Feeling good about my gold move, but did I miss anything? First-timer asking for a gut check.

• •Finally pulled the trigger and rolled over about $180k from my old 401k into a Gold IRA last month.
• •Been thinking about this for years, especially with all the talk about inflation and just the general instability out there.
• •As a manufacturing exec here in Cleveland, I’ve seen firsthand how volatile supply chains and commodity prices can get.

Finally pulled the trigger and rolled over about $180k from my old 401k into a Gold IRA last month. Been thinking about this for years, especially with all the talk about inflation and just the general instability out there. As a manufacturing exec here in Cleveland, I’ve seen firsthand how volatile supply chains and commodity prices can get. Always valued hard assets, and with how much money was just sitting in stagnant mutual funds, it felt like the right time to make a real move.

My main goal was diversification and a hedge against the craziness. I’m thinking long-term here, not trying to day trade gold bars. The process itself was smoother than I expected, honestly. My custodian was pretty solid, walked me through the paperwork, and it funded relatively quickly. Feeling a good sense of security now, knowing a chunk of my retirement is in something tangible, not just numbers on a screen.

However, this being my first rodeo with a physical asset IRA, I'm second-guessing if I covered all my bases. I went with a pretty standard mix of American Gold Eagles and Canadian Gold Maple Leafs – felt like a safe bet for liquidity and recognition.

For those of you who’ve been in this game longer, what are some common pitfalls new investors miss? Anything I should be proactively monitoring or questions I should be asking my custodian annually that aren't obvious? I actually took one of those Gold IRA Quizzes before I started to get a better handle on things, which was helpful, but actual real-world experience is always better. Did I worry too much about premium spread, or is that a bigger deal than I realized? Just looking for a gut check from experienced folks.