tech, Perhaps we should call this your "Flight to Safety Portfolio." A few observations: 1. Do you hold all your T-bills directly? As FDLXX? As an ETF like BIL? They each have some (minor) differences. 2. Perhaps you might think of your Swiss Franc annuity as a T-bond held as an ETF such a...

See the FAQs. It explains how to convert paper I-bonds to digital I-bonds.

There is no way to directly convert paper I-bonds to digital I-bonds on the federal tax return form. You must do it separately.

Vinny, 1. The authoritative answers to all your questions about buying I-bonds can be found at: https://treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds/res_ibonds_ibuy.htm 2. You can buy $5,000 in paper I-bonds annually with your federal tax refund. You can buy $10,000 in digital I-bonds annually t...

I bought my last EE bonds when I turned 65.

Anything more than that amounts to a well-thought out gift to my heirs.

An article about FDLXX (Fidelity's Treasury Only Money Market Fund) that expands on its closure to new investors, 31 March 2020. I currently keep FDLXX as cash for both taxable and tax-deferred accounts. Apparently, lots of other investors have suddenly awakened to the singular quality of US Treasur...

Fidelity closed fdlxx to new investors on March 30th ..... Because there aren't enough Tbills to go around? :o Probably not. It's because with 0 yields, it costs Fidelity money to maintain those accounts because they won't charge the customers for expenses. Investors who have recently joined the ru...

I am letting the balance of my T-bills mature and not renewing them at negative nominal yields. Proceeds are currently split between my treasury money market fund (FDLXX) and my annual I bond purchase. I think that it helps to remember that while the real yield on Cash is slightly negative, the yiel...

Now would be a great time to start an I-bond ladder.

The yield on the I-bond will be 2.22% until 1 May 2020.

Get 'em while they are red-hot!

I could be wrong, but I believe that a Desert Portfolio generates more taxable interest and dividends than an HBPP. The charts do not account for that real world problem.

I assume that just by virtue of people having joined this forum that it would be overwhelmingly composed of "ants" over "grasshopper"? I am the ultimate ant! Vinny Yes, but I doubt most of us are as hardcore as you. I definitely don't still have any shirts or jeans from 20 years...

Vinny,
Please see my comments regarding your situation over at the bond buying tutorial thread.

Vinny, Given all of the difficulties that you have described in multiple threads on this forum dealing with Vanguard over the telephone, I wonder if you would not be more satisfied establishing your accounts in-person at your nearest Fidelity brick-and-mortar office. -Fidelity's headquarters is in B...

The OP was talking about a 401k loan as an investment, not as a means to survival. As an investment, a 401k loan is always a bad idea. Tax laws are written to ensure that pulling money out of a 401k will cost you money. In the long run, you are always ahead to leave an investment inside of your 401k...

I would never take out a 401k loan because I always keep plenty of cash on hand.

All loans are leverage and leverage usually makes for bad investments, as Uncle Harry taught us.

Fidelity fixed income page shows the following: US Treasury CUSIP # 9128285Q9, maturity 11/30/20, yield 0.313, bid 101.667, ask 101.871, yield to maturity 0.021. Depth of book shows recent transactions (more sells than buys). Yes, some T-bills can (and do) trade at a premium in the secondary market ...

The last thing I would do with T bill money is put it in a bank! Are you serious???? If we slide into a depression and banks start failing with the federal government already having spent trillions on stimulus packages, I'm not sure the FDIC guarantee is going to mean much. I had in mind watching t...

I just saw this notice on Fidelity's fixed income web page: icon-exclamation-yellowtriangle-1x Recent extreme market conditions have resulted in a lack of liquidity, wide spreads (the difference between the price a customer can buy and sell a bond), large swings in prices, and substantial increases ...

Interesting development.

This morning, I checked the Treasury yield curve at Fidelity and noted something I had never seen before-- no 3 month and no 6 month T-bills available.

With the 30 year T-bond yielding only 1.45%, the entire Treasury yield curve has a negative real yield right now.

I practice bank diversification too. 1. My local bank is not only FDIC-insured, it survived the Great Depression bank runs. 2. I know my local bank manager by name. He personally answers my (rare) phone calls and emails. 3. My local bank has my safe deposit box. I can get an appointment to open it w...

Any company that doesn't give you the option to have them call you back, instead of waiting on hold, has a 'tard-level of customer service. Kriegs, I would like to hear more followup details from you regarding the failed execution of the sale of some your LTTs at Vanguard, which you wrote about rec...

There are unresolved issues with the liquidity of the bond market, the extent of which are not entirely clear. See: Neil Irwin's article in the New York Times, "Something Weird Is Happening on Wall Street, and Not Just the Stock Sell-Off," March 12,2020. and Sonny Oh, "These are the '...

Seems like a lot better plan than buying "FDIC-backed" 5 year CDs, as some on this forum have recommended. I'm not sure what I've missed, but my CDs are doing fine, earning their 3% interest. And I could break them tomorrow and have the cash in my account in a few days, less 6 months inte...

This notice appeared on Fidelity's Fixed Income page today: "Due to the recent drop in interest rates, some Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) now have negative market yields. While active markets do exist for TIPS, pricing for these securities is not currently available on Fidelity...

I try not to rebalance from cash to one of the volatile assets. YTD, my bonds have risen from 23.4% to 30.6%. A rebalance from 35% seems still a bit off, but who knows? YTD, my stocks have fallen from 26.7% to to 19.5%. Likewise, a rebalance at 15% is possible, and I am prepared to meet it with a co...

What the fuck is this ridiculous bullshit A Fixed Income order to sell U S TREASURY BOND was canceled in your Vanguard Brokerage Account due to a change in the bid price available. If you wish to replace the order, you should call Vanguard at the number referenced below. Kriegs, Did your bond order...