Finally got the wife on board with gold, now what?

• •Took me long enough, but I finally convinced the wife that moving a significant chunk of our retirement into a Gold IRA was the right play.
• •I’ve been pushing for this for years, explaining the hedging benefits, the historical stability – everything.
• •She saw her spending power eroding, especially with the cost of living here in the city.

Took me long enough, but I finally convinced the wife that moving a significant chunk of our retirement into a Gold IRA was the right play. She's always been a bit more conservative, thinking the traditional 60/40 was gospel, even after seeing how many of our old Wall Street buddies got absolutely hosed in '08 and then again in '20. I mean, we’re not exactly hurting – the portfolio's still sitting pretty north of $3M even after some recent adjustments – but I’ve always had a heavy allocation in metals, always felt safer that way. We're in our late 60s now, retired here in NYC, and the idea of another major market correction just as we're really starting to lean on that income makes me genuinely anxious.

I’ve been pushing for this for years, explaining the hedging benefits, the historical stability – everything. What finally seemed to click was when I showed her some of the recent inflation numbers and talked about how even small percentage points compound into real losses over time when you're drawing down. She saw her spending power eroding, especially with the cost of living here in the city. I also hammered home the point that this isn’t about hitting grand slams anymore; it’s about capital preservation and ensuring our grandkids don’t end up inheriting inflated dollars that buy them half a croissant.

So, we're doing it. Looking at moving about $750k from a couple of old 401ks into a self-directed Gold IRA. Now that I’ve won the battle, the real work begins. Anyone have any strong opinions on custodians? I've been doing my homework, but it’s always good to hear real-world experiences. Also, how are people thinking about the balance between different gold products? I’m leaning towards a mix of coins and bars for liquidity and cost-effectiveness. And has anyone used that Retirement Planner tool over at GoldIRAblueprint? I’ve been playing around with it to model different scenarios, but curious if others found it genuinely helpful for long-term planning with a heavy gold allocation.