3 Ways to Buy Gold Without Breaking the Bank

By Joshua D Glawson

When people first learn about investing in precious metals, especially gold, a common response is how much it costs to buy an ounce of gold in the form of a gold coin, gold bullion round, or gold bar.

Indeed, the price of gold has skyrocketed over the past year or so, reaching all-time highs (even considering inflation adjustment). 

With the gold price steadily hovering around $2,600 to $2,700 per troy ounce, that is a large chunk of change for most beginner investors even to fathom getting started with.

So here are three easy ways to start buying gold without breaking the bank…

Adopt a Traditional Savings Technique

You could take the so-called “envelope method” to start “paying yourself” each month, setting aside a little bit of cash at a time until you have enough saved to buy one troy ounce of gold. 

If we were to estimate what an ounce will cost in 3 months, you should probably plan to set aside $935 per month. 

However, this method may take longer than you wish to wait, and we have no idea what the price of gold will be in 3 months anyway. 

In 2024, the price of gold is up by over 30%. It could rise even more in 2025… some banks are predicting the price of gold could reach $3,000 per troy ounce. Some are even speculating gold could reach as high as $5,000 per troy ounce by 2030. (Or it could go down, of course.)

The traditional saving plan is a great way to get started buying gold, but it takes more planning, and it is a slower process than the other two methods available through Money Metals. 

Grab Some Fractional Gold 

Did you know that you don’t have to buy a full ounce of gold? 

You can instead buy what is known as fractional gold, which is gold sold in increments of less than an ounce in the form of bars, rounds, coins, and even potentially investment jewelry. This is a nice way to accumulate gold while staying within a budget. 

Such products to consider for fractional gold include such items as, but not limited to, the following:

• 1/10th Oz Gold American Eagle Coin

• 1/20th oz Lady Liberty Gold Round

• 1 gram Gold Bar

• 1/4th oz Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coin

• 1/100th oz Money Metals Gold Bar

• ½ gram Gold Bar

• 1/200th oz Goldback

• 5.6 gram Nebü Braided Gold Ring

There are plenty more low-budget options than those listed – just visit this page on the Money Metals website.

Fractional gold is a great way to get started buying gold while not breaking the bank. The added benefit of this method is that it is much faster and more obtainable than the traditional saving method.

However, its drawback is that these smaller, less efficiently minted items tend to have higher markups (known in the precious metals industry as a “premium”) than larger, one-ounce and above gold products. 

The third way of buying gold without breaking the bank may be the best way… 

Harness a Monthly Gold & Silver Purchase Plan 

The monthly gold and silver purchase plan offered by Money Metals is the very best way to start buying gold without breaking the bank. This allows each individual to invest in gold on a budget of as little as $100 per month.

The benefits of this method are threefold. 

First, this enables a person to invest in gold from a reputable source — Money Metals – while simultaneously allowing for the flexibility to start, stop, or modify your monthly plan at any time. 

Second, this is a faster way of buying gold than saving month-by-month to eventually buy an ounce. The monthly purchase plan utilizes the fractional gold buying method, which helps to protect your purchasing power sooner rather than later. 

Third, Money Metals offers members of the monthly purchase plan lower premiums than those offered to the general public. This allows a person to get VIP pricing while acquiring fractional gold on a budget. 

Of course, not everyone can commit to a $100 monthly plan, and that’s okay. In cases like that, consider just making one-off purchases of fractional gold whenever possible.

As history has indicated, the price of gold, when compared to depreciating dollars, tends to rise in the long-term. In the 1990s, the price of gold was under $400 per troy ounce. Today, it is averaging over $2,600. 

Whatever method you decide to go with, the important thing is to take action… and soon.

Originally Published on Money Metals Exchange.