When you buy a bond, you are the lender. The entity you’re lending to (the ) promises to do two things:
Most major apps (Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard) let you buy individual corporate or municipal bonds. buying bonds for beginners
You can buy U.S. Treasuries (including the popular inflation-protected I Bonds ) at TreasuryDirect.gov. When you buy a bond, you are the lender
Buying bonds might seem intimidating compared to the high-energy world of stocks, but they are essentially just you make to an entity (like a government or a company) in exchange for regular interest payments. When you buy a bond
On a specific date (the maturity ), they give you back the full original amount you lent them (the face value ). 2. Common Types of Bonds
This is the most important rule for beginners: