You’re ready for a new adventure in investing. You’ve been saving your money and want to start putting it to work for you. But where do you invest? Precious metals are an excellent option, but there are some important things you should know before diving in headfirst. We’ll cover four of the most important ones in this post.

What are precious metals and why should you buy them?

Before diving headfirst, it’s important to know some of the basics behind buying precious metals. So what exactly are they and why should you consider adding some to your portfolio instead of just sticking with stocks or bonds? Let’s start first by defining our terms: “Precious” means rare, “metals” means anything that conducts electricity (most often used as building materials).

As such, “precious metal investing” refers to any sector involving investments tied up in physical assets made from things like gold, silver, platinum, or palladium. The term covers a wide variety of products including bullion bars and coins, equipment like mining gear or vaults where your metals can be stored (known as “bullion storage”), and even companies involved in the manufacturing of these commodities.

What makes them a good investment?

Investing in precious metal assets is different than buying traditional securities such as stocks or bonds because there’s no central clearinghouse for any transaction: every trade occurs person-to-person on an exchange.

As such, investing in gold isn’t technically considered to be part of the stock market at all. It operates independently with its own rules, regulations, and taxation policies which means you needn’t worry about things like corporate buybacks diluting their value over time. If you are ready for your first investment go now and make your first purchase. As far as why they’re so valuable when compared to other assets, there are two main reasons: scarcity and utility.

Gold for example is rare because it doesn’t dissolve in water (which means you can’t mine them from the oceans) and isn’t found in pure form anywhere on Earth (it’s always mixed with other metals like silver or copper which reduces its purity). As such, companies wanting to make products out of gold need to buy up lots of raw materials before they start smelting, mixing, pressing sheets. This makes prices go up naturally over time as more people want a share of what’s available without any new supply coming into play.

How do I know the difference between gold, silver, platinum, and other metals?

There’s no denying gold is the most popular precious metal, but there are actually several others as well such as silver and platinum. While they’re not nearly as valuable or sought-after, it can be important to know how each one differs so you don’t make any costly mistakes when investing in these metals. Here are three of the main differences between them:

  • Gold – The first thing people usually think of when buying precious metals because it has a rich history behind its use throughout time (including being used for currency). They’re rarer than other materials making prices go up naturally over time which makes this an excellent inflation hedge against paper currencies that continue losing value every year through things like quantitative easing.
  • Silver – Because it’s less expensive than gold, silver is often used by investors looking to get their feet wet with precious metals without spending too much money. Silver has a long tradition of use in jewelry and other products so there’s less concern about it ever becoming completely worthless.
  • Platinum – This metal works well as an industrial product thanks to its high melting point (which means you can do things like mold engines) but because supply is limited compared to the other metals on this list, prices tend to be more volatile.

Where can I purchase these items?

Thanks to the internet, buying precious metals is easier than ever before. If you know what type of metal you want and where it’s mined from (for example South Africa) then all you need to do in order to find a dealer willing to sell these items is an online search for “precious metal dealers”.

Once you’ve found one that offers competitive prices compared with other options, simply contact them through phone or email – they’ll take care of everything else! Although gold isn’t technically part of the stock market anymore, there are still plenty of places on the web where people can buy stocks related to this commodity including companies involved in mining or refining ore into bars which makes investing easy no matter how much experience someone has.

Precious metals are an excellent investment opportunity for those who can afford to buy them. They’re typically seen as a safe haven in times of economic uncertainty and they also have the potential to appreciate over time, so you will see your money grow when purchasing these items.