Record keeping

[chester5731]

Do any of you folks keep records of what you buy and when? I was thinking of making some sort of log book to keep track of what I bought, when I bought and how much I paid. Or is it just as easy to keep a count of what I have and call it good enough?

[knibloe]

I have tired both and end up too lazy to do them. Now i just take an inventory once per year.

I don't purchase a lot. I mostly aquire my stack from CRH.

[silverflake]

Obsessive nerd that I am, I keep a hand written log book and save all receipts. All the way back to 1991 when this passion (obsession) of mine took off. So basically, I have two stacks. One of PM's, one of receipts!

Keep stacking gang.

[Know Common Cents]

I've been blessed (some would say cursed) with an excellent memory. Anything other than rolls of bullion (which I mark my price in code), I can tell you exactly how much I paid for each of my collector coins. Of course, my brain is also filled with addresses of people/relatives who moved or died long ago, credit card numbers and the VIN and plate number of every vehicle I presently own.

All this and, yet, I've been known to leave articles of clothing where they don't belong. (In my defense, though, these are the locations where my wife doesn't think they belong.)

[chester5731]

I have tired both and end up too lazy to do them. Now i just take an inventory once per year.

I don't purchase a lot. I mostly aquire my stack from CRH.

What is CRH?

[bookshelf]

What is CRH?

Generally CRH stands for Coin Roll Hunting.

[Gobirds66]

Yes, I keep very good notes of my stacks. Mostly in a spreadsheet on a computer that does not touch the internet. Yes, I make backups, and backups of that. It allows me to dollar cost average quickly so that at any given point, should I decide to sell based on a particular price, I can know exactly how much and of what to sell so that I do not lose money. I this process in motion on day 1 of my stack so it is not a burden to keep it up. I call it my own personal "Stack Market."

Besides, if I ever kick it and my wife sees the list, she may think twice about dumping it back into circulation......

[Diggin4copper]

Stack Market... I kinda like that...

[rexmerdinus]

I downloaded from the following website and made some of my own modifications:
http://goldsilverstocks.info/GOLDSILVERSPREADSHEET.html

Automatically updates from Kitco.com's spot price

[justj2k78]

I write the price on a shred of paper the I keep with it, or right on the wrapper in the case of rollsed coin.

[chester5731]

Thanks for all of the ideas fellas.

[neilgin1]

Obsessive nerd that I am, I keep a hand written log book and save all receipts. All the way back to 1991 when this passion (obsession) of mine took off. So basically, I have two stacks. One of PM's, one of receipts!

Keep stacking gang.

great minds think alike Flake.....I aint a nerd though...(lol) I keep a handwritten notebook of inventory "counts"....to the "t".

[chester5731]

Obsessive nerd that I am, I keep a hand written log book and save all receipts. All the way back to 1991 when this passion (obsession) of mine took off. So basically, I have two stacks. One of PM's, one of receipts!

Keep stacking gang.

great minds think alike Flake.....I aint a nerd though...(lol) I keep a handwritten notebook of inventory "counts"....to the "t".

What sort of info do you guys include in your log. I was thinking date and place of purchase. Price per ounce(including shipping if applicable). Anything else I am not thinking of?

[jesse1111]

Current spot price, so you know how much over (or if lucky under) you paid.

[baggerman]

Nope, buy it and stash it. The nice thing is every few years I go through the stash and find things I forgot I had bought.

[Recyclersteve]

Another tip for those who don't want to update their spreadsheets or notes every time they buy something- you might consider using Ziplock (or other competitive brand) sandwich or snack type baggies to put your purchases along with the receipts you get. If I buy a group of coins in 2" x 2" holders and get a discount on the marked price, I cross through the price and put the price I actually paid. I don't want to put any really rare Uncirculated coins directly into Ziplock baggies because the plastic from the baggie could over time affect the rare unprotected coin inside. Also, you can take a bunch of the plastic baggies and put them together into something like a shoebox which could then go into a safe deposit box, vault or storage locker.

