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birb_cromble  1d ago (text post)   418 thread views

Weekly Finance Thread

A weekly thread to discuss financial matters - from personal all the way up to global.

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  • Remember that we're all just Internet randos. Don't bet your life savings on a hot tip from this thread.
  • Keep culture war in the culture war thread. Yes, global events may impact our personal finances, but that does not mean we have to incessantly harp on culture war aspects here. If you are going to discuss it, please stick to the practical impacts of it on an individual level.
  • Be kind. Remember that everyone here comes from different circumstances. We all have different resources available and different risk tolerances.
  • Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better is better. Celebrate people when they take a step up and work to move their finances in the right direction. Don't flame out because they haven't followed what you consider the optimal path. Everybody has to start somewhere.
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Can someone help me think about bonds properly? I’ve been buying FTBFX as part of a 20-30-50 portfolio and over the past like 5+ years my return is 0.25% or so—I’d have been better off with just money market. Are my expectations off? I get keeping some ballast for rebalancing but the bonds are just melting away it seems with inflation.

O_____O

I hope to god you are trolling, but I fear you are not.

You don't buy frickin' BONDS in 2020 or 2021, when the interest rate is close to zero and can only go up, making your bonds worth less, and when liquidity is being pumped like crazy from the central banks, inflating all equity valuations massively. You've taken a net loss from inflation and a massive opportunity cost.

Don't flame out because they haven't followed what you consider the optimal path. Everybody has to start somewhere.

I'm not a mod, but please don't lead with accusations of bad faith. It's clear you have a lot of experience in this area, and I fear you're assuming that the layman's level of expertise is much higher than it is.

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