Timing the market with gold - anyone else feel like a genius (or a fool)?

Matthew Murphy

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Timing the market with gold - anyone else feel like a genius (or a fool)?

matthew_murphy👑Elite (1m-5m)

10 days ago

Key Takeaways

•Okay, so I’ve been seeing a lot of chatter lately about "timing the market" and whether it’s even possible, especially with gold.
•Or maybe I just got incredibly lucky.
•There were definitely moments of doubt, especially when the whole crypto thing blew up and everyone was talking about digital assets as the future.

See what your 401(k) could look like in gold

Okay, so I’ve been seeing a lot of chatter lately about "timing the market" and whether it’s even possible, especially with gold. As someone who sold out of my tech startup back in 2020 (right before things got really wild, thank god) and dumped a significant chunk, like 7 figures worth, into physical gold for my IRA, I feel like I inadvertently pulled off a masterclass in market timing. Or maybe I just got incredibly lucky.

My initial thought process wasn't, "Hey, I bet gold is going to surge now!" It was more, "The stock market feels like a house of cards, and I need something tangible and stable." Based in Dublin, OH, I watched my neighbors still riding the tech wave while I was staring at bars of gold. There were definitely moments of doubt, especially when the whole crypto thing blew up and everyone was talking about digital assets as the future. I felt really out of touch, like I'd gone from being on the bleeding edge to being a Luddite.

But seeing gold's performance over the last few years, especially with inflation stubbornly high and geopolitical tensions ramping up, I'm feeling pretty damn validated. My portfolio, which was sitting around the $3M mark after the sale, has seen a healthy bump thanks to the yellow stuff. It's not the explosive growth of some stocks, but the peace of mind is invaluable. I sleep better knowing a good portion of my retirement isn't tied to the whims of some earnings report or a tweet from a questionable CEO.

So, my question for you all: Do you think my "timing" was genuine insight or just pure, unadulterated luck? And for those of you who also went heavy into gold around that pandemic-era uncertainty, how are you feeling now? Are you confidently saying you timed it, or are you like me, just breathing a sigh of relief?

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3 comments

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Best Answer▲ 9 upvotes

joseph_harris📊Growing (50-100k)

Honestly, while it sounds like you made out like a bandit, I'm not sure that's a "timing the market" success story as much as a "got out of the right thing at the right time and put it into an inflation hedge" story. Which is still smart, don't get me wrong! But pure market timing for gold itself is a whole other beast. Sometimes it feels more like luck than genius when those big plays hit just right, no?

Comments (3)

ruth_perez📊Growing (50-100k)•10 days ago

Haha, this post title hits home! I swear I felt like a genius for a hot minute. I didn't have 7 figures to play with, but I did manage to offload some stocks and pick up a decent amount of physical gold right before the big market wobble in 2008. Definitely dodged a bullet there and felt pretty good about it for a while. Of course, I've had my share of duds too, so it balances out! 😂

donna_rogers🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor•10 days ago

Hey, that's a pretty sweet exit, congrats! Curious about the "physical gold" part – were you storing that yourself or going through a custodian for a Gold IRA? I'm debating something similar and keep wondering about the logistics of holding actual metal.