3 Ways to Invest in Silver on a Budget

Stacking silver, though a sound investment in your family’s future, is not a cheap endeavor. After all, you can’t invest without spending money upfront. Those familiar with investing in silver know that spot prices change throughout the day, which can cause the price of a metal to change drastically from day to day or week to week. These price changes can be caused by economic performance, the political environment, and any number of other factors that affect financial markets.

Navigating the up-and-down cycles of the silver market can be difficult, even for experienced investors. At Provident, we want you to get the most bang for your buck! We don’t just sell silver bullion; we also strive to provide you with the education necessary to make the best investing decisions for you and your family.

To that note, we’ve compiled a few tips for investing in silver while on a budget. What does this mean? Following these tips will help you buy silver for the lowest possible prices. Investing is an important step towards protecting your financial future, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of your present finances.

Read the following tips and start getting the most out of your silver investments!

#1: Buy Privately Minted Silver

When it comes to buying silver bullion, you can break your options into two main groups: sovereign-minted and private-minted. What’s the difference?

Sovereign mints are established and run by national governments. Silver coins produced by a sovereign mint carry a legal tender value that is backed by the government. They also must meet certain purity and quality standards, as defined by government regulations. Popular sovereign silver coins include the American Silver Eagle and the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, among many others.

Private mints operate as independently-owned companies, meaning that no face value is attached to the silver rounds and bars they produce. Many private mints also have high purity and quality standards, along with the ability to produce a wider variety of designs to appeal to collectors and hobbyists. Our popular Provident Prospector silver round is privately minted and sold exclusively through Provident.

One of the key differences between sovereign and private silver bullion is premium pricing. In most cases, you’ll find that sovereign coins have a higher premium over spot price when compared to private rounds’ lower premiums.

What does this mean? Collectors and hobbyists often enjoy buying a wide variety of silver bullion. For them, the enjoyment they get from the hobby is worth the extra cost. But if your goal is simply to amass a cache of silver as an investment tool, buying privately minted silver is usually the most affordable way to meet your goal.

#2: Buy in Bulk

Buying silver in bulk might seem like it would be more expensive and not very budget-friendly, but there’s logic behind the suggestion. Simply put, many precious metals dealers—including Provident—offer a discount or lower price per ounce if you buy silver in larger quantities. The threshold for these discounts will vary by dealer and by product.

For instance, buying 20 Silver Eagles might be cheaper per ounce than buying just one; and buying 50 or 100 might be cheaper per ounce than buying 20. The larger your order, the more likely it is that you can save money on each ounce you buy.

Do you buy silver regularly? Let’s say you buy 10 ounces of silver per month. You may find that it’s more cost effective to buy larger quantities less frequently, such as buying 30 ounces of silver quarterly. Taking the time to save enough money to invest in larger purchases can help you save in the long-run.

Another bonus of placing larger orders? Provident—and many other dealers—offer free shipping on orders that meet a certain price threshold. So your larger silver order could result in bulk savings and shipping savings! This may only lead to saving a few bucks here and there, but those dollars add up over years of precious metals investing. Why spend more money when you can get more silver for less?

#3: Take Advantage of Sales

Plenty of reputable bullion dealers—including Provident—offer periodic sales and deals. Sales may occur when a company wishes to clear older products out of the vault, when they get a good deal on a cache of coins and wish to pass on the savings, and an endless variety of other reasons.

Awareness of these sales and promotions can lead to big savings for you! At Provident, you can sign up for our newsletter to get exclusive access to our best sales. We offer several deals each week and you won’t want to miss them.

Similar to buying in bulk, saving up and waiting for a good sale on silver bullion is another way to stretch your dollars farther. But the key is to act fast! With many of these deals, supplies are limited and sellouts are common.

These types of sales may simply save you a few bucks, or they may involve deep discounts that save you more money than expected. Either way, cashing in on sales when they pop up can amass significant savings for you over the years.

Start Saving Now

Everyone likes getting a good deal. We hope these tips help you achieve your investing goals for less. Like with any endeavor, a deeper understanding of investing in silver—and the best ways to do so within your personal budget—comes with time and experience. The longer you invest, the more you’ll learn about what works best for you.

The world of investing might seem intimidating to people who are just getting their toes wet. But you can’t learn to swim until you dive in. Do some research, make some conservative purchases, and learn what you like about silver stacking. From there, you can develop a strategy for investing on a budget.

Have you found additional ways to stack and save? We’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below!