Feeling good about my Gold IRA as recession talk heats up

• •All this talk about a potential recession has me feeling pretty good about my move into a Gold IRA a couple of years back.
• •I'm a contractor based out of Jacksonville, and for my line of work, job security can feel a little...
• •less secure, especially when the economy starts looking shaky.

All this talk about a potential recession has me feeling pretty good about my move into a Gold IRA a couple of years back. I'm a contractor based out of Jacksonville, and for my line of work, job security can feel a little... less secure, especially when the economy starts looking shaky. I've got around $180k in my retirement portfolio now, and about 25% of that is in physical gold through the IRA. Watching the news and seeing the inflation numbers climb just reinforces why I went this route.

I remember agonizing over the decision. It felt like a big chunk of my savings (at the time, it was closer to $40k for the initial rollover), and there’s always that little voice asking if you’re doing the right thing. But the security aspect was huge for me. I'm not looking for crazy gains, just a hedge against the kind of instability we're seeing now. My regular 401(k) takes a hit when the market tanks, but the gold feels like a solid foundation underneath it all.

Anyone else feeling this way? What are your thoughts on precious metals as a recession hedge right now? I've been trying to wrap my head around potential tax implications if I ever need to take distributions earlier than planned, and that Tax Calculator tool I found at goldirablueprint.com has actually been pretty useful for figuring out different scenarios. It's a relief to get some estimates before things get too real. Just curious what everyone else's strategy is.