How will you spend your $13

[Clipper]

My mom and dad dealt in paper gold shares for awhile. That seemed fairly safe, but they dealt through a financial advisor who was also their attorney at the time. I personally purchased gold in the small bars the size of a credit card, and kept them in a safe deposit box. I almost doubled my money in a relatively short period of time, and sold it off to put money towards our camper.

When I say I keep my money in a safe or safe deposit box, I mean my slush fund money, or "mattress money". I keep most of my funds right in my checking account or in a small savings account. "Mattress" money is always there if we have a rainy day project to fund, or a trip to take.

[frankcor]

No, Dave, I don't own any gold, directly.. If you think gold is a good investment, you can buy mutual funds that specialize in gold mines and producers. There's even an exchange traded fund that trades like a stock -- GLD on the NYSE. It's very liquid, meaning you can buy or sell at any time you want, as long as the exchange is open.

But I don't think now is a good time to buy gold or gold stocks. Gold has made a terrific run over the past 2 years. It has gone from around $300 an ounce to $1000. Unless you think it might be going to $2000 (and there are folks who think it will) now is not the time go get in.

Take a look at a chart for GLD for the past year. If you bought last October,you'd be way ahead right now. But the chart also shows that you can lose a lot if you don't get in or out at just the right time.