re: Pay Off Debt v Invest

I totally agree with you. Treasury Direct is easy enough and so is buying them through a brokerage (new issues) with no fees. I guess some think that it’s difficult or whatever. I don’t know. They go for CDs and HY savings accounts that pay less and don’t have the preferable tax treatment that Treasuries do (in taxable accounts). Yeah, I don’t get it either.

A friend of mine had an “investment advisor” tell him that T-bills and notes were hard to explain and he’d be better off getting brokered CDs through his firm. The kid was maybe 22 and obviously didn’t know his butt from a barndoor. I sent my friend an Investopedia page about Treasuries, told him to read it and ask me any questions when I came over to his house again.

Took about half an hour to set up a Schwab account for him and get him a $500 new account bonus. Once it’s funded, I’ll walk him through buying some bills and notes. A Treasury Direct account would have been just as easy, but without the new account bonus.