DR 366: Net Worth, Bank Accounts, and Treasury Yields

[@srconrad]

You could do a whole podcast on chasing yields versus bond funds. I still don’t have a great grasp on what you’re saying or the impact of that.

[@aknorth1053]

each year as a family we go over a report card . We go over debt pay down savings ect and set goals for the next year

[@noreenn6976]

Hey Rob, missed another live, watching the replay

[@marysvara5017]

It is actually episode 368. You had 367 a couple weeks ago.

[@g.1208]

I’m confused about BND. Is the money to be made here off the dividends? I was considering a bond ladder off of treasury notes for my next 7 years of expenses. Bonds still confuse me.

[@disch972]

Money is made in bond funds through interest/dividends, capital gains and capital appreciation. Remember that as the federal rate rises the price of your shares go down. This also works in reverse. The US is near the top of the range and will probably start reversing within 6-18 months. The number of your shares stay the same unless you reinvest your dividends and capital gains.

[@marygaus]

@@disch972Thanks for trying to ‘splain this stuff. Im confused too. You said “as federal rates rise, the price of your shares goes down”. If you believe that rates will be coming down, wouldn’t now be the perfect time to buy treasuries? Rates have risen so bond prices must be lower. So you’d be buying low AND getting a high-ish yield. Granted, rates may tick a bit higher resulting in even lower bond prices. But if you hold to maturity OR if you sell after rates have fallen below current rates, you’d get a premium to offset the price you get. This is why I’ve avoided bonds - because of all these opposing variables. But the high yields right now are tempting me.

[@disch972]

Don’t worry it’s confusing to everybody except the experts! You are right about buying now because the Feds should be near the top raising the rates! No one knows for sure, including the Feds, so there will probably be some short term share value loss. You seem to have a good grasp of how bond funds work! Rob, has done videos about bond funds. Very informative!

[@marygaus]

@@disch972 Thanks for confirming what I think I know. Ha. And yes, I’ve watched Rob’s Bonds 101 video several times. I find he’s the best resource for all things financial because he has no agenda. I’m a Bergerhead!

[@evarlast]

Wealthfront has a pretty nice net worth tracker with planning tools. Rob, Is that your 1.1M in empower? I'm 46yo and around the same NW and I'm not sure if I can retire early or what my lifestyle would be like. Have you ever went over your personal plan with specific numbers?

[@disch972]

Rob said that was a demonstration account in an earlier video.

[@DoughRoller]

It's a demo account.