Gold IRA minimums - what was yours and was it worth it?

• •Okay, so my husband and I have been looking at seriously putting more into our Gold IRA.
• •We started it a few years back – maybe four or five now?
• •It felt like a BIG jump at the time, especially coming from a mostly traditional stock portfolio for so long.

Okay, so my husband and I have been looking at seriously putting more into our Gold IRA. We started it a few years back – maybe four or five now? – with $50,000. It felt like a BIG jump at the time, especially coming from a mostly traditional stock portfolio for so long. As a farmer's wife, I just believe in things you can hold, you know? Paper money and digital numbers sometimes feel so... flimsy. Anyway, we went with a company that had that $50k minimum, and it worked for us then.

Now, I'm seeing other companies advertising much lower minimums, some as low as $10k or even $25k. It makes me wonder if we overpaid on fees or something by going with a higher minimum company right off the bat. At the time, all the research said higher minimums were for more "serious" investors and usually came with better service, but who knows if that's actually true. I'm based out of Kansas City, and a lot of the providers push these higher numbers. What were your minimums when you opened your Gold IRA? Did you feel like you got good value for that initial investment?

I’ve been tracking our performance, and honestly, the stability is what I love most. Especially with all the craziness in the world, it just feels like a bedrock. I even used that Gold vs Stocks Comparison tool the other day – it's really eye-opening to see how gold compares to the S&P 500 over a 10-year period. It really cemented why we went this route. We're looking at adding another $25k-$50k soon, so trying to figure out if it makes sense to stick with our current custodian or explore options with lower entry points.

I guess I'm just curious about other people's experiences. Did you choose a higher minimum hoping for better service or lower fees on the back end? Or did you go for the lowest possible to get started? Any regrets either way? Part of me thinks sticking with what we know is best, but another part wonders if there's a better deal out there for our next chunk of tangible wealth.