7 Easy steps to invest in gold for your wedding

Date : 16/07/2020
Read: 4 mins

If you are a modern, independent woman, these tips will help you successfully plan and accumulate gold assets for your wedding and ensure a bright financial future.

Gold has captivated men and women alike for thousands of years. It is one of the first precious metals known to humans and is equated with divinity, royalty, and power. Indians have embraced gold, making it an indispensable part of weddings. Through the ages, the metal has been considered highly auspicious at Indian weddings, where the bride is gifted with ornaments for solah shringar (16 types of jewellery pieces).

The love for gold has remained constant, but the modern Indian woman does not rely solely on her parents or family members to finance her wedding trousseau. Today’s woman is independent, smart, and knows what she wants. If you consider yourself one of them, read on to learn how you can acquire gold for your wedding and secure your future.

Decide on a budget and time frame: To achieve any goal, you need a plan or roadmap. Before doing anything else, decide how much gold you would want as a bride. Next, you must fix a time frame – say five or ten years. Once you have determined these, work backwards and calculate how much you want to put aside each month.
Understand the purity and purpose: Gold comes in multiple purities. While 24 karat is the purest form of gold, jewellery is made from 22 karat, 18 karat, etc. With gold prices going through the roof, 16 karat and 14 karat jewellery are also getting popular. All gold jewellery has a resale value, but you need to decide on the purity you want. You might want to gift small gold coins to special people in your life. So, you could plan to buy 22 karat gold coins of 1, 2, 4, 8 grams as well.
Stagger investment across options: There are multiple ways to buy and invest in gold. You can buy physical gold in form of jewellery, coins, and bars. You can also buy gold electronically via gold ETFs (exchange traded funds), SGBs (sovereign gold bonds), and gold mutual funds. You can invest in gold ETFs as and when you like, in denominations of your choice, but SGBs have an investment threshold and a lock-in period. If your horizon is between 5 and 10 years, it makes sense to spread liquidity and risk over different investment choices.

Another popular way of investing in gold is via gold schemes offered by jewellers. This makes buying gold affordable as you can pay monthly instalments for a year and then can use the amount accumulated at the end of the year to purchase jewellery or gold coins. Jewellers also throw in incentives such as paying your last instalments or heavy discount on making charges.

Choose investment options with low ancillary charges: All gold investments come with associated charges such as making charges, brokerage, and holding and delivery fees. You need to evaluate all these, compare them, and arrive at a decision based on which investment option involves the lowest expenses and still helps you achieve your goal.
Follow a systematic approach: Many drops make an ocean. As mentioned earlier, you need to create a systematic plan where you invest a certain amount of your monthly salary or income. Also factor in any bonuses or windfalls that you can invest immediately. A simple way to estimate your monthly investment is to divide your gold requirement by the time frame (number of months at your disposal). For example, if you want to accumulate 500 gm of gold in 5 years, your monthly purchase should be: 500 ÷ 60 = 8.33 or approximately 8.5 to 10 grams of gold every month.
Keep an eye on price movements: Gold prices are currently at an all-time high. They are also volatile, with rates that change almost every day. It is imperative to track prices and see how they move if you wish to make a smart investment. You will want to buy gold when there is a dip in price to get maximum return on investment. Set alerts on your phone or download an app that helps you track price movement on a daily basis. This will help you make an informed decision when purchasing gold.
Review your investment plan periodically: Naturally, there could be variable factors in any plan. You income may get a boost, or your goal in terms of the quantity of gold you want to accumulate may change. Revisit your plan periodically to see if it’s still in sync with your goals. Don’t hesitate to tweak the plan so that it suits your future financial needs better.

Last words

Follow the simple seven-step plan we outlined above to accrue gold for your wedding. Not only will it help you plan your dream day exactly the way you want; it will also allow you to do it on your own terms. Look at these 7 best online places to buy jewellery in India.

Decide on a budget and time frame: To achieve any goal, you need a plan or roadmap. Before doing anything else, decide how much gold you would want as a bride. Next, you must fix a time frame – say five or ten years. Once you have determined these, work backwards and calculate how much you want to put aside each month.
Understand the purity and purpose: Gold comes in multiple purities. While 24 karat is the purest form of gold, jewellery is made from 22 karat, 18 karat, etc. With gold prices going through the roof, 16 karat and 14 karat jewellery are also getting popular. All gold jewellery has a resale value, but you need to decide on the purity you want. You might want to gift small gold coins to special people in your life. So, you could plan to buy 22 karat gold coins of 1, 2, 4, 8 grams as well.
Stagger investment across options: There are multiple ways to buy and invest in gold. You can buy physical gold in form of jewellery, coins, and bars. You can also buy gold electronically via gold ETFs (exchange traded funds), SGBs (sovereign gold bonds), and gold mutual funds. You can invest in gold ETFs as and when you like, in denominations of your choice, but SGBs have an investment threshold and a lock-in period. If your horizon is between 5 and 10 years, it makes sense to spread liquidity and risk over different investment choices.

Choose investment options with low ancillary charges: All gold investments come with associated charges such as making charges, brokerage, and holding and delivery fees. You need to evaluate all these, compare them, and arrive at a decision based on which investment option involves the lowest expenses and still helps you achieve your goal.
Follow a systematic approach: Many drops make an ocean. As mentioned earlier, you need to create a systematic plan where you invest a certain amount of your monthly salary or income. Also factor in any bonuses or windfalls that you can invest immediately. A simple way to estimate your monthly investment is to divide your gold requirement by the time frame (number of months at your disposal). For example, if you want to accumulate 500 gm of gold in 5 years, your monthly purchase should be: 500 ÷ 60 = 8.33 or approximately 8.5 to 10 grams of gold every month.
Keep an eye on price movements: Gold prices are currently at an all-time high. They are also volatile, with rates that change almost every day. It is imperative to track prices and see how they move if you wish to make a smart investment. You will want to buy gold when there is a dip in price to get maximum return on investment. Set alerts on your phone or download an app that helps you track price movement on a daily basis. This will help you make an informed decision when purchasing gold.
Review your investment plan periodically: Naturally, there could be variable factors in any plan. You income may get a boost, or your goal in terms of the quantity of gold you want to accumulate may change. Revisit your plan periodically to see if it’s still in sync with your goals. Don’t hesitate to tweak the plan so that it suits your future financial needs better.

Last words