Another school year is about to begin. And because we are thinking about education, we would like to ask this question . . .

What is the best way to educate young people about investing in precious metals?

Did you know that gambling casinos typically generate a profit of about 2% on all the money that is bet in their facilities? So if $10 million is wagered in a casino in one day, they make $200,000! That explains why casino hotels are likely to offer you a cheap room to stay in, or even a free one. The more people they get through their doors, the more money they make.

Let’s start today’s post by asking two questions . . .

• First, a pleasant question. You own precious metals, and that is good. But do you know exactly what you own, how much they weigh, and where they are located?

• Second, an unpleasant question. If you were to die today (unpleasant!) or contract some illness that would incapacitate you for a period of time, would your heirs know exactly where to find the precious metals you own, or would they be at a loss? Or could they fail to find some of the precious metals you own?

As 2018 is now in the past, we are sensing a lot of uncertainty about investing in precious metals. Some of that uneasiness is due to recent events, such as our country’s imposition of higher tariffs on imported goods. Another new development is that AMPEX, a major dealer in bullion, is now allowing investors to pay for their purchases with Bitcoin. We don’t actually know whether that will produce big changes in the trading prices of gold, silver, platinum and palladium – after all, every time you buy any precious metal you are paying for it with some kind of currency, right? But paying for precious metals with Bitcoin is making the news, and causing traditional traders in precious metals to ask, “What does it mean?”

“A bucking bronco” is the best way to describe what has been happening on the stock market in year 2018. On any given day, the Dow Jones can plummet 300-500 points. Then the next day it comes galloping back. And just when jittery investors start to think, “Thank heavens that is over, whatever it was,” the Dow takes a plunge again.

“Using other people’s money to get rich” is a pretty appealing idea, isn’t it? That explains why the concept is so widely promoted in those “make a fortune in real estate” courses you see advertised around the country. You know what they are - they are big courses that are held in meeting rooms at roadside hotels. It costs nothing to attend them, then they try to get you to sign up for much more expensive courses that teach you to invest in real estate.

If you do some searching online for “best places to hide precious metals,” you will find dozens of articles that offer advice on the smartest places to hide precious metals in your residence.

Do you have gold, silver and other precious metals that you would like to store safely away? If so, what are your most secure and loss-proof options?

In today’s post, we’ll discuss some of the popular storage places people choose for precious metals and explore what is good and bad about them.

“Dollar in Danger of Weakening for Six Years,” an article that appeared on Bloomberg.com on November 16, sounds these alarms that all investors should heed . . .

It seems likely that prices are trending up, and could continue to do so for months, or even for several years. If that is the case, what are your best gold investment strategies? If you believe that gold prices will continue to rise, here are two to consider…

Our editorial team had a very busy 2016, writing a total of 46 blog posts on a variety of topics. Some posts contained only nuts-and-bolts advice on finding and processing precious metals. Others covered trends. Yet we did our utmost to deliver practical, usable advice in every post we wrote. In today’s post, we’ll organize those 2016 posts by topic, so you can quickly find the information you’re looking for.

Today’s post is a bit different from others that you have read on this blog in the past. We’re not going to focus on precious metal investments that you can make today. Instead, we’re going to take a long-term look at trends in space exploration and aeronautics that you should be aware of – trends that could reshape the world of precious metals in the future.

Yes, the deadline for filing your 2015 tax return has come and gone. But before you take a deep breath and move on, why not take stock of tax lessons you learned last month, talk about them with your tax preparer or attorney, and make some decisions right now about how you are going to deal with your precious metals holdings when next April rolls around?