The price of gold has surpassed numerous price records this year and is up by close to 30% from where it started on January 1. Gold began the year priced at $2,063.73 per ounce but has since surged past the $2,600 mark with many investors expecting it to hit $3,000 soon. This is due, in part, to gold’s traditional benefits of hedging against inflation (by maintaining its value during such periods) and diversifying portfolios (when other asset classes underperform). 

But gold, like any other investment, needs to be pursued at certain times with a strategic approach, for investors to truly benefit. And with the economy changing again, thanks to cooler inflation and interest rate cuts, investors may want to make select moves now, before the start of November. Below, we’ll break down three of them.

Start by exploring the top gold investments available to you here.

3 smart gold investing moves to make before November

If you want to take advantage of gold’s benefits (and rising prices), consider making the following moves now, before November 1:

Explore your options

Gold comes in a variety of investment types. From gold IRAs to gold ETFs to gold stocks, futures and bars and coins, there’s likely one type that’s more preferential for your portfolio and long-term investing goals than the others. But you won’t know which one (or two) that is until you start exploring your options. Some of these types may be better suited for beginner investors while others may be volatile and more appropriate for those with a bigger risk appetite. So start researching all of these alternatives now to avoid getting invested in the wrong type.

Learn more about your best gold options online now.

Invest before the price rises

The price of gold is on the cusp of breaking yet another price record. So, once you’ve determined which type is appropriate for your financial situation, don’t hesitate to buy in. Waiting for the price of gold to fall in 2024 could be a mistake. Not only has the metal been on an upward trend all year, but it also, historically, only heads upward. A more cost-effective opening may never materialize and you’ll lose the portfolio protections gold can offer by delaying. Invest now, then, to avoid this scenario.

Limit your investment 

It can be tempting to overbuy an asset that’s been breaking price records, as gold has for most of this year. The smart move, however, is to take the conventional gold investing approach despite this rising price. Limit your investment, then, to a maximum of 10% of your overall portfolio. This will allow other assets like stocks and bonds to perform as needed while still giving your portfolio a layer of protection in case they can’t. And remember that gold is more of a long-term investment versus a quick way to generate profit or income, even during today’s historic price run.

The bottom line

If you’re considering a gold investment, this October could be a good time to act. Before you do, however, be sure to explore all of your options to determine the best gold investment type for your unique financial situation. Don’t wait too long to act, however, as the price of gold is on upward trajectory that most experts expect to continue. So act promptly but prudently by limiting your gold to 10% or less of your overall portfolio. By making these moves you’ll better position yourself for gold investing success, both in November and in the months that follow.

Private notebooks reveal the alleged Georgia school shooter made meticulous plans to kill students and teachers ahead of the deadly tragedy at Apalachee High School.

“Shoot the teacher first,” Colt Gray wrote in a notebook found by investigators in his bedroom, according to testimony from a Georgia Bureau of Investigations official Wednesday.

“Gut shot,” the 14-year-old labeled a stick figure he drew “with a bullet going through their body,” GBI Special Agent Lucas Beyer said on the witness stand. 

The chilling new details were revealed at a hearing Wednesday for Gray’s father, Colin Gray, charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.

Colin Gray purchased the gun for his son for Christmas last year, and investigators testified Wednesday that for months leading up to the deadliest school shooting in Georgia’s history, Colin Gray purchased a laser sight, tactical vest and ammunition for his son, all while his son’s mental health was in a downward spiral and his mother Marcee Gray implored Colin to keep the weapons away from their son.

A judge ruled Wednesday there is probable cause enough for the case against Colin Gray to proceed.

More new details were revealed Wednesday about how the 14-year-old allegedly concealed the SIG Sauer M400 rifle on his bus ride to the school in Winder, Georgia, in September.

His backpack wasn’t big enough to conceal the whole gun, so the alleged shooter covered it with a white poster board, officials said.

“By a quick glance it appeared that Colt Gray was possibly transporting a school project,” Beyer said.

The alleged shooter attended his first period class and went to second period with the gun still concealed, Beyer said. Twenty minutes later, Beyer said, he told his teacher he was going to see his counselor. Instead, he went to the restroom, put on a pair of yellow plastic gloves and took out the gun, using the poster board to hide it as he walked towards his classroom.

“He appeared to have it wrapped around his lower torso as if to conceal something,” Beyer said.

