How Good an Investment Has Gold Been?

[MineralMan]

2. That seems like a good approach.

For me, the desire to own a home overrode my desire to stash something away, just in case.

Since I could not eat gold, nor live in it, it had less value for me than a home I could own.

What's missing in this story is that that little run-down house became a career for me. I spent about 10 years fixing it up, and using each project as the subject of an illustrated article for a DIY magazine. That enabled me to do far more with that house than I would have done otherwise. When I sold it in 2004, it had been transformed from a fixer-upper into a charming small home with very attractive features.

So, that's another aspect of how it gained so much value over time, aside from the meteoric rise of home prices in that part of California. I had three offers the first weekend it was on the market. I sold it myself and only had a title company handle the paperwork. I wrote an article about doing that, as well, which paid for all of the closing costs.

My life motto: "Don't do things to make money. Make money with the things you do."