Gold IRA regrets - what did you screw up early on?

• •Figured I'd throw this out there for anyone just dipping their toes in the water – what were your biggest "oops" moments with Gold IRAs?
• •For me, it was honestly not doing enough due diligence on storage fees and the markup on certain coins.
• •I got a little too excited about getting "physical gold" in my retirement account and overlooked some of the smaller print.

Okay, so I've been in the Gold IRA game for a few years now, and while it's been mostly positive, I definitely made some bonehead moves when I first got started. Figured I'd throw this out there for anyone just dipping their toes in the water – what were your biggest "oops" moments with Gold IRAs?

For me, it was honestly not doing enough due diligence on storage fees and the markup on certain coins. I got a little too excited about getting "physical gold" in my retirement account and overlooked some of the smaller print. It wasn't anything catastrophic, thankfully, but definitely chipped away at those early gains. My financial advisor (who's been an absolute lifesaver, btw – mostly helps folks like me here in SLC navigate these waters with their existing 401ks/IRAs) sat me down and walked me through how even seemingly small percentages can add up over time. Another thing was underestimating the paperwork involved. It's not a set-it-and-forget-it kind of initial setup, and I almost missed a crucial rollover deadline because I wasn't on top of things.

I started with about $250k from a rollover, and initially, I was almost too conservative. I fixated on gold and didn't really consider silver until later. Now I look back and think, man, I really should have at least diversified within precious metals more from the get-go. I even found myself using that "Silver vs Stocks" tool on goldirablueprint.com (the 10-year view is pretty eye-opening: https://silvervsstocks.goldirablueprint.com/?period=10Y) and wished I had that perspective earlier. Hindsight is 20/20, I guess, but it really highlights how important it is to compare different assets.

So, hit me with it! What were your newbie mistakes or things you wish you'd known when you first started investing in a Gold IRA? Trying to put together a little "don't do what I did" list for some of my newer clients and even for myself to remember for future contributions.