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    Gold IRA: My experience with inflation since rolling over my TSP

    Key Takeaways
    • Been seeing a lot of chatter lately about inflation and how people are trying to protect their retirement.
    • Figured I'd share my own experience, especially for those of you who might be considering a Gold IRA rollover for inflation protection.
    • After 20 years in the Navy, I finally hung up the uniform a few years back.
    The 3-step rollover process explained

    Been seeing a lot of chatter lately about inflation and how people are trying to protect their retirement. Figured I'd share my own experience, especially for those of you who might be considering a Gold IRA rollover for inflation protection. After 20 years in the Navy, I finally hung up the uniform a few years back. With my TSP, I was looking at around $380k and let me tell you, financial security is pretty high on my priority list after seeing a career's worth of pension value erode on paper. I'm down here in San Diego, and the cost of living... well, you all know. It's insane.

    I started really getting worried about inflation back in late 2020/early 2021. Seemed like every time I went to the grocery store, prices were up. Combine that with all the money printing, and I just had a gut feeling things were going to get spicy. After a lot of research, I decided to roll over about 60% of my TSP into a Gold IRA. Didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket, but I wanted a significant hedge. I worked with a company that made the process surprisingly smooth, and now I've got a decent chunk of physical gold held in a depository.

    Looking back, I'm genuinely relieved. While my stock portfolio has taken its hits with the market volatility, my gold allocation has held its own, and in some ways, even appreciated during these inflationary periods. It’s not about getting rich quick; for me, it’s about preserving purchasing power, which gold has done a solid job of so far. It helps me sleep at night knowing a good portion of my retirement isn't just evaporating due to rising prices.

    So, for those of you also looking at inflation protection for your retirement accounts, especially if you're thinking about moving funds out of a 401k or TSP, what are your thoughts? Has anyone else seen similar benefits from a Gold IRA during this inflationary cycle? What other strategies are people employing to safeguard their nest eggs?

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    14 comments

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    Best Answer▲ 18 upvotes
    S
    sharon_evans💰Established (100-250k)
    Yep, feels familiar. Been in a Gold IRA for about three years now myself, after splitting a chunk from my 401k following a particularly nasty dip in '21. Witnessing what inflation's doing to purchasing power firsthand here in Tulsa, that physical hedge feels less like an investment and more like a necessary lifeboat. Having that tangible asset versus just watching numbers on a screen feels psychologically different too, especially when the grocery bill keeps climbing.

    Comments (14)

    8
    carol_carter💰Established (100-250k)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    Dude, I can totally relate to this. Made a similar move with a portion of my old 401k a couple years back, mainly out of the same inflation anxiety. Seeing those prices at the grocery store just cemented the decision for me. So far, no regrets.

    1
    karen_robinson💼Starter (0-50k)about 2 months ago

    Hey, that's really interesting! Glad to hear it's working out for you. Quick question though: when you say "since rolling over your TSP," are we talking like, within the last year or two, or was this a longer-term move?

    6
    jennifer_martinez💰Established (100-250k)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    Totally get the appeal of gold as an inflation hedge, and glad it's working out for you! But I do wonder if sometimes folks overstate its short-term effectiveness against inflation. Historically, gold's performance during inflationary periods has been a bit of a mixed bag; it's not always a perfect 1:1 correlation or an immediate boom. It really shines more as a long-term store of value and a diversifier, IMO. Just something to keep in mind for others reading this who might be looking for a quick fix.

    9
    richard_garcia👑Elite (1m-5m)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    Awesome to hear your Gold IRA is working out for you! Protecting against inflation is definitely on a lot of people's minds right now. For anyone else looking into this, make sure you compare *all* the fees involved with different custodians – setup, storage, annual maintenance. They can really add up over time, and some companies are much more transparent than others. There are some good comparison charts out there if you search for "Gold IRA fee comparison." Good luck!

    8
    ashley_baker💼Starter (0-50k)✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    It's interesting to hear about your TSP rollover experience. While I agree that inflation has been a monster lately, with gas prices here in Charleston making my weekly commute a real pain, I've actually found my modest Gold IRA to be a surprisingly steady ship in these choppy waters. The initial dive everyone saw in other markets around 2022 felt like less of a gut punch for me personally, and I'm seeing a slow but consistent crawl upwards now even as my 401k is still bouncing around.

