Many books and articles have been written about Christians and money, and some about retirement. This blog is about Christians and retirement, and I often write about money and stewardship. There’s much to say about these topics, but the Bible tells us what is most essential for us to know—not every practical detail about personal … Read more
It took me a while to publish this last article (at least I think it’s the last one) in this series on bonds, bond funds, bond ladders, and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)—whew! As I worked through these topics and TIPS ladders, in particular, the path seemed clear. But then I had some concerns—not about TIPS … Read more
So far, we’ve discussed bonds, bond funds, bond ladders, and TIPS in particular. In this article, we’ll look at TIPS ladders, which many retirement professionals consider the safest investment for the risk-free portion of a retiree’s portfolio. (reference past articles – safe income floor). To simplify things, I will use the term “ladder” to refer … Read more
The last three articles discussed why retirees might want to own bonds and possibly individual bonds instead of investing in a bond fund. Bonds come from many sources: governments, government agencies, blue chip corporations, and risky smaller companies (junk bonds). Municipalities also issue bonds (they’re called “munis”). Something is common to them all: the more … Read more
In the last two articles, I discussed how retirees (and others) use bonds as part of a diversified portfolio because of their stabilizing effect in times of stock market volatility. Bonds can also be an excellent source of income and may provide capital gains under some economic scenarios (especially falling interest rates). We’ve also seen … Read more
Suppose you’ve decided to keep a portion of your portfolio in bonds, perhaps with a higher allocation percentage than stocks. In that case, you have another decision: Should you invest in individual bonds or a bond fund? With interest rates at higher levels than they’ve been in many years, some folks (including yours truly) wonder … Read more
The Secure Act 2.0 was finally passed as just one part of a massive funding package by the outgoing congress just before Christmas on December 23, 2022, and signed into law by the president as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, an omnibus spending bill authorizing roughly $1.7 trillion in new Federal spending (yikes!). You’re … Read more
An important preliminary note: Given what took place in both the stock and bond markets in 2022, I’m starting the new year with a short series of articles about “safe” retirement income and the roles that bonds and other instruments may play in providing it. But from the outset, I want to reiterate some important … Read more
A character in the story of the birth and early days of Jesus we often overlook is a man named Simeon. Simeon was a devout Jew who regularly worshiped in the Temple at Jerusalem and was there when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus in. Luke tells the story in Chapter 2, verses 22 thru 35: … Read more
