My experience with rolling a 401k into a Gold IRA - feeling good about it!

• •It's been a few months now since the whole process wrapped up, and I'm honestly feeling a real sense of peace about it.
• •I spent a good few weeks doing my research, mostly online and talking to a financial advisor here in Raleigh.
• •The idea of holding physical gold, in an SDIRA no less, just resonated with me.

I just wanted to share my recent experience with moving some of my late husband's 401k into a Gold IRA, especially for anyone else out there in a similar boat. It's been a few months now since the whole process wrapped up, and I'm honestly feeling a real sense of peace about it. When David passed, his 401k was sitting pretty at around $150k, and honestly, the thought of leaving all of it in the stock market felt incredibly risky, especially with everything going on these days.

I spent a good few weeks doing my research, mostly online and talking to a financial advisor here in Raleigh. The idea of holding physical gold, in an SDIRA no less, just resonated with me. David worked so hard for that money, and my primary goal always has been to protect that legacy, not necessarily chase huge gains anymore. I ended up deciding to roll over about $75k into a Gold IRA, leaving the other half in a more traditional investment account for now. The process itself was a bit intimidating at first, with all the paperwork and making sure I was choosing a reputable custodian. But after a few calls and some back-and-forth, it really wasn't as bad as I'd imagined.

The company I went with (I won't name them here, but I can PM if anyone's curious) walked me through every step. The actual transfer of funds from the old 401k to the new Gold IRA custodian took about a week, and then selecting the actual metals was pretty straightforward. I opted for a mix of American Gold Eagles and Canadian Gold Maples, as they seemed like solid, recognizable choices. Knowing that those coins are tangibly sitting in a secure vault, rather than just being numbers on a screen, is a huge comfort.

It's not about getting rich overnight, not for me anyway. It's about preserving what we built together. With all the economic uncertainty, inflation worries, and everything else, having a portion of our savings in something as historically stable as gold feels incredibly responsible. Has anyone else made a similar move recently? What were your biggest concerns or successes? I'd love to hear other perspectives on this, especially from those who view their portfolios more about preservation than aggressive growth.