Seriously stressed about gold & geopolitics

• •Okay, so I'm pretty new to the whole Gold IRA thing, just started this year actually.
• •I'm a teacher here in Columbus, and honestly, setting aside even the 10k I've managed so far felt like a huge accomplishment.
• •After years of just traditional 401k stuff, the idea of having something tangible for retirement felt really good.

Okay, so I'm pretty new to the whole Gold IRA thing, just started this year actually. I'm a teacher here in Columbus, and honestly, setting aside even the 10k I've managed so far felt like a huge accomplishment. After years of just traditional 401k stuff, the idea of having something tangible for retirement felt really good. But man, lately, with everything going on globally, I'm finding myself checking the news way more than is probably healthy, and then immediately checking gold prices.

It feels like every time there's a new headline, especially out of Russia/Ukraine or anything with the Middle East, gold just… reacts. Or at least, that's what it feels like. I know gold is supposed to be that safe haven asset, and that's exactly why I diversified into it, but seeing those fluctuations, even if they're upward, makes me feel a bit queasy sometimes. It’s hard to tell if this is just normal volatility or if these major geopolitical shifts are going to have a lasting impact on my relatively small portfolio.

I'm trying to think long-term here, obviously, but it's tough when the immediate future feels so uncertain. For those of you who've been in the gold game longer, especially with bigger portfolios, how have you seen major geopolitical events affect gold prices over, say, a 5-10 year span? Is this just par for the course, or are we in for a truly different kind of ride?

Also, on a slightly related note, I'm trying to get a better handle on planning my retirement as a whole, beyond just the gold. Has anyone had good experiences with the Retirement Planner at retire.goldirablueprint.com? I'm curious if it's helpful for incorporating diversification like gold into a broader retirement strategy. Any tips or shared experiences would be amazing right now!