Seriously considering rolling over my 401k to gold after watching inflation numbers

• •Okay, I've been lurking here for a bit, soaking in all the advice.
• •I'm a teacher here in Columbus, and honestly, every time I look at my grocery bill or the gas pump, I just feel this pit in my stomach.
• •My little 401k, maybe around $30k right now, just feels like it's shrinking in front of my eyes.

Okay, I've been lurking here for a bit, soaking in all the advice. I'm a teacher here in Columbus, and honestly, every time I look at my grocery bill or the gas pump, I just feel this pit in my stomach. My little 401k, maybe around $30k right now, just feels like it's shrinking in front of my eyes. I'm relatively new to thinking about alternative investments, but the whole inflation thing is really starting to scare me into action.

I've been reading up on Gold IRAs, and it seems like a solid way to protect at least some of my retirement savings from this insane inflation. My 401k is just sitting in pretty standard mutual funds, and while it's done okay historically, I'm just not feeling confident about it holding up if inflation keeps going like this. Has anyone here made the jump from a traditional 401k to a Gold IRA specifically because of inflation fears? What was your experience like with the rollover process?

I'm still in the early stages of research, trying to figure out which companies are reputable and what the fees actually look like. I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the options and just want to make sure I'm not making a rash decision, but also not sitting on my hands while my savings erode. Any Columbus folks here who've gone through this? Are there any local resources or advisors you'd recommend, or is it mostly an online process?