#bond investments

[fastlane-freedom]

Investing 101: Building Wealth for the Future

In the dynamic landscape of personal finance, one fundamental principle stands out as a cornerstone for achieving long-term financial success—investing. Whether you’re just starting your journey to financial independence or looking to enhance your existing portfolio, understanding the basics of investing is crucial. This blog aims to guide you through Investing 101, offering insights into the…

[someshwarsrivastav]

Investing in bonds is a valuable strategy for building a diversified and stable investment portfolio. Someshwar Srivastav emphasizes the importance of aligning your bond investments with your overall financial strategy, whether you’re seeking income, capital preservation, or a combination of both.

[ohsleepie]

The prince and his Physician. A role-reversal au based on a dream I had that I wanted to draw something for. More ramblings under the cut

In this au, there is a kingdom of men where the briar valley once stood. Silver, the heir to this kingdom, has been the only member of the royal family for centuries, the result of a curse that causes him to die before he's old enough to ascend to the throne and reincarnate days after his passing. Silver's immortality was once a symbols for the kingdom's permanence, but the repeated death of their monarch every two decades or so has left the citizens with perpetual, generational sorrow with seemingly no solution as no one besides Silver was alive when the curse was placed.

A few centuries after Silver was born and it was believed the last full-blooded fae in briar valley had either abandoned the land or died, a draconian fae child is found in the brambles. This fae, given the name Malleus, was brought to the kingdom at the request if the prince and raised as part of the royal court with the express purpose of becoming the royal physician/chemist. It is believed that Silver's curse, as everlasting as it seems, was placed on him by a fae with extreme magical prowess and if anyone has a chance of breaking it, it's another fae. The kingdom believes that Malleus will be able to break the death curse and allow Silver to become their immortal king.

However, Silver has other plans for his chemist. From an early age, Silver requested that Malleus use his talents to find a different kind of solution to his curse that he can never tell anyone. He wants Malleus to find a way to stop his reincarnations entirely and let him unburden his people with the monarchy. Whether to fulfill the request of the kingdom he calls home, or the prince that took him in is in Malleus' hands.

[grif-hawaiian-rolls]

Movie night is a vital part of the Red Team experience

plus an honorary Doc to make the snack runs

[bigboobshaunt]

I know it's largely a waste of time because the people I've seen peddling this idea don't really care and are just doing it to add pointless discourse, but I am bored at work so at least I'm getting paid!

The idea that, although Kabru cares about Laios, Laios doesn't care about Kabru is wrong, even before he becomes his royal advisor and the new interactions they got post-canon, and insisting otherwise shows a lack of understanding of the dynamic.

I think it's clear to everyone that the confession scene mattered to Kabru, so the camp pushing this lately isn't even arguing that, but I don't think they're thinking from Laios' side.

The entire scene is meant to be a parallel to Laios and Shuro's fight way earlier in the manga. Laios hasn't known Kabru for nearly as long, but he was still someone who was ultimately lying to him (a façade in Kabru's case, wrapped up in his own trauma) and someone that Laios built up an ideal version of in his head... so why is his reaction to Kabru coming clean so starkly different? Simply put, it's his character development.

Instead of angry and betrayed, he doesn't even initially believe anyone would go through the trouble of braving the Dungeon to be his friend. Such a ridiculous idea!

But Kabru IS sincere. He is sincere in his desire to get to truly know Laios. He has his own wrong ideas about what makes Laios tick, but differently from many, many people in his life (especially with his childhood and his complex feelings towards his village and his parents who ostracized him and Falin) Kabru is willing to make an effort to understand him. That's huge.

[suntails]

🐙⚔️

[boy-in-red-dress]

"I once considered him the center of my life, the sun in my galaxy..."

[potatobugz]

huddling for warmth

[stobinesque]

Ok, ok, I know "Steve deserves a friend who shares his interest in sports" is a popular fandom take, and, like, that's not wrong, but: Guys. It's Robin. Like. Did you all see the way she's cheering during the basketball game?? (Also Vickie. Steve and Vickie would totally bond over sports.) As a former band kid I can assert that being in pep/marching band does not automatically imply an interest in (or understanding of) sports, but Robin is actively cheering without first needing someone to explain what happened to her, and with actual, genuine enthusiasm! Maybe sports aren't her favorite thing, and maybe part of her excitement is for Lucas, but I 100% believe that she and Steve have watched basketball games together.

ETA: I originally wrote this post while rewatching ep 1 of season 4 and forgot at the time that in season 3 Robin talks about playing soccer. Jock!Robin is real and canon!

[bevirspnsblmnt]

Jergal's champion meets an old friend.

(Khael stresses out A Lot about the life expectancy difference between him and Astarion, to the point when he gets older than the age when Astarion was born again, he seeks out a familiar face (god) and demands his boon for having done his bidding, even if unknowingly. He brings 200 gold coins, the price for a single soul )his own) and demands immortality. Lichdom doesn't sound too bad.)

