My grandfather told me many years ago that the key to investing for the long term (i.e. retirement) is to do it regularly and without fail. I wish I had listened better.
Historically speaking, precious metals are not a good money making investment. What they are is a good protector of wealth. What you will see if you look at an inflation-adjusted graph of the price of silver is pretty much a straight line, sans the Hunt Brothers thing in 1980 and the economic crisis of a few years ago. There is fast money to be made if you can buy during "normal" prices and have the smarts to sell during a run-up, should one occur. Of course, the same can be said for most investments.
Another problem with buying precious metals (especially in small quantities) are the premiums as well as shipping costs if you're buying online. To combat this, I would suggest larger, more infrequent purchases. For example, instead of buying $20 worth of silver weekly, buy $260 worth every 3 months or something similar. Or better yet, have the $20 weekly automatically put into a "Christmas Club" type savings account and make 1 yearly purchase.
