Reality bites, especially when you’re talking about the economic realities faced by millions of Americans.  These realities mean few jobs and horrifying unemployment statistics.  The stories are the kinds of things that give adults nightmares and make you start looking for smart ways to hedge against the realities likely to impact your life.

One of the most solid reality hedges is to invest in precious metals.  Precious metals are smart investments because they put you on the right side of supply and demand curves, while insulating you from the volatility of the stock market.  This lets you smile in the face of hard realities and watch your portfolio grow instead of shrinking.

That smile on your face will be a precious, precious commodity in the years ahead.  While some economists are predicting that the unemployment rate will fall to 5.5% by 2014, nearly 1 in 4 graduating seniors of 2010 doesn’t have a job.  This means that, in addition to any harsh realities in your own work life, there is also a generation coming up behind you that is even hungrier for work, something that can be frown-worthy if you don’t have a precious metals hedge plan.

You’ll also want the smile power of a precious metals hedge plan when it comes to your health care.  Though the Democratic Congress of 2009 put their weight behind ObamaCare, the implementation elements of the plan are not spelled out clearly and hidden costs are springing up everywhere.  It can be a headache to deal with health insurance issues in the present, and thinking of the additional challenges that the future will bring could make you grimace if you didn’t have precious metals on your side.

Your personal nest egg also needs the smile power of precious metals.  With precious metals as a part of your investment portfolio, you can see your investments go up instead of go down quarter after quarter while the stock market gyrates.  This will make you smile each time you open your statement and while you listen to others cry over the poor returns the stock market brings.

Reality bites.  From the unemployment statistics to the likelihood that Social Security will be broke by the time it’s your turn, there are plenty of reasons to frown about the future.  However, by investing in precious metals, you can hedge against a lousy bit of reality and enjoy a financial security that will keep a smile on your face for years to come.