As industrial uses for silver continue to rise, demand for silver will continue. Roughly 45% of all silver mined is now used for industrial purposes. As more countries become modernized around the world, demand for silver will increase.

Silver has medical uses as well. Silver is used as a bactericide, and nearly every hospital uses silver sulfadiazine for preventing infections. Medical devices such as catheters and stethoscopes also use silver.

The bottom line is that silver is scarcer than gold, and is more widely used. Gold is hoarded, which means supplies continue to increase. Silver is used, which means supplies will continue in high demand.

In 1900 the estimate was that there was 12 billion ounces of silver worldwide. By 1990 that dropped to 2.2 billion ounces. In 2007 the supply was down to 300 million ounces. Some expect us to run out of silver in 10 years, which would have a huge impact on the world’s economy. Do you think it would be wise to invest in silver?

Lorimer Wilson, Editor of FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com and munKnee.com listed 29 reasons for owning silver over gold, and he said his list is still growing. While we won’t go into all 29 of his reasons, we’ll mention a few of them here to whet your appetite. (Read his complete list here.) Top of the list was that the silver battle is much easier to win due to its smaller market size.

Central banks have no physical silver to use to manipulate the market. Most silver mined is consumed in industrial uses while the amount of above ground gold grows each year. Silver is in higher demand for day to day life due to its many industrial uses.

Due to the lower cost of silver, the average person is better able to afford it in greater quantities as a means of investment than he could gold. Silver has also been in a supply deficit for over 50 years, making the demand higher. Few investors have physical silver in their possession.

Due to the value of gold, there have been more counterfeiting issues relating to gold than there have been for silver coinage. Gold confiscation laws are still on the books in the US, but there are currently no silver confiscation laws. If any of these reasons appeal to you, then you may want to consider adding silver to your portfolio to help diversify and protect your assets.

There are many ways to diversify your portfolio. One way could be adding real estate investments to your portfolio. Another way is by adding gold investments, such as having a gold IRA.

Gold has been considered a valuable investment for thousands of years. In more recent years, gold has performed well as an investment during times of high inflation. It is also considered a great investment during troubled times and economic uncertainty.

During the troubled times from September 2008 through January 2009, the US Mint sold 816,500 American Eagle gold coins. This was over three times as many as sold the previous year. There were times when the physical supply of gold coins couldn’t keep up with the demand.

Gold will retain its luster as long as the economy is weak. If inflation returns due to all the dollars pumped into it by the government, gold will remain a good hedge. Since no one knows the future, diversification of assets is always the best bet.

Increase the curb appeal of your house by sprucing up your landscaping. Make sure the front door is nicely painted. Decorate your front door step to make it more inviting.

Get rid of your old rusty mailbox and install a nice new one. Install additional lighting wherever it’s needed to add drama and appeal. Paint inside and out to totally change the appearance of a home and give it a fresh look.

Replace any damaged or cheap fixtures with something nice. Add crown molding to some of the rooms to modernize and improve the look. Take an objective look at your home to see what needs fixing or replacing, and do it.

Yes, sprucing up your home may cost a few dollars, but it will be worth it. Following these tips will increase the speed at which your house will sell. In today’s market it is especially necessary to outshine the competition.

If you want to make a  good investment, one way is to look for something low in supply, but high in demand. An example of this is the Southern California housing market. Lots of people want to live in Southern California, and housing is limited – which drives the prices up quickly. Buying and holding on to the property will increase its value.

Another good investment is to buy something that is in high supply, but low demand. Often there is a surplus of a certain kind of property, so it can be purchased at a discounted rate. You won’t make money on this kind of market unless you do something that makes your property worth more, so you can sell it at a profit.

For the price to increase, either the demand has to increase or the supply has to decrease. Since you have little control over the supply side, you have to do something to increase the demand. The best way to do this is to make the house more desirable.

Buy a run down home at a low price, make repairs and improvements, and you have increased the demand value of the home. The result is a dramatic increase in the selling price of the home. This is one way shrewd investors can make a profit in the real estate market using the Law of Supply and Demand.

Realtors are naturally biased when giving an opinion about buying and selling real estate. They earn money only as long as the market is moving. To them, selling and buying is the name of the game.

