Is Gold *Really* the inflation hedge everyone says it is? Asking for a friend (me)
- •Okay, so I've been seeing all this talk about inflation, obviously, especially with everything going on.
- •My real estate business here in Miami is still doing alright, thankfully, but prices for absolutely everything else are just nuts.
- •I've got a decent chunk of my retirement nest egg (around $180k) tied up in a mix of stocks and a Gold IRA I set up a couple of years ago.
Okay, so I've been seeing all this talk about inflation, obviously, especially with everything going on. My real estate business here in Miami is still doing alright, thankfully, but prices for absolutely everything else are just nuts. I've got a decent chunk of my retirement nest egg (around $180k) tied up in a mix of stocks and a Gold IRA I set up a couple of years ago. I remember the main reason I went with gold was specifically for inflation protection, but now I'm starting to wonder if I did enough. Gold coins felt like a solid choice for tangibility and historical value.
I'm looking at my statements and while my gold holdings are up, it doesn't always feel like it's keeping pace with current cost of living increases. Like, groceries, gas, insurance – it's all just constantly getting more expensive. Is holding physical gold coins in an IRA account truly the best defense against this kind of sustained inflation, or am I missing something? I always thought gold was sort of the ultimate safe haven, but sometimes it feels like it just... moves. Not spectacularly up, not spectacularly down, just moves.
I was messing around with this "Gold vs Stocks Comparison" tool I found at https://goldvsstocks.goldirablueprint.com/?period=10Y – it's pretty cool for looking at different periods. Over the last 10 years, gold definitely has a good showing, but then you punch in some other dates and it's a bit more of a mixed bag. This makes me question if I should be allocating more, or looking at other assets too. I know nobody has a crystal ball, but for those of you who've been through similar inflationary periods (or just have more experience), what are your best strategies?
Should I be thinking about increasing my gold allocation? Or is my current split of around 70/30 (stocks/gold) decent enough for long-term inflation safeguarding? Any Miami-based folks out there with Gold IRAs, what are your thoughts?