Made the jump: Rolled my old 401k into a Gold IRA and sleeping better already

• •Finally pulled the trigger a few months ago and rolled over a good chunk of an old 401k from a previous gig into a Gold IRA.
• •I've been in the oil industry here in Dallas my whole career, and while I believe in what we do, I also know how volatile things can get.
• •Inflation anxieties are real, folks.

Finally pulled the trigger a few months ago and rolled over a good chunk of an old 401k from a previous gig into a Gold IRA. I've been in the oil industry here in Dallas my whole career, and while I believe in what we do, I also know how volatile things can get. Been investing in gold on the side for about 15 years now – started with some physical coins, then a few ETFs, but always wanted to get a more substantial allocation directly into my retirement.

My portfolio is somewhere in the high six figures, creeping up towards that million-dollar mark, and honestly, having a significant chunk of that tied up solely in traditional equities was starting to gnaw at me. Inflation anxieties are real, folks. The process itself was smoother than I expected. Found a solid custodian, transferred about $150k over, and now have it in a mix of American Gold Eagles and some PAMP Suisse bars. Just staring at those quarterly statements with the gold holdings… there's a certain peace of mind there you don't get from a stock ticker.

For those of you further down the retirement road, or even just planning ahead, have you started thinking about RMDs yet? I was playing around with a tool a friend showed me the other day, the RMD Calculator on Gold IRA Blueprint, trying to get a clearer picture of what I’ll be looking at once I hit that age. It's wild how much those distributions can impact things. Anyone else already strategizing for those and how their precious metals holdings fit into the picture?

Curious to hear from others who've done similar rollovers. What was your experience like? Any surprises? And for those still on the fence, what's holding you back? Just tired of the constant market jitters, and this feels like a good defensive play, especially with the current economic climate.