May 2021 - Frugaling

Maintain Your Chimney

Chimneys are a strong attraction for many homebuyers, but they can also be a serious liability if problems are allowed to go unchecked. A chimney that is not maintained properly puts it at risk of having a chimney fire, which can be a serious risk for your entire home.

In fact, you may even have already had a chimney fire and not realized it. If you have seen signs like very dense smoke or loud popping noises coming from your chimney, it may have had a chimney fire. Proper maintenance prevents chimney fires and other issues with your chimney so it will remain a great investment into your home to attract future home buyers as well as keeping you warm.

A professional chimney maintenance company like Brickworks Property Restoration can keep your chimney in good condition and prevent problems before they start.

Xeriscape Your Landscape

Xeriscaping is becoming an increasingly popular landscaping technique. Not only will xeriscaping save you money on irrigation, but it will make having strong curb appeal more likely and attract home buyers who would also like to spend less on irrigation while maintaining a beautiful property.

Xeriscaping involves planting drought-resistant plants, often native plants, that require little or no supplemental watering. Once your yard is thoroughly Xeriscaped, you’ll save money continuously while having a beautiful landscape and your landscape will serve as an attraction to future home buyers.

Invest With Future Buyers in Mind

When making decisions about what to invest in, think about what is likely to sell in the future. A porch, deck, or second bathroom is more likely to see a return on your investment than a pool or koi pond. A metal roof may be a better decision than painting your house a color that you love.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make the improvements you want on your home, it just means that it is a good idea to keep what a future home buyer might prefer in mind when making investment decisions.

Improve Your Home’s Value Affordably

By maintaining some essential elements of your home, landscaping intelligently, and keeping future homebuyers in mind when you make investments, you can go a long way to improve your home’s value without many extra expenses. You can enjoy living in your home more now, and if you decide to sell you will see a greater return on your investments.

Investing in precious metals is one way to diversify your investment portfolio. However, with so many precious metals available in the market, knowing which one to invest in may be difficult. Most people focus on gold investments, while others see the potentials of silver investments.

If you think that investing in silver in 2021 is a good idea, then you’re on the right track. If you want to invest in it for a long-term financial goal, silver should be one of your precious metals investments.

Is Investing in Silver Risky?

While there are many reasons why investing in silver is a good choice, it also comes with some risks. Like every investment, the risk is there. But the good thing about investing in silver is that you can hold it even if the market is down. That way, you can benefit from its growth potential.

Moreover, silver also increases its value during bull markets while holding its value when the market is low. Thus, you can say that silver may not be as risky as other investments.

Reasons Silver Is A Good Investment

Historically, silver and gold are regarded as safe investments against losses and inflation when the economy is in crisis. The following are some of the reasons why many investors see silver as a good option for precious metals investment:

Silver Is Real Money

When it says ‘money,’ it means that you can use it not as a registered currency but as a form of buying goods. Wherever you are in the world, you can use silver as an alternative to a currency’s value. Of course, these are in the form of physical silver.

But unlike paper money, silver doesn’t depreciate in value because you can’t create it out of thin air. Just like gold, you can use physical silver as a store of value because of the following reasons:

Unlike bonds or stocks, you don’t need someone to make you a promise or contract. It’s you who own it, and you can dispose of it however you like. You can put a price on it.
As mentioned, you can use it as money. Different nations recognize the value of silver, and using physical silver in exchange for goods, products, or services is possible. So in times of crisis where fiat currency’s value may have depreciated, you still have ‘money’ to dispose of.

For instance, if you bought 1 kg of physical silver in 2019 for USD$590, it’s worth USD$885 now. On the other hand, if you didn’t buy silver in 2019, your USD$590 may only be worth USD$490 or less due to inflation. Imagine how much you may have gained if you have been investing more of your money into silver.

Continuous Demand In Solar Panels

Demand for solar panels increases each year because of its many benefits, such as reducing electricity bills. And because of this, demand for silver also increases. This means the prices of silver may increase for the next decade. If this is so, then now may be the best time to start investing or buying silver.

Since silver has the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of all metals, silver is now an indispensable element for solar panel manufacturers. Not only is the US into solar panels, but also other countries like China, India, and some European countries.

Silver Is Versatile

Not only is silver used in solar panels, but its versatility also makes it useful for many industries. Some of these industries include mobile phones, household goods, electricity, and medical industries. This is so because of its resistance to oxidation and corrosion, making it the best electrical and thermal conductor of all metals.

Most importantly, silver’s versatility allows it to be drawn into wires, flattened into printable sheets, alloyed with other metals, converted into salt, shaved into flakes, or ground into paste or powder.

As such, here are the top uses of silver:

Shiny Art: Because silver can be shiny, reflective, and malleable, many use it for silverware and silver jewelry. One may use copper as base metals when making silver jewelry, like sterling silver: 7.5% copper and 92.5% silver to harden it. Thus, making it more affordable than gold.
Precious Metals: Silver has also been used in silver coins, medallions, and pure bullion bars. This is due to its corrosion resistance, making it suitable for minting and designing local currencies.
Soldering And Brazing: Also, silver’s ductility and tensile strength benefit soldering and brazing two metal pieces. Soldering and brazing are used in plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning vents’ production of tight joints. Moreover, many uses silver as an excellent replacement for lead-based bonds because of its non-toxicity and antibacterial properties.

Many Ways To Invest In Silver

It’s quite easy to invest in silver. You have many choices on how to invest in silver aside from holding or buying physical silver. Some of these include the following:

Buy Silver Streaming Companies: If you have more funds, you can use, you may want to buy silver streaming companies. This means buying stocks from companies financing silver mining companies. However, you must ensure that you purchase from the reputable ones.
Invest In Silver Mining Stocks: Similar to silver streaming stocks, which you buy stocks from, this next choice, however, is by directly purchasing stocks from the mining companies.
Buying Silver Mutual Funds: If you don’t like to risk buying individual silver mining stocks, you may diversify your portfolio with silver mutual funds. This means you invest in companies producing silver mining companies.

Conclusion

While gold and other precious metals are also suitable investments, you shouldn’t forget to consider silver. As mentioned, the earlier you invest, the more you can gain if you’re investing for the long-term. Instead of hoarding your assets in the bank or one investment vehicle, it may be best to diversify them. Invest in precious metals like silver, and you’ll indeed protect the value of your assets while growing them.

With so many ways to invest in silver, you can do it via online platforms if you prefer to buy silver in stocks or mutual funds. Just find a reputable platform and all transactions will be done online to be easier for you.