Since the start of 2024, we’ve been following a fascinating trend amongst prospects and clients alike wanting to purchase gold through us at BFI Bullion. You may have been living under a rock if you haven’t followed the climb of gold’s spot price this year. But with this price surge, we’ve also seen the rise of the desire, the hesitation, and then the ultimate regret experienced by investors who wanted to purchase gold but held off doing so because of the higher prices.  

“Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda – Why “Now” Will Always Be the Right Time to Buy Physical Gold” was taken from BFI Bullion’s recent quarterly newsletter, the Digger, published on November 4, 2024. To read this latest quarterly Digger in its entirety, click here.

Gold prices since the start of 2024 have given rise to what I call the “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” investor! Don’t even ask me where this one comes from, but I somehow feel it could be yet another callback to the types of phrases my grandfather used to use on me when I was child. The phrase completely fits what has happened to many prospective physical gold investors we’ve worked with this year.

“Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” simply means “would have, could have, should have” and it essentially means “it’s too late for regret, you can’t change the past, learn from your experience…but move on.” When used introspectively, it could be seen as the realization that you didn’t act on something you wanted to do, which ultimately leads you to dismiss – or perhaps try to dismiss - any regrets you have for not taking the action.

If you think about it, it’s the perfect way to describe what many gold investors have gone through this year. They contacted us because the desire to purchase gold was there. They got themselves ready to purchase, they were ready to wire funds, but gold spot prices continued trending higher. That same investor then thought, “the price has to eventually pull back, providing a perfect window to buy,” only to be stung when the trend continued higher. $2100/oz gave way to $2200, then $2300…and now scaling $2800! The hesitation created by the rising gold prices ultimately led to regret, leading investors to think “I woulda, coulda, shoulda…but didn’t” get the purchase done. And now, they are left feeling stressed with two thoughts on their mind:

- Will the spot price come back down – when will it pullback? or

- I’ve completely missed it, but is now (or when will it be) really the right time to buy?

These are questions that plague all of us at some point. For the gold investor that has held back, my first question is: what do you consider a “pullback”? Is that $20, $50, $100, $200/oz? My second question is, even if you purchased at what you believed to be a higher price, what regrets could you possibly have when you are still buying something that will always have value, that acts as insurance, that is the ultimate hedge against volatility and inflation?

Thus, my simple answer to the “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda but didn’t” investor is that “now” is always the right time to buy gold, or any physical metals for that matter.

I bought my first physical metals – a 1kg silver bar and 10 x 1oz silver Canadian Maple Leaf’s - about 15 years ago, and since then, have continually purchased gold and silver from time to time. Some silver purchases I even made back in 2011, when spot prices were still much higher than they are today, as I’m sure I felt at the time that they were going to go higher. I still have no “buyer’s remorse,” even though we all know what happened then to silver spot prices from 2013 – 2020!

My personal philosophy over time has changed to buying simply when I have the liquidity to do so and not when I have "the price" that I’m looking for. In fact, I’m hard-pressed to say what price I’m even ever really looking for! The only thing I do know for sure is when I have the liquidity to buy.

I realized that as time when on, I developed a certain “emotional resilience,” or the ability to just keep my emotions in check during periods when there is volatility in the gold market. While I watch prices regularly, my emotions over what I paid for any of my metals vs. what the price is today are completely neutral. Sure, I’m happy that gold and silver are up now, as it shows the investment planning and philosophy were correct. However, even if it went the other way, I would still resist knee-jerk reactions like panic-selling. I’m not saying it’s easy to get there, but it is a necessary skill for any successful investor to develop.

So, if you are struggling today with whether or not to buy gold, be careful not to fall into the “woulda, coulda, shoulda…but didn’t” trap. “Now” is still a good time to buy gold, particularly if you have the liquidity to do so. Physical metals are generally a long-term play anyhow, and there isn’t a whole lot that is pointing to a trend reversal any time soon.

>> Read the entire Digger here.

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