re: Bought US Treasury 1y

quote:

---

I did the bond wizard on US treasuries less than a year, but when I got to the purchase screen it was saying all kids of different shite and I had no idea what any of it meant.

---

It means you’re about to buy a $5000 face value treasury note for $4,809.22. You’ll receive $6.25 interest payments on 3/30/23 and 9/30/23, along with a $5000 principal payment on 9/30/23. The math on that works out to an annualized yield of 4.485%.

Treasury bills do not have coupon/interest payments. Treasury notes and bonds do.

Stock market dips creating a good buying opportunity so you go and buy bonds? What’s the reasoning behind this?

quote:

---

Stock market dips creating a good buying opportunity so you go and buy bonds? What’s the reasoning behind this?

---

401k I want a certain amount more secure as I get older

quote:

---

So this is your 3-6 month emergency funds?

---

I grew up living only slightly above the poverty level. My father got laid off multiple times. My mother was a HS graduate and worked as a bank teller. It wasn’t fun, we really suffered for a while. We didn’t starve; but, even as a young man I knew my family was struggling. By time I was able to get a workers permit at age 13; I was working to pay for my own school lunches. My brother and I became very proficient hunters as we felt it was necessary to put food on the family table. Whitetail deer was the protein of choice for quite some time.

My wife’s story is much the same. Lost her father at age 13. Grew up on one income from what was a stay at home mom who had to go to the workforce to provide for her 3 daughters.

Old habits die hard. We keep two years worth of funds aside to be prepared for the unimaginable. My wife and I both unemployed for 24 months.

Which is a bit silly as we have no debt. Our home is paid for. As is our kids college and our cars, etc.

The upside of my irrational discipline is this. The guy maxing out his 401(k) at age 21 even though he shouldn’t? That was me. The guy who considered himself a Boglehead at age 30? Me too. I was a millionaire at age 41. A multimillionaire at age 44. Despite this; the fear of having to relive those years of my childhood is ever present. As a parent; I feel like I’m doing everything in my power to ensure that they experience all of those thing I didnt. Every move is calculated. I shouldn’t worry about money; and yet I do. Every single day. I don’t recommend it. It’s a special sort of torture.

quote:

---

I’ve never met a soul who purchases T-bills through treasury direct, but yes, it is possible.

---

I did it last week with a minimal amount, just to walk through the process. It isn't bad if you already have an account, but I don't know if it's worth it to create an account just for normal treasuries. One advantage to treasurydirect is that transactions are free.

quote:

---

Curious. My only avenue I am aware of is either TD Ameritrade or Treasury Direct.

---

You can buy from Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard etc. I buy at Fidelity and the minimum is 1k.

The advantage TD offers I believe is you can schedule a buy order ahead of the treasury announcement dates. With the brokerages, you have to wait until the announcement dates.

quote:

---

I’ve never met a soul who purchases T-bills through treasury direct, but yes, it is possible.

---

I just opened an account for ibonds. It actually wasn’t too bad. I read that to lock in the 9% rate, the transaction had to be complete with a confirmation email by the 28th, and i was afraid that going through a third party may slow it.