbow is consistent long-term returns, not lottery winnings. In practice, this is likely to mean shares in established companies that offer a regular dividend and a steady upward trend in share price. You can invest directly, or through a fund manager in the form of mutual funds, but before you part with a single penny, check out Laws 3, 4 and 5…
Website design By BotEap.comLaw No3: Gold clings to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of the wise in its management. Before you do anything, talk to a qualified and experienced financial advisor. If you don’t know one, do some research. Check them out on the Internet. What experience do they have? What kind of clients? Read the reviews. Call them first and get an idea of what they can offer you, then decide if a face-to-face meeting will work. Take a look at their commission agreements. Are they independent or linked to a particular company, under contract to promote that company’s financial products? A decent financial advisor will encourage you to get the basics — pension, life insurance, a place to live — before steering you toward investing in emerging markets and space travel. When you’re satisfied you’ve found an advisor you can count on, listen to them. Trust their advice. But review your relationship with them at regular intervals, say annually, and if you’re not satisfied, look elsewhere. Chances are, if your judgment was correct in the first place, you’ll stay with the same advisor for many years.
Website design By BotEap.comLaw No4: Gold escapes those who invest it in businesses or purposes with which they are not familiar or are not approved by the experts in their custody. If you have a deep understanding of food retailing, by all means invest in the supermarket chain that is increasing its market share. Similarly, if you work for a company that has an employee share ownership scheme, it makes sense to take advantage of it, if you are sure your company has good prospects. But you should never invest in any market or financial product that you don’t understand (remember the Crash!) or can’t fully research. If you are tempted to try your hand at forex trading or options trading and you have a financial advisor, talk to them first. If they’re not up to date, ask them to refer you to someone who is. Best of all, stay away from anything you’re not sure about, no matter how big the potential winnings are.
Website design By BotEap.comLaw No5: Flee from gold who seeks impossible profits or who follows the seductive advice of tricksters and intriguers or who trusts their own inexperience. Once again, the fifth law follows in the footsteps of the fourth. If you start searching the internet for financial tips and wealth building ideas, your inbox will soon be full of “cheaters and schemers” promising you the earth if you invest £999 in their “system” to turn £1 into £1XXXXXX in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Remember, the only one who makes money in the gold rush is the one who sells shovels. Buy the wrong shovel and you’ll quickly find yourself in debt. Not only will you pay through the nose for a system that has no proven value; by following it, you will probably lose much more than the price you paid for it. At a minimum, you should check out genuine product reviews. And never buy any system, investment vehicle or financial product from any company that is not registered with a national watchdog such as the UK Financial Conduct Authority.