[iii-of-ender]

i hate when a book has genuinely cool worldbuilding and characters and plot and then the author ruins it all by assuming i care about shitty romance they’re pushing into relevance

[rosemarytrash]

I love your rose cuz of her big eyebrows 💔

trust that life is all about change and transformation, nothing will ever stay the same, even that which appears stagnant is slowly being corroded and degraded into new, fresh form, and the only constant in life is that what you have now is not yours forever

except for how I draw rose's eyebrows. that will never change

[wigglesdtuff]

They would have the most epic of Warrior Cat roleplay forum posts

[bitchesgetriches]

Hi! I fully do not understand investing, but I’m going to follow the directions you and others give about IRA investments. The one thing that I totally do not grasp is the allocating the funs into an index. Isnt there a scenerio where the index loses money and by retirement age you check it out and it went completely under or something?

Hey kiddo! And welcome to the wide world of investing. You're on the right track by starting an IRA for your retirement.

Yes, there are people who lose money by investing their retirement fund. This happens when they retire at the same time a recession or stock market crash happens. And it's fucking unlucky timing.

If you invest $100, and the market falls to the point that it's worth $80, you will lose money if you pull your money out when it's worth $80. But after the fall, when the market recovers so your original investment is worth $120, and THEN you pull your money out... you will have made money!

In other words, timing matters. We explain exactly how this works here:

Wait... Did I Just Lose All My Money Investing in the Stock Market?

Now to address the second part of your question. You can avoid the risk of losing money by regularly adjusting your allocation. When you're young and many years from retirement, you can allocate your portfolio aggressively into higher-risk investments. Who cares if you lose money in the short term? As we explain in the link above, you don't actually LOSE the money until you take the money out of the stock market.

But as you get older and nearer to retirement, you want to lock in your gains by moving your money from high-risk investments like stocks to safer investments like bonds. That way when you get within a few years of retirement, you can kind of "protect" your investments from being overly affected by market fluctuations.

In other words: allocation is not a one-time activity. We explain this more here:

Investing Deathmatch: Stocks vs. Bonds 

This was a big oversimplification, but we go into detail about all of this here:

Do NOT Make This Disastrous Beginner Mistake With Your Retirement Funds 

If you liked this article, join our Patreon!

[goldentriowins]

Thinking about how all three of the trio are really jealous (and also a little insane).

Thinking about them finally realizing they like one another and being hopelessly confused and jealous and afraid of ruining their friendship or being abandoned if the other two got together.

Thinking about them actually getting together and feeling like they’re inevitably going to break up or someone is going to feel left out.

Thinking about how they grow into the relationship and their feelings and learn how to communicate.

Thinking about how the dynamic is rough and tense at first because they’re insecure teens learning how to express themselves, and how it gets healthier over time.

Thinking about how they become so comfortable that they stop needing to communicate as much with words because they trust one another and feel safe and secure. And they just GET one another

Thinking about how nothing including death can separate them because platonic or romantic or whatever they’re soulmates

[phoenixyfriend]

Ko-Fi prompt from Isabelo:

Hi! I'm new to the workforce and now that I have some money I'm worried it's losing its value to inflation just sitting in my bank. I wanted to ask if you have ideas on how to counteract inflation, maybe through investing?

I've been putting this off for a long time because...

I am not a finance person. I am not an investments person. I actually kinda turned and ran from that whole sector of the business world, at first because I didn't understand it, and then once I did understand it, because I disagreed with much of it on a fundamental level.

But... I can describe some factors and options, and hope to get you started.

I AM NOT LEGALLY QUALIFIED TO GIVE FINANCIAL ADVICE. THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE.

What is inflation, and what impacts it?

Inflation is the rate at which money loses value over time. It's the reason something that cost 50 cents in the 1840s costs $50 now.

A lot of things do impact inflation, like housing costs and wage increases and supply chains, but the big one that is relevant here is federal interest rates. The short version: if you borrow money from the government, you have to pay it back. The higher the interest rates on those loans, the lower inflation is. This is for... a lot of reasons that are complicated. The reason I bring it up is less so:

The government offers investments:

So yeah, the feds can impact inflation, but they also offer investment opportunities. There are three common types available to the average person: Bonds, Bills, and Notes. I'll link to an article on Investopedia again, but the summary is as follows: You buy a bill, bond, or note from the government. You have loaned them money, as if you are the bank. Then, they give it back, with interest.

Treasury Bills: shortest timeframe (four weeks to a year), and lowest return on investment. You buy it at a discount (let's say $475), and then the government returns the "full value" that the bond is, nominally (let's say $500). You don't earn twice-yearly interest, but you did earn $25 on the basis of Loaning The Government Some Cash.

Treasury Notes: 2-10 year timeframe. Very popular, very stable. Banks watch it to see how they should plan the interest rates for mortgages and other large loans. Also pretty high liquidity, which means you can sell it to someone else if you suddenly need the cash before your ten-year waiting period is up. You get interest payments twice a year.

Treasury Bonds: 20-30 years. This is like... the inverse of a house mortgage. It takes forever, but it does have the highest yield. You get interest payments twice a year.