Another factor to consider- if, for instance, you are at a coin show and buying lots of stuff and worried you might forget something, remember the following words: Who, What, Where, When and Why? "Who" did you buy the coin from (name of dealer or seller on eBay, for instance). "Where" did you buy the coin (coin show, eBay, etc.). "When"- the date is important to separate short-term gains from long-term gains for those times when tax treatment for the two differs. "Why"- I don't honestly know why the why portion is important, but if you remember Who, What, Where and When, you should be ok.

[Hawkeye]

I'm also too lazy/unorganized to write everything down, but I probably should start. At the very least, it would be interesting to see the ups and downs over the years. However, I do a once a year inventory (during the first Saturday of the NFL playoffs) to see what I have.

[300Braveheart]

I keep an excel file but update the ounces much more consistently than the prices paid.

[SilverDragon72]

I keep a record of what I have in my stash, but not how much I paid for each item. It would be interesting to see what kind of dollar cost averaging I would get after buying for a year.

[InfleXion]

I keep all my receipts, and I also jot down my purchases in a computer spreadsheet with the rest of my finances where I balance my ledger each pay period. That way I can keep track of my DCA, refer to what I originally paid with ease if/when it comes to resale, and maintain a good understanding of the value of my stack as the price fluctuates. It is more work than I like, but I figure it's worth it if I ever need to come up with the documentation, and I like the peace of mind of not having to guess about my finances. It's also nice to have historical context to see how my baseline funds are trending, how much I am saving vs. capable of saving, where I can trim the fat, etc. I have caught restaurants adding to the tip more than once. I'm not a horrible tipper

[Gobirds66]

I also try to take into account the "other costs" when I purchase my silver so I have a direct price point that I can determine my true cost and also the break even price. Granted, I intend to stack for a long time, but it makes it a hobby for me as well as a store of wealth.

I take the price of silver I pay the dealer or individual= let's say I bought $200 worth .999 bullion rounds at $20 a round. I figure how many miles I drove to get to the place I bought the silver and take that by the national avg. price of gas (since I can pull that data from the net and it is close enough.) Then I include any other costs, such as parking (rare, but possible), and divide it all by the number of rounds I bought.

That gives me a true cost of the silver. Now I dollar cost average that with my existing stack and I have a new target price I need to hit to at least break even. I do all of this in my spreadsheet using some simple formulas. I set it up to scale upwards last winter when it was cold and I was bored. This way I only have to add rounds or bars as I acquire them. It takes seconds to do since I generally buy the same stuff so I just have to copy the data from the existing lines and change the dates.

[AGgressive Metal]

I recommend Dome Publications Monthly Record Keeping book if you are a sole proprietorship of any kind, or even a very small corporation.

http://www.domeproductsonline.com/dome-monthly-bookkeeping-record/

[GGerrands]

I was about to post a thread with a template I'd made, of an excel file to keep records of my silver finds from coin roll hunting.
Alas, .xls is not allowed as upload format.
But I have it if there is a way to post it.
I was pleased with my little spreadsheet, even had it calculate out the actual troy oz of silver in the face value of 90% coin.

[dannan14]

I was about to post a thread with a template I'd made, of an excel file to keep records of my silver finds from coin roll hunting.
Alas, .xls is not allowed as upload format.
But I have it if there is a way to post it.
I was pleased with my little spreadsheet, even had it calculate out the actual troy oz of silver in the face value of 90% coin.

You could copy it to a Google doc and share it. This might be a lot of work though since some of your formulas would have to be redone. Google docs spreadsheet isn't 100% compatible with Excel.

[johnbrickner]

I only keep an inventory with the current value (each and overall) I update about once a year or so. Just to keep an idea in my of how things are trending, how the various stacks (and subcategories of stacks) add up (proportion) and total to compare how the stack is with other physical and nonphysical items of "value". For me, the long-term aspect of it as a store of value provides me with a great excuse not to have saved any receipts.