When it comes to real estate investments, or almost any investment, there is no guarantee of the future. There is no way to know for sure if and when housing prices will rise or fall. We can look at the past and see patterns that might occur again in the future, but it is a far from certain science.

One of the main reasons for owning your own home is that you can customize your living space to meet your needs. If you are diligent in paying off your mortgage quickly so that you can indeed own your own home, then you can add peace of mind to your ownership benefits. Knowing you truly own the home, and the bank can’t take it away from you, can give you great feelings of security during troubled times.

In the past, owning your own home was considered a great investment. While it is true that we can’t predict future prices of real estate, regardless of how prices fluctuate, a home will still be worth the value of a home. It will never be totally worthless.

One key to keeping the costs down is to avoid having an insurance claim in the first place. Take care of any minor repairs before they become a major expense. If you expect water to collect in the basement, adding a sump pump is less expensive than dealing with the disaster after the fact.

Make an inspection of your property to see if there are any tree limbs that should be trimmed. Are there areas where melting snow collects and could cause water problems? Taking care of potential problems early on will avoid damage and expense later.

Taking the time to periodically review what your homeowner’s insurance policy covers for each of your properties will help you make sure you have adequate coverage. Watch for any potential gaps in coverage. Maybe you’ve added a swimming pool recently and need liability coverage for that. Perhaps you’ve purchased a fur coat or jewels that should be noted on the policy.

Will your insurance cover flood damage, wind damage, or earthquakes, or do you need to add those on separately? Does your insurance cover the costs of temporary housing in the event your home becomes unlivable? Knowing the answers to these questions will give you greater peace of mind as you enjoy a relaxing summer vacation.

If you are working toward a short term investment, you will be turning or flipping property quickly. For this to succeed, you must be able to buy at a low price and turn around and sell it at a higher price. If you are familiar with real estate markets, you can make some quick cash this way.

Longer term investing can create quite a bit of wealth. This involves you buying and holding onto property. The property is usually rented out to a tenant, or leased with an option to buy.

When starting out, the payments received for rent will often cover the financing cost of owning the home. Once the home is paid for, the rent collected is pure income. Using real estate as a retirement investment option is possible for those with a self directed IRA.

As with any investment, investing in real estate also carries some risk. The hoped for scenario to buy at a low price and sell for a much higher one doesn’t always pan out during market crashes. Still, regardless of the current pricing of real estate, property will always carry some value no matter how low the market goes, so in that regard it can be a more secure investment than many other options.

Purchasing real estate when the prices are low can be a great strategy. The rent from the property goes right back into your retirement account, tax-free in most cases.  When you do eventually sell the property, the gain on the sale can also be tax free – depending on how your account is set up.

Since most IRA custodians do not offer real estate as an option, many people remain unaware that they can use their retirement’s funds in this manner. There are actually many options available when investing your retirement funds. The restrictions are that you can’t invest in life insurance and collectibles.

With the volatility of the stock market, many investors are looking for other ways to invest their retirement savings. Some of the more common assets invested in are real estate, private placement, precious metals and notes. If you don’t have your IRA set up so you can decide where the investments are made, that is the first step you must take.

If your current IRA custodian doesn’t handle the types of investments you want to make, you will need to look around to find one that does. Once your account is set up, you can fund it with a transfer from your old IRA or a rollover, or by adding regular contributions. After all that, you can decide what you want to invest in and instruct your custodian to facilitate that investment on behalf of your retirement fund.

Before making any investment, do your homework and study it out. Set realistic goals and limits for your investing. Don’t invest in risky ventures unless you can afford to lose the money.

Instead of expecting to get rich quick, invest for the long term and don’t change your investments too often. Avoid acting on impulse; take the time to think your decisions through.  Don’t be greedy; giving to charities helps keep balance in your life.

When looking at investments, go for a good value. Remember that tax planning is important, so check out how the investment will affect your taxable income. Don’t be afraid to get good professional help.

These investment tips will help you manage your self directed IRA or any other investments you have. These common sense tips have stood the test of time. Beware of those advocating anything that seems too good to be true – it probably is.