His second period classroom door was closed so he found another classroom and opened fire, Beyer said, then ran down the hall and continued shooting. In total, two students and two teachers were killed, and nine others injured. 

Colt Gray is charged as an adult with four counts of felony murder. Attorneys for both father and son did not respond to requests for comment.

He also texted both of his parents while sitting in school before the shooting, GBI Special Agent Kelsey Ward told the court Wednesday.

“I’m sorry. It’s not your fault,” he texted Colin Gray at 9:42 a.m. “You’re not to blame for any of it.”

Next he texted his mother, “I’m sorry,” prompting her to call the school to sound an alarm.

Beyer testified that one notebook was recovered from his second period classroom and read aloud from it on the stand.

“Walk from first to the bathroom, so I’ll set my bag down, open it, put on a vest, take a moment or two to stay calm and really think about if I want to do this,” Beyer read from the notebook. “Take out the poster covering the rifle, take out rifle and prop it against the stall. Vest should be on at this point, get out gloves, put them on, they are in your backpack … zip up backpack, check mag slots.”

The alleged shooter was not wearing a vest or hat but had planned to according to his writings.

“Turn on your red dot, aim down at the floor. Make sure your sight is on,” Beyer read. “Don’t shoot anyone in the bathroom. You’ll alert people.” Beyer also said that the notebook revealed he expected to kill between 21 and 26 people.

Ward testified that two more notebooks were recovered from his bedroom.

“One of [the stick figures] appears to have a head wound and the other one is yelling in horror,” Ward testified of the drawing in one of the notebooks. “Then it shows his stick figure again with the word ‘suicide’ and a smiley face written,” she said, adding that then, “he shows the stick figure shooting himself.”

In the second notebook recovered from his room were more disturbing drawings: “It was a drawing of a rifle with what appears to be ammunition coming out of it. And then the word ‘kids’ written past the ammunition.”

The testimony Wednesday revealed more red flags leading up to the shooting. Beyer testified that the alleged shooter referenced the Parkland school shooting to his grandmother around one week before the shooting. 

“If something terrible happened to me or I did something terrible, would you still love me?'” Beyer said he asked his grandmother.

Six dismissed charges accusing former President Donald Trump and five others of illegally soliciting Georgia officials to violate their oaths of office should be reinstated, Georgia prosecutors told an appeals court.

In a brief for the state’s Court of Appeals, lawyers for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said a judge “erred” when he dismissed the charges in March.

The charges, which were among a total of 41 filed against Trump and 18 others in 2023, accuse six of the defendants of trying to coerce state officials into helping overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump himself faced 13 counts in the indictment and pleaded not guilty.

Judge Scott McAfee said in March that the charges of solicitation must be dismissed, writing that Willis’ office failed to provide the defendants with enough information about the charges to defend themselves.

“The lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned’s opinion, fatal,” McAfee wrote.

Willis’ office shot back in their brief, which was filed Tuesday, saying the indictment “included an abundance of context and factual allegations about the solicitations at issue, including when the requests were made, to whom the requests were made and the manner in which the requests were made.”

Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead counsel in the case, said in a statement the brief “is simply incorrect on the law.” 

“The trial court’s dismissal order properly decided that the State failed to sufficiently plead the allegations in the dismissed counts under Georgia law,” Sadow said.

The dismissed counts accuse Trump, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorneys Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Ray Smith and Bob Cheeley of illegally trying to influence various state officials after the 2020 election.

McAfee also dismissed another three counts regarding filing false documents in September, including two against Trump. Prosecutors are expected to appeal that decision as well.

The case is one of three against Trump that have stalled this year. The Fulton County case has been on hold since June, when the Court of Appeals agreed to consider whether Willis should be removed from the case for a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade that has been criticized by defense attorneys and McAfee.

A federal case accusing Trump of illegally removing confidential national security material from the White House was dismissed in July. Special counsel Jack Smith is appealing that decision.

Proceedings in the other federal case brought by Smith’s office, revolving around Trump’s alleged efforts to overthrow the 2020 election results, were delayed for months as the Supreme Court considered issues related to presidential immunity.

In May, Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The New York State case stemmed from an effort before the 2016 presidential election to suppress an adult film star’s story of an extramarital sexual encounter.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in all four of his criminal cases.