bonds

A Simple Guide to Series I Savings Bonds (I-Bonds)

Posted 19 weeks 4 days ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, General Tips, Taxes, Investment

After the recent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve many of my bank and money market interest rates plummeted.  Now the best yield I have is on my Series I Savings Bonds issued by the United States Treasury.  These bonds are also known as I-Bonds and their yields fluctuate according to inflation.  Currently, the yield is 4.28% and that beats all of my other cash investments.  Here is some information on the interest rate on I-Bonds and the advantages of owning these bonds.

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Laddering for higher, more stable returns

Posted 21 weeks 1 day ago by Philip Brewer

Investment

Tree roots and steps

When investing in things that pay an interest rate--things like CDs and bonds--it's tempting to try to get the maximum interest rate, and then to try to lock up that rate for as long as possible.  There's an alternate strategy that provides good, stable returns with a lot less stress and a lot less need for predicting the future:  Laddering.

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The Mechanics of Put and Call Features in Fixed-Income Securities

Posted 35 weeks 1 day ago by Mark P. Cussen

Personal Finance

markpic

This article will teach you how put and call features can affect your fixed income investments.

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Your 401(k) is not an investment

Posted 1 year 3 weeks ago by Philip Brewer

Investment

Your 401(k) is not an investment. Neither is your IRA. Those are legal compartments for holding investments. Your investments are the mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and so on that you've bought. The compartments are where you keep your investments. The distinction makes a difference. When you decide where to invest your money--what investments to buy--you should ignore the compartments. Deciding what compartment to use for each individual investment should come later.

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Treasury bills for ordinary folks

Posted 1 year 7 weeks ago by Philip Brewer

Investment

Savings bonds

Let's say you've paid off any debt, except maybe a low-rate mortgage or student loan, and you've started saving the 3-6 month's spending money that all the books say you ought to have. So, where do you put that savings?  An option with the maximum safety and considerable flexibility is treasury bills.

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