What did you guys mess up with your Gold IRA early on?

• •Okay, so I've been dabbling in a Gold IRA for a couple of years now and trying to figure out if I made any glaring rookie mistakes.
• •I heard all the usual advice before I dove in – diversifying, understanding the fees, not putting all my eggs in the precious metals basket, etc.
• •I'm an insurance agent here in Omaha, so risk assessment is basically my day job.

Okay, so I've been dabbling in a Gold IRA for a couple of years now and trying to figure out if I made any glaring rookie mistakes. I heard all the usual advice before I dove in – diversifying, understanding the fees, not putting all my eggs in the precious metals basket, etc. I'm an insurance agent here in Omaha, so risk assessment is basically my day job. Still, sometimes you don't know what you don't know until you're in it.

My first move was putting about 10% of my retirement portfolio (which is sitting around the upper end of the $100k-$250k range) into gold. Most of that was a rollover from an old 401k, which felt like the easiest way to get started. I feel pretty good about the metals I chose (mostly Eagles and some Buffaloes), and I did a deep dive into the custodian and dealer fees. Nobody blindsided me with insane storage costs or anything. But I wonder if I was too conservative, or maybe not conservative enough? Should I have gone for a higher percentage, or is 10% a good sweet spot for someone who also has a solid mix of stocks and bonds?

Mostly, I'm trying to avoid looking back in 10-15 years and realizing I missed something obvious that could've saved me a lot of grief or boosted my returns (or protected my assets even more). Did anyone here jump in with a Gold IRA and later regret their initial allocation, or wish they'd chosen a different type of metal, or used a different custodian? What's the biggest "Phew, glad I learned that early" moment you had with your gold investments?