If this were a perfect world, every gold investor would have a cave guarded by goblins and a dragon. While these arrangements might be preferable for hoarding your physical gold investments, they are hardly realistic. Before you buy gold or any precious metal as an investment, you need to consider the best storage option available.

Keep It at Your Home in a Safe

DIYers come in all shapes and sizes, even when it comes to hoarding your gold investment. Since many buy gold as a hedge against apocalypse, home storage of gold is more common than you think. Should a zombie apocalypse come to pass, the last thing you want to do is make a stop at the bank to retrieve heavy loads metal.

The home storage method is simple. You buy a safe, place the gold in the safe and hope you never forget the combination. However, keeping your gold close has many disadvantages.

You have to buy a safe and depending on the model, it might be the most expensive option. Your gold is also less safe than at a bank or gold storage facility, since home invasions are more common than bank robberies and home safes are also an alluring target for home burglars.

The Safe Deposit Box

You don’t need to buy and install a safe in your house, because you can go to your local bank and use their safe. They’ll lock away your precious metal in the vault. All it takes is a small annual fee.

As I mentioned before, the bank is a little far away for those hedging against global chaos. However, it is still a local, low-cost option. The main downside to using a safe deposit box is that you bear the risk of any potential loss.

Gold Storage Facility

Since many people invest in gold and have special needs in storing their investment, there are firms that specialize in gold storage. These operations offer security, insurance and flexibility. Most are one stop shops: you can buy your gold through them, store the gold and even ship the gold to your house if you’d like to terminate your service.

Storing your gold at special facility is the best way to protect your investment from damage or loss. However, it tends to be more expensive than a safe deposit box and certainly further away than your master closet. Also, investors that use this method don’t have the benefit of being able to touch the gold they purchase.

While no storage method is perfect, there are many options to choose from. Just make sure you consider your own personal needs when making a decision.