Birch Gold for folks with smaller portfolios - My take

• •Okay, so I’ve been seeing some chatter about Birch Gold Group, especially for those of us who aren't moving millions.
• •As a retired teacher from Phoenix, I’m definitely in that camp.
• •After the 2008 crash, I started really looking into diversifying, and gold felt like a solid choice for protecting my savings.

Okay, so I’ve been seeing some chatter about Birch Gold Group, especially for those of us who aren't moving millions. As a retired teacher from Phoenix, I’m definitely in that camp. After the 2008 crash, I started really looking into diversifying, and gold felt like a solid choice for protecting my savings. I ended up putting about $120k into my Gold IRA over the years, mostly with another company initially, but I’ve been researching Birch Gold recently for a potential small addition or even if I recommend them to friends.

From what I’ve gathered, they seem pretty good for the smaller accounts. They have a lower minimum compared to some of the really high-end places, which is appealing. My biggest concern is always the fees for storage and maintenance, as those can really eat into your returns over time when you're not dealing with massive amounts. Has anyone here actually done business with Birch Gold with, say, less than $150k invested? What were your fee structures like after the initial setup?

I’m also curious about their customer service long-term. Is it still as responsive once you’re not a prospective client anymore? I remember one company I considered way back when was great at first, but then it felt like I was just another number. I'm trying to avoid that again. I'm always looking for ways to stay on top of the market, and I actually found this cool "Silver vs Stocks" tool recently at https://silvervsstocks.goldirablueprint.com/?period=10Y that compares silver to stocks – it’s a pretty neat way to visualize things over different timeframes.

Anyway, for anyone who’s used Birch Gold for a more modest investment (talking under $200k here), what’s been your overall experience? Would you recommend them, or are there other companies folks have had better luck with for those of us living on a teacher's pension?