Best way I think for someone today to buy silver is on here in the sales section from a trusted seller. Sadly you have missed the boat on VAT free and margin scheme VAT silver so that added 20% is something to contend with straight away. If you are in the UK you get the capital gains tax benefits from stacking UK bullion but at the rate they keep changing the regulations and reducing the threshold that might not be an advantage for long but I would still recommend stacking the sovereign bullion coin of where you reside.
You just bide your time and snap up sales of tubes of Britannias and 10oz Britannia bars when they come along at the right price on here and this will get you better deals than from bullion dealers but as others have said if you don't already have a position in gold I would get one as there is no VAT on that and it's a tier one asset that's only going to increase as the world devolves into madness. Silver will break out one day as it's fundimentals are all excellent but it's such a tiny market and the world is so awash with paper currency and corruption it's hard to predict when that day will come. The demand for silver for this green futture we are embracing is undeniable so it should see the same short squeeze scenario that platinum and palladium did when they were required for catalytic converters.
Bitcoin is worth considering also but just be wary of the inevitable rug pull that always comes, we are in a Presidential selection cycle and assets are always pumped in the run up to this and always usually immediately dumped afterwards, can't blame the new guy he's only just taken office, can't blame the old guy the markets were at all time highs when he was in the big seat. Gold and silver can never go to zero they will always have some kind of worth which is another reason they are a great addition to a financial portfolio.
Also I would store everything in your own posession if possible, hide it away well, another benefit of holding precious metals is there is no counter party risk, your asset is not someone elses liability. If you store it or vault it somewhere you add counter party risk, you run the risk of someone stealing it or having it confiscated if the government decides to change the rules one day.