One of the most important savings goals shared by parents around the world is finding a way to save for their children. Putting away a fund to help your kids pay for post-secondary education might be one of the best ways you can help them get started in their adult life.
Graduating with no debt will give them a huge leg up over their peers, giving them freedom to pursue their dream career and helping them start investing sooner, saving for a house, and starting a family. The advantages can’t be understated. Studies have shown that graduates who take on service industry jobs straight out of college hurt their career prospects and earn less money in the course of their lifetime, even after finding degree-related careers. But they do it because they need to make debt payments.
Time Is on Your Side
Financial advisors are fond of saying that you can take bigger risks the younger you are – at least if you’re saving for retirement. The farther away from your financial goals, the more time you have to recover from market corrections. You can make riskier investments because the faster growth is worth the losses in the long run.
Investing for a newborn means you have a lot of time on your side, but not as much as you might think. When you start investing at 25, you have 40 years for your retirement. For a newborn, you have only 18 years until you need a school fund.
Balance High Growth with Low Risk
Given the time frame, you want to balance high growth equities with low risk alternatives assets like precious metals. Gold and silver prices reward patience. History has shown they resist inflation and spark bull markets every 20 years or so. The odds are that investing in gold bars or some silver coins today will result in great returns 18 years from now, or at the very least, hold their value so that the money is ready when your child needs to make that first tuition payment.
There are several ways you can buy precious metals, including bullion itself, ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds), or investing in mining stocks. The safest and most convenient way to do it is buying bullion itself: gold and silver coins and bars.
How to Buy Gold and Silver
The first rule for maximizing your returns when you buy precious metals: don’t overpay for your silver bullion by going to the wrong source or buying collectibles. Try starting your search online. It’s often where the lowest premiums-over-spot are found and the most convenient to buy bullion.
Gold is the most hunted metal for centuries as it’s much more than a normal shiny metal. It is linked with wealth, power, influence and success. Therefore, this is what you’d absolutely offer your kids. Buying gold can be pleasurable too; you could start making a collection of Gold coinage.
If you’re looking for a meaningful gift your children will enjoy that also comes with value, there are some great collectible coins out there they will love, like coins with their favorite Disney characters. Or you can start by using high-purity coins with lower premiums.
Investing for your kids today will give them a huge leg up. If you want to give your kids every advantage you can start with gold and silver.