    6
    catherine_bell🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    Interesting to see everyone's take on the TSP rollover. I pulled about $300k out of my TSP back in '19 and put a good chunk into a Gold IRA, with the rest split between some real estate in Spokane and a diversified index fund. Honestly, the gold's performed pretty much as expected – a reliable, albeit unexciting, steady hand through the last few years. But I gotta say, even with inflation gnawing away, *that real estate* is what's truly blown my portfolio out of the water here in the PNW. Makes me wonder if we're over-indexing on gold as the only "safe" haven, when local, tangible assets might be doing even more heavy lifting for some folks.

    17
    michelle_collins🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    Glad to hear someone else is seeing the light with the TSP to Gold IRA rollover. I pulled the trigger on mine back in '19, right before the world went sideways. I remember my wife thought I was nuts, but watching inflation chew through folks' savings since then, well, let's just say she's a believer now. If you're near retirement, the RMD Calculator is super helpful for planning out those distributions – wish I had it when I started looking into everything. It's not just about portfolio growth, it's about *wealth preservation* through the choppy waters, especially when you've got a decent chunk, say, a few hundred thousand, invested.

    15
    dorothy_lopez💰Established (100-250k)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    Man, I hear you on the inflation bite. I rolled a chunk of my old 401k – about $180k – into a Gold IRA back in late 2020, right before things really started getting spicy. Living here in Vegas, you see the price jumps in everything from groceries to gas more than a lot of places. My portfolio has definitely held its ground, especially compared to some of my friends who stayed 100% in stocks. It’s given me some real peace of mind, knowing I have that hedge.

    17
    jennifer_martinez💰Established (100-250k)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    Totally agree with the sentiment here. I remember early 2020 – everything felt so uncertain with the pandemic hitting. I'd been sitting on a chunk of cash from a Miami condo sale, about $200k, and decided to push a good portion of it into a Gold IRA. Watching inflation tick up since then, especially with the cost of living skyrocketing down here, it's been a real comfort knowing that capital is protected. The peace of mind alone is worth its weight in... well, you know.

    18
    sharon_evans💰Established (100-250k)Real Investorabout 2 months ago

    Yep, feels familiar. Been in a Gold IRA for about three years now myself, after splitting a chunk from my 401k following a particularly nasty dip in '21. Witnessing what inflation's doing to purchasing power firsthand here in Tulsa, that physical hedge feels less like an investment and more like a necessary lifeboat. Having that tangible asset versus just watching numbers on a screen feels psychologically different too, especially when the grocery bill keeps climbing.

    15
    joyce_cooper📊Growing (50-100k)✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    @Sharon Evans, that's exactly it! "Nasty dip in '21" – that phrase hits home for so many of us, including myself here in Little Rock. I genuinely appreciate you sharing your experience, it really mirrors my own journey to a Gold IRA. What a relief to have that stability, especially seeing what inflation continues to do to purchasing power. Funny enough, I actually used the Gold IRA Quiz at https://quiz.goldirablueprint.com/?forum right around that time – it really helped me figure out the right strategy for my situation and cemented my decision to move about 75k from my old 401k.

    10
    sandra_green📊Growing (50-100k)✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    Totally feel you on the inflation front since rolling over my TSP. I'm in KC and started seeing the writing on the wall late last year. What really helped me solidify my decision to go with a Gold IRA was this breakdown I found on Investopedia about the historical performance of gold during different economic cycles. It wasn't just a sales pitch; it laid out the data pretty clearly and helped me pick a custodian that fit my own risk tolerance. Now my 70k portfolio feels a lot more insulated than it did a year ago.

    15
    brian_edwards🌟Ultra (5m+)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    Appreciate you sharing your experience, especially with the TSP rollover – that's a path many are considering right now. You mentioned the peace of mind aspect, which resonates deeply, but I'm curious if you've done any specific analysis comparing the *real* purchasing power of your gold holdings today versus what your TSP might have yielded if kept in its original allocation, given the current inflationary environment and market volatility.

    8
    joshua_phillips🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 2 months ago

    Totally get that feeling, the way inflation's been gnawing at purchasing power is wild. I'm in Birmingham, and after seeing my 401k barely keep pace, I moved a significant chunk into a Gold IRA back in late 2021, about $350k worth. One tool I found super helpful for tracking my actual precious metal holdings and their real-time value was actually the Kitco app – it's not a direct IRA tracker, but it consolidates market prices for various metals, showing how my physical assets are performing against the broader market trends.

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