Physical Gold vs. Paper Gold: What's your take?

• •I've been thinking a lot about this lately, especially watching the news and everything feeling so uncertain.
• •As a farmer's wife here in Kansas City, I've always believed in tangible assets, things you can hold and touch.
• •My advisor initially walked me through the whole physical gold vs.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately, especially watching the news and everything feeling so uncertain. As a farmer's wife here in Kansas City, I've always believed in tangible assets, things you can hold and touch. It's why I finally dipped my toes into a Gold IRA about two years ago, started with around $60k, and it's been surprisingly steady, which is exactly why I got into it.

My advisor initially walked me through the whole physical gold vs. paper gold thing, and I opted for the physical. For me, knowing those actual coins are sitting in a vault, unencumbered by digital glitches or some bank's spreadsheet, just brings a level of peace of mind. Call me old-fashioned, but it feels like real wealth, not just numbers on a screen. I recently added another $10k to my account, mostly buying some fractional gold because I wanted to diversify a bit more within the physical gold category.

But sometimes I wonder if I'm missing out on the flexibility or potential gains of paper gold. I see people talking about gold ETFs or mining stocks and how easy it is to trade them. My husband, bless his heart, sometimes asks if we should be more "modern" with our investments. He's always on his phone looking at stocks, and I mostly look at our cattle and the weather forecast, so it's a bit of a difference in perspective!

So, for those of you who've invested in gold in any form, what was your main driver for choosing physical over paper, or vice-versa? Did you consider the counterparty risk with paper gold? Or do you think the liquidity and lower storage costs of paper gold outweigh the benefits of holding the real thing? Just curious to hear different viewpoints.