Since gold and silver are money, it’s important to view them as such, and not as “investments”. Yes, we’re convinced we’ll make a profit on them, but the deeper purpose lies in their monetary value.

This is why it’s less about their price and more about what they will buy. That’s where true value is found.

If you look solely at price, you might miss the full benefits gold and silver offer. You also might sell too soon… or too late. A “high” price might not be high enough, or a “low” price might actually be high.

For example, if gold rises to $5,700, roughly a triple from current levels, but stock markets and real estate rise commensurately and offer no better value to the investor than they do now, is the gold price “high”?

On the other hand, if gold reaches $3,800, roughly a double from current levels, but it buys two or three or ten times more stocks and real estate and consumer goods as it does now, that’s actually a better value even though the price is lower.

This is why I don’t plan to sell at a pre-determined gold or silver price. Nor some inflation-adjusted price. It’s more about what they will buy me—that’s what we’re trying to protect, after all, our standard of living.

What will they buy us now? And with gold near all-time highs is it perhaps time to exit? Let’s look at the two most common investments relative to gold and silver and see where we stand…