Is anyone else feeling this inflation squeeze and seriously looking at gold?

• •I started seriously looking into this back when I was still managing a branch here in Portland, seeing the writing on the wall with monetary policy.
• •I mean, historically, how many assets reliably hold their value better when the dollar's buying power is eroding?
• •It's a long-term play, obviously.

Okay, so I just got back from Fred Meyer, and between gas prices and the cost of what used to be my weekly organic produce haul, I'm genuinely starting to feel that persistent inflation gnawing at my savings more than usual. Coming from a banking background, I've seen enough cycles to know that "transitory" often means "longer than you think," and I'm honestly getting a little antsy about the purchasing power of my cash sitting around.

I've been a pretty firm advocate for metal diversification in my own portfolio for a while now – probably around 15% of my overall 400k is in physical gold and silver allocated within my IRA. I started seriously looking into this back when I was still managing a branch here in Portland, seeing the writing on the wall with monetary policy. For me, it's not about trying to get rich quick with gold; it's purely an inflation hedge, a way to maintain some stability when everything else feels like it's on a rollercoaster. I mean, historically, how many assets reliably hold their value better when the dollar's buying power is eroding?

My strategy has always been to dollar-cost average into gold, adding a bit whenever I feel the market has taken a dip or when economic uncertainty (like now!) seems amplified. It's a long-term play, obviously. But with talks of potential stagflation even, it makes me wonder if I should be increasing my allocation. What are others doing right now to protect their portfolios from this current inflationary environment? Are you looking at gold, real estate, commodities, or something else entirely?

Also, out of curiosity, for those of you who might be new to this or just exploring options, have you ever taken one of those "Gold IRA Quizzes"? I used one a while back when I was first dipping my toes in the water to get a better sense of how it all worked – something like the Gold IRA Quiz I saw recently. It can be a pretty solid starting point to understand if a gold IRA aligns with your own financial goals and risk tolerance. Just throwing that out there.