Anyone else rethinking their inflation hedges? Gold's been good, but...

• •Okay, so I've been in a Gold IRA for about seven years now, pretty consistently adding to it.
• •My financial advisor back then really pushed it as the ultimate inflation hedge, especially with all the money printing going on post-2008.
• •And for a while, it felt like a no-brainer.

Okay, so I've been in a Gold IRA for about seven years now, pretty consistently adding to it. Started off with around 150k in my late 30s, and with my recent additions and some decent price appreciation, I'm sitting on roughly 400k in physical metal – mostly Eagles and Buffalos. My financial advisor back then really pushed it as the ultimate inflation hedge, especially with all the money printing going on post-2008. And for a while, it felt like a no-brainer. I'm a manufacturing exec here in Cleveland, and I just get the appeal of a hard asset, something tangible you can hold onto.

Lately though, with all the talk about inflation hitting numbers we haven't seen in decades, I'm starting to scratch my head a bit. My gold has certainly held its value, maybe even seen some decent gains, but it hasn't exactly skyrocketed in the way I felt it was advertised to protect against 7%+ inflation. When I look at my overall portfolio, the stuff that's really popped has been a mix of real estate (my properties here in Ohio have gone up like crazy) and some select stocks that have pricing power. Gold feels like it's been more of a steady boat in choppy waters, rather than a speed boat outrunning the storm.

This isn't me saying I'm dumping it – absolutely not. I still believe in its long-term value and as a bedrock for my retirement. But I'm wondering if my initial expectations for its inflation-fighting prowess were perhaps a bit overblown, or if I misinterpreted how it works in these cycles. Is it more about wealth preservation during inflationary periods rather than significant growth?

Anyone else in a similar boat, or have different experiences? What other strategies are you guys employing specifically for inflation protection outside of gold, or how are you seeing gold play a role in this current economic climate? Just trying to get a pulse on what others with significant gold holdings are thinking these days.