Buy low, sell high… If only it were that simple. Did you know you can get more from your investment dollars by dollar-cost averaging? Furthermore, if you are making long-term investments in physical gold or other precious metals, your goal may simply be to acquire as much of the metal as you possibly can.

Gold may be purchased for many reasons, some of which include the potential for price appreciation, added portfolio diversification, a meaningful hedge against inflation or geopolitical risks and more.

The patient long-term investor is not concerned with the day-to-day or even week-to-week fluctuations in the price of gold. The long-term investor cares only about what the yellow metal may do over a period of many years.

Dollar-cost averaging is a term that is often associated with stock ownership, yet it is just as applicable to gold or any other market. It works like this:

Assume for a moment that you bought five ounces of gold at $1200 per ounce for a total investment of $6000. Now further assume that the price of gold declines significantly over the next 10 or 12 months, and declines to the $1000 per ounce level, at which time you bought another five ounces for a total investment of $5000.

Now let’s assume that the price of gold bottoms out at $1000 per ounce, and it begins to rise. Because you purchased equal amounts of gold at $1200 per ounce and $1000 per ounce, your breakeven level is calculated as the total investment amount of $11000 divided by the total number of ounces purchased (10) equals a per ounce cost basis of $1100 per ounce.

This dollar-cost averaging concept and example is no different from a stock investor who wants to build a large holding of stock ABC by purchasing shares at regular intervals or on any significant dips.

The key is consistency.

The easiest way to achieve consistency is to buy gold at regular intervals. For example, if you are paid once a month, you could set aside a specified amount to purchase physical gold each month – regardless of what the current price may be.

That’s how you can get more from your investment dollars by dollar-cost averaging.