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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1396 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for May 1, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I've recently been getting into fixed-income investing as a way to learn by doing. I'm investing a little bit of money each month (that I can afford to lose). If my after tax yield is a full 1% higher than I could get from my HYSA over a six month time period, with no principal loss of >5% over any thirty day window, I'll say that I have a layman's grasp on the topic. If not, I'll have to figure out what I did wrong.

So far I've been floored by the complexity of fixed income vs equities. I honestly don't know how people who do it professionally manage.

Does anybody else have an unconventional pastime right now?

I've also been investing! I have a blend between individual stock picks, index funds and fixed income. I was originally investing in individual CDs, which are about the same as a HYSA, but I've since diversified to some high-yield bonds and ETFs. Happy to chat more if you want!

Is it just me, or do mortgage backed securities feel like they aren't as radioactive as they were ~20 years ago? The underwriting requirements for mortgages are lot more strict these days, and the systems in place for what happens on a default are more robust.

I've been using a strategy right now of mostly purchasing things that have multiple layers of backstopping. Municipal bonds are another - in my state, if the municipality fails, the state takes it over. If the state fails, at least for the ones I've bought, the feds take over. If the US government fails, I'm not going to be worried about my bond yields. The tax exemption is a nice bonus on those too.

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