If you spin a globe, point to any spot, and then point to it again, odds are that someone nearby thinks gold is magic. The yellow metal has a magnetic attraction, whether it’s quarter sovereign weight, dusty bars in a vault, or bracelets that grandma gave to her granddaughter. People don’t trust banks as much as they trust a big piece of gold. Why is that? Well, gold doesn’t lie very often.

Gold stays strong when inflation starts to chip away at paper money. It saves the day when things become rough, like a hero in an old story. The stock market can make a lot of noise and act tough, but gold? Gold sits calmly and glows. That’s the thing: gold doesn’t have a board of directors or a P/E ratio. You don’t have to worry about a CEO’s controversy or second-guess earnings calls. That’s just how it is.

If you ask five different old-timers how to invest your money in gold, you’ll get seven different answers. You can keep coins in your sock drawer, ETFs skimming through your investment applications, or bars in a secret Swiss vault. It’s up to you. It could be enticing to buy ETFs and mining equities, but if you look more closely, you’ll see that holding real gold is different. It feels good. If everything fell apart, butter and gold could buy you bread.

But let’s slow down for a second. You won’t get rich right away by buying gold. Gold has never made someone a fortune as quickly as scratch-off lottery tickets and viral meme stocks have. The real name of the game is patience.

Now let’s talk about how things change. The price chart for gold can look like a kid’s crayon drawing. Up, down, sideways, and in a loop. Anyone who thinks things will go smoothly has never seen markets go crazy. But when you look at them against the background of global uncertainty, those peaks and valleys look more like background noise. What matters is the long haul.

Old advice indicates that gold should make up 5% to 15% of your investment portfolio. Why? To add a little safety to everything on your plate. Don’t put all your money on gold, but don’t ignore it like a math test you hope will go away. Having a little bit might help you sleep better at night when equities go down and bond rates disappear.

And don’t forget that gold isn’t only a storybook thing. The larger players, like central banks, secretly buy more every year. Anyone who is paying attention knows that nod of affirmation.

Why you acquire gold is almost as important as how you buy it. There are numerous kinds of gold, such as physical gold, ETFs, and mining shares. Each has its own taste, risk, and return. Know your style. Do you like spicy food? You could want to change your exposure with miners. Like simple vanilla? Put some coins under your floorboards.

Gold is like fire insurance for your money: you hope you never need it, but you’ll be glad you have it when something bad happens. So, when you’re thinking about adding a little shine to your portfolio, think about how nice it would be to have that golden comfort just within reach on a stormy night.