With the economy still on shaky ground, many common investment vehicles have taken a beating over the past several months. Stocks, bonds and commodities have all been affected, most experiencing steep price declines. Even precious metals such as gold and silver have not been untouched. In the case of gold, prices have recently started to break out to the upside over the past several weeks. If you’re considering investing in the precious metal, you’ll need to decide how you will purchase your gold holdings. Below are four common options to invest in gold and advantages and disadvantages of each:

Gold Bullion

This is the actual metal, typically available in the form of bars or coins in various weights. Bars, available from Credit Suisse and other suppliers, are generally the least expensive option in owning the actual metal. You can also opt for gold coins which will normally be more expensive if they are part of a collector’s series.

Pros: Owning gold in this form is the purest form of ownership and offers a hedge in the event of a financial collapse.

Cons: The biggest risk of owning the actual metal is theft or other catastrophic loss if it is kept in your home. It is advisable to rent a safety deposit box to store your gold to guard against theft.

Pooled Accounts

These are like a gold bank account in that your gold is held in a vault along with other owners. Fees are generally lees than 1% of the market price of your holdings making this a cost efficient method of owning bullion. Depending on your provider, accounts are either “allocated” or “unallocated.” In an allocated account a specific number of gold bars are allocated to you. You also pay additional storage and insurance fees. In an unallocated account, you’re asigned a sum of gold, not the actual bars. There are generally no additional insurance or storage fees with unallocated accounts.The markup per ounce is usually less than 1% of gold’s current market price, making this cheaper than owning physical bullion.

Pros: Generally recognized as the most secure form of owning gold, since the metal is securely store in a vault and regularly audited. You also retain the option of having your gold shipped to you upon your request.

Cons: Fees paid in allocated accounts will add up over time. In unallocated accounts, the gold is held in the providers name and is at rick in the event the provider goes under, including your gold.

Exchange-Traded Funds or ETFs

Shares in ETFs trade like stocks on an exchange. Each share represents a pre-defined factional ounce of gold. These shares are backed by the actual metal which is held in vaults in locations throughout the world. The price of these shares closely track the actual price of gold.

Pros: A low cost of entry and high degree of security are the two main advantages of owning shares in gold ETFs. Liquidity is another benefit since buying and selling is easily handled through your stock broker.

Cons: Taxes. The government taxes capital gains on gold ETFs at a flat 28%, almost twice the normal log term capital gains rate on stocks. You also pay managements fees of approximately 0.4% which adds to the cost of this form of ownership.

Mining Stocks

Another option is to consider the common stock of the gold mining companies. While you don’t own actual gold, you do participate in the success of the companies that actually acquire the gold Also the risk in associated with rising an falling prices are spread across all the available gold the mining company has, both mined and still in the ground.

Pros: This options generally gives you the most bang for your investment dollar. You will usually have to commit twice as much money in bullion or ETFs to get the same level of exposure as you get with the stock of mining companies.

Cons: As with investing in any company’s stock, you are exposed to the overall financial performance of the company in addition the the fluctuations of the gold itself.

Is investing in gold something you’re considering? I welcome your comments.

If you have ever worked in a corporate job or have attended business meetings, you have probably been subjected to a number of well worn business clichés. I don’t know about you, but I find people that don’t rely on these highly overused phrases are the true leaders and creative forces in business. Below is a list of some of the most well known and popular clichés:

At the end of the day

A lot on my plate

Hit the ball outta the park

Go for the low hanging fruit

You have a lot on your plate

There’s no “I” in team

You need to step up to the plate

You need to strike while the iron is hot

Let’s not beat a dead horse

Caught between a rock and a hard place

In a nutshell

Everything from soup to nuts

Don’t put all you eggs in one basket

You need to think outside the box

Do you or have you used any of the clichés? Do you someone who does? Are there one’s I missed? I invite you to add clichés to the list and to resolve to eliminate these verbal crutches from your vocabulary. Resolve to rely on your own creativity in 2009. I welcome your input and opinions.

I know this is off topic but I thought I’d start off 2009 with a fun post to get the new year off to a festive start. The above video is a very creative mash-up put together by DJ Earworm of San Fransciso of the top 25 Pop hits of 2008 according to the Billboard music chart. For more from DJ Earworm, visit his website at djearworm.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at @djearworm. Enjoy.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone much health and happiness during this holiday season and a successful 2009!! I especially want to thank all the members of Entrecard that have taken the time to drop their card here during the past year. It is very much appreciated. Thanks again everyone.

For those of you with stock market investments, this year probably can’t end soon enough. The declines this year have been historic and severe. The outlook for 2009 isn’t much better with the economy expected to continue to contract and unemployment to increase. This presents obvious investment challenges in searching for high return but also a degree of safety and security.

The recent sharp declines in stock prices have been wide spread, affecting even the bluest of blue chip companies. An interesting side effect of these declines has been the sharp rise in dividend yields. With the uncertain economic future ahead in 2009, investing for dividends could prove to be a winning play in recessionary times. Below are some suggestions for everyone to check out:

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With the start of December, I would like to take the opportunity to recognize my top Entrecard “droppers” and include a link to each one of their blogs as an expression of thanks. For the month of November, nine of my ten top droppers hit the maximum 31 drops which is a new record. I especially want to recognize Random Ramblings for being a top dropper for six consecutive months (Thank you Polly!) I want to express my appreciation to everyone in the above list. The numbers this month were big and very close. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to stop by Money Maker Times to drop their card each day.
I can promise everyone that I take dropping very seriously and will reciprocate in all cases. Thanks again and GO ENTRECARD!

With the last warm days of summer already fading from memory, it’s time to start preparing for winter’s chill. With the cold weather comes spending more money on energy. The following are my top seven money saving tips to help keep more money in your pocket as we navigate these recessionary times this winter.

Install a Programmable Thermostat

By installing and using a programmable thermostat, you no longer will be wasting energy heating your house while you’re away. Most models allow you to preset times to raise and lower the temperature to match your schedule. You can set your heating system to come on right before you get up in the morning and turn down the heat after you leave for work. You can also set it to have things nice and toasty when you return at night.

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As always this time each month, I like to take a moment to recognize the wonderful Entrecard community and the ten bloggers who have dropped their card the most during the past thirty days. I’m particularly happy to report that the top five droppers did so all 31 days during the month of October which is a new record. A big thank you to Random Ramblings and Thailand Land of Smiles for being repeat top droppers for the second consecutive month. I want to especially thank Random Ramblings for being a top dropper for five months in a row.
I love being part of the Entrecard community and interacting with a great group of people from all over the world. Thank you again everyone. I can promise everyone that I take dropping very seriously and will reciprocate in all cases. Thanks again and GO ENTRECARD!

With the stock market conditions as bad as they’ve been in a number of years and an impending recession on the horizon, these are times to tighten your budgetary belt. It is also a time to start thinking about investing in the stock of good and solid companies at deeply depressed prices. It is those times when everyone is running for the exits that the smart investor goes against the grain and goes shopping for stocks. So many great companies have just been slaughtered recently, it’s hard to pick just five. With that said, here are five stocks that are on my buy list:

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