Do you understand bonds? Stocks get all the attention from the media. You hear about how the stock market does every day. Bonds are lucky to get a mention in one sentence. There are many books and websites about investing in the stock market. There are far fewer about investing in bonds. I often hear people say bonds are hard to understand. They shouldn't be. Come join me on a journey into the world of bonds. Let's explore together.

The first project of this website is a tutorial for Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). Some of the articles were originally posted on my blog The Finance Buff. After I'm done with TIPS, I will start from bond basics and write everything an investor would want to know about bonds.

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There will be an auction for a 30-year TIPS on Monday, Feb. 22, 2010. The official announcement will be published on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010.

Market discount is the opposite to bond premium amortization. It's only an issue if you own individual TIPS in a taxable account. It's not an issue if you own individual TIPS in a tax deferred or tax free account. It's also not an issue if you own TIPS mutual funds or ETFs in a taxable account.

Strategies for investing in TIPS are primarily two-fold: (1) how much in fixed income should be invested in TIPS versus in nominal bonds; and (2) whether one should invest in individual TIPS or in a TIPS mutual fund or ETF.

Bond premium amortization can also be an issue if you own individual TIPS in a taxable account. It's not an issue if you own individual TIPS in a tax deferred or tax free account. It's also not an issue if you own TIPS mutual funds or ETFs in a taxable account.