Why invest money into the US Treasury department, whether through the above or a different government paper? (Savings bonds aren't on sold the set schedule that treasury bonds are, but they only come in 30-year terms.)

It is very, very low risk. It is pretty much the lowest risk investment a person can make, at least in the US. (I'm afraid I don't know if you're American, but if you're not, your country probably has something similar.)

Interest rates do change, often in reaction or in relation to inflation. If your primary concern is inflation, not getting a high return on investment, I would look into government papers as a way to ensure your money is not losing value on you.

This is the website that tells you the government's own data for current yield and sales, etc. You can find a schedule for upcoming auctions, as well.

High-yield bank accounts:

Savings accounts can come with a pretty unremarkable but steady return on investment; you just need to make sure you find one that suits you. Some of the higher-yield accounts require a minimum balance or a yearly fee... but if you've got a good enough chunk of cash to start with, that might be worth it for you.

They are almost as reliable as government bonds, and are insured by the government up to $250,000. Right now, they come with a lower ROI than most bonds/bills/notes (federal interest rates are pretty high at the moment, to combat inflation). Unlike government papers, though, you can deposit and withdraw money from a savings account pretty much any time.

Certificates of Deposit:

Okay, imagine you are loaning money to your bank, with the fixed term of "I will get this money back with interest, but only in ten years when the contract is up" like the Treasury Notes.

That's what this is.

Also, Investopedia updates near-daily with the highest rates of the moment, which is pretty cool.

Property:

Honestly, if you're coming to me for advice, you almost definitely cannot afford to treat real estate as an investment thing. You would be going to an actual financial professional. As such... IDK, people definitely do it, and it's a standby for a reason, but it's not... you don't want to be a victim of the housing bubble, you know? And me giving advice would probably make you one. So. Talk to a professional if this is the route you want to take.

Retirement accounts:

Pension accounts are a kind of savings account. You've heard of a 401(k)? It's that. Basically, you put your money in a savings account with a company that specializes in pensions, and they invest it in a variety of different fields and markets (you can generally choose some of this) in order to ensure that the money grows enough that you can hopefully retire on it in fifty years. The ROI is usually higher than inflation.

These kinds of accounts have a higher potential for returns than bonds or treasury notes, buuuuut they're less reliable and more sensitive to market fluctuations.

However, your employer may pay into it, matching your contribution. If they agree to match up to 4%, and you pay 4% of your paycheck into an pension fund, then they will pay that same amount and you are functionally getting 8% of your paycheck put into retirement while only paying for half of it yourself.

Mutual Funds:

I've definitely linked this article before, but the short version is:

An investment company buys 100 shares of stock: 10 shares each in 10 different "general" companies. You, who cannot afford a share of each of these companies, buy 1 singular share of that investment company. That share is then treated as one-tenth of a share of each of those 10 "general" companies. You are one of 100 people who has each bought "one stock" that is actually one tenth of ten different stocks.

Most retirement funds are actually a form of mutual fund that includes employer contributions.

Pros: It's more stable than investing directly in the stock market, because you can diversify without having to pay the full price of a share in each company you invest in.

Cons: The investment company does get a cut, and they are... often not great influences on the economy at large. Mutual funds are technically supposed to be more regulated than hedge funds (which are, you know, often venture capital/private equity), but a lot of mutual funds like insurance companies and pension funds will invest a portion of their own money into hedge funds, which is... technically their job. But, you know, capitalism.

Directly investing in the stock market:

Follow people who actually know what they're doing and are not Evil Finance Bros who only care about the bottom line. I haven't watched more than a few videos yet, but The Financial Diet has had good energy on this topic from what I've seen so far, and I enjoy the very general trends I hear about on Morning Brew.

That said, we are not talking about speculative capital gains. We are talking about making sure inflation doesn't screw with you.

DIVIDENDS are profit that the company shares to investors every quarter. Did the company make $2 billion after paying its mortgages, employees, energy bill, etc? Great, that $2 billion will be shared out among the hundreds of thousands of stocks. You'll probably only get a few cents back per stock (e.g. Walmart has been trading at $50-$60 for the past six months, and their dividends have been 57 cents and then 20.75 cents), but it adds up... sort of. The Walmart example is listed as having dividends that are lower than inflation, so you're actually losing money. It's part of why people rely on capital gains so much, rather than dividends, when it comes to building wealth.

Blue Chip Stocks: These are old, stable companies that you can expect to return on your investment at a steady rate. You probably aren't going to see your share jump from $5 to $50 in a year, but you also probably won't see it do the reverse. You will most likely get reliable, if not amazing, dividends.

Preferred Stocks: These are stock shares that have more reliable dividends, but no voting rights. Since you are, presumably, not a billionaire that can theoretically gain a controlling share, I can't imagine the voting rights in a given company are all that important anyway.

Anyway, hope this much-delayed Intro To Investing was, if not worth the wait, at least, a bit longer than you expected.

Hey! You got interest on the word count! It's topical! Ish.