I hold a little silver and gold in case of whatever may happen...but as far as a hedge against inflation, etc lol just look at a chart of gold from 1980-2000. Much better to invest in yourself if you see a way to make some money or something you use every day, for example an on-demand water heater, solar panels...something that will reduce your bills. As far as buying low and selling high..one has to be very very disciplined to make it over the long term, precious metals are very volatile when priced in fiat currencies. I would suggest finding someone with a great trading record who does the daily trade setup alerts by email and video. Chris Vermeulen is a prime example. For $15 a month anyone who can figure out how to run a trading platform can trade like a pro. You can google him and he frequently has articles on Kitco.com