Interesting conundrum. Like you I prefer no debt. But I agree with Dick and Mark and I think I would have preserved the emergency fund. Like David, we no longer have an emergency fund as such. But we do have access to ready cash. I wouldn’t feel comfortable having this too low. Yes, a loan may be possible, but that’s a maybe and loans can take time. Or we might be able to sell assets, but they may be down and those proceeds can still take a couple of days to be available, and who knows the nature of the emergency. Meanwhile readily available cash is certain.
We used to hold Fidelity Floating Rate High Income. Still think it’s a good choice, just decided to keep things simple. Managers of our biggest bond holding Fidelity Total
Bond can invest in these issues if they want.
Good observation. A bit surprising especially the absence of munis. We used to hold a muni bond fund but at some point decided just to hold all bonds inside tax-deferred accounts. However we’re running out of space there so we may own a muni fund again at some point. Have also considered REITs since we have no real estate exposure through owning a home. However I think REITs are more of a commercial estate play.
Retired with overall 60/40 portfolio and no other assets (like a house). Stock side is mostly broad indexes, with about a third in individual stocks. One is 5% of the total portfolio and all others are less. Those will be going down gradually as we sell assets to fund life, so some organic simplification happening as that happens. Stock funds are ~37% international, about the same as a global stock index fund. Our largest bond holding is a core plus fund followed by a TIPS index fund. Most of our cash is in a 401(k) stable value fund.
I like simplicity as well, and your current approach is more complexity than I need. I also don’t care to monitor my funds’ underlying holdings too closely. Our largest bond holding is Fidelity Total Bond (a core plus fund, FTBFX and FBND) followed by Fidelity Inflation Protected Bond Index (FIPDX). Both are gold-rated by Morningstar. These are both intermediate duration and so there’s interest rate risk to consider. We also hold a significant amount of cash in a 401(k) stable value fund. You ask three questions, one in the title and two more at the end of the text: “Can one “core” total bond ETF replace the complexity of your bond holdings?” Probably not just one. I’m not aware of a total bond fund that owns TIPS for example. “If you want the simplicity of owning only one bond ETF rather than actual bonds or multiple bond ETFs that yield more than the index, what should you consider?” A good core plus fund can do this for you. Yes, they take on some other risks to do so, but so do the multiple ETFs you’re holding. “Can you have low risk and high return with one bond ETF?” As others have said with more words, no.
I think your definition, the whole para starting “I’ve come to believe…,” is a really good one. While it may be that “The vision comes first. The numbers come second”, I think the vision does need to be grounded in some reality of conceivable numbers, or no amount of financial planning is likely to realize it.
“But I don’t see waiting as resulting in a more difficult move.” That may sound rational at first but seems to me a dangerous way of thinking about this. True, you can’t take a lot of stuff, there are outfits that will do estate sales, and a realtor can handle the sale of a house. But, even if one can near completely outsource those things (and having had parents do it three times I’ll say may not be as feasible as it sounds), one still has to handle the outsourcing. And even with great professionals (not a certainty) there’s still work and stress involved in that outsourcing (as Dr Lefty can attest). Add on top the unknown of what one’s physical, medical or cognitive condition may be after waiting a few years. Maybe the waiting itself doesn’t make it harder, but it sure increases the likelihood of it being harder.
Comments
Interesting conundrum. Like you I prefer no debt. But I agree with Dick and Mark and I think I would have preserved the emergency fund. Like David, we no longer have an emergency fund as such. But we do have access to ready cash. I wouldn’t feel comfortable having this too low. Yes, a loan may be possible, but that’s a maybe and loans can take time. Or we might be able to sell assets, but they may be down and those proceeds can still take a couple of days to be available, and who knows the nature of the emergency. Meanwhile readily available cash is certain.
Post: Leverage
Link to comment from June 20, 2026
We used to hold Fidelity Floating Rate High Income. Still think it’s a good choice, just decided to keep things simple. Managers of our biggest bond holding Fidelity Total Bond can invest in these issues if they want.
Post: What’s in your portfolio ?
Link to comment from June 17, 2026
Good observation. A bit surprising especially the absence of munis. We used to hold a muni bond fund but at some point decided just to hold all bonds inside tax-deferred accounts. However we’re running out of space there so we may own a muni fund again at some point. Have also considered REITs since we have no real estate exposure through owning a home. However I think REITs are more of a commercial estate play.
Post: What’s in your portfolio ?
Link to comment from June 17, 2026
Retired with overall 60/40 portfolio and no other assets (like a house). Stock side is mostly broad indexes, with about a third in individual stocks. One is 5% of the total portfolio and all others are less. Those will be going down gradually as we sell assets to fund life, so some organic simplification happening as that happens. Stock funds are ~37% international, about the same as a global stock index fund. Our largest bond holding is a core plus fund followed by a TIPS index fund. Most of our cash is in a 401(k) stable value fund.
Post: What’s in your portfolio ?
Link to comment from June 16, 2026
I like simplicity as well, and your current approach is more complexity than I need. I also don’t care to monitor my funds’ underlying holdings too closely. Our largest bond holding is Fidelity Total Bond (a core plus fund, FTBFX and FBND) followed by Fidelity Inflation Protected Bond Index (FIPDX). Both are gold-rated by Morningstar. These are both intermediate duration and so there’s interest rate risk to consider. We also hold a significant amount of cash in a 401(k) stable value fund. You ask three questions, one in the title and two more at the end of the text: “Can one “core” total bond ETF replace the complexity of your bond holdings?” Probably not just one. I’m not aware of a total bond fund that owns TIPS for example. “If you want the simplicity of owning only one bond ETF rather than actual bonds or multiple bond ETFs that yield more than the index, what should you consider?” A good core plus fund can do this for you. Yes, they take on some other risks to do so, but so do the multiple ETFs you’re holding. “Can you have low risk and high return with one bond ETF?” As others have said with more words, no.
Post: Can one “core” total bond ETF replace the complexity of your bond holdings?
Link to comment from June 16, 2026
I think your definition, the whole para starting “I’ve come to believe…,” is a really good one. While it may be that “The vision comes first. The numbers come second”, I think the vision does need to be grounded in some reality of conceivable numbers, or no amount of financial planning is likely to realize it.
Post: Quiet Failure: Time for Me to Say What I Think
Link to comment from June 11, 2026
There’s more than one win in there to celebrate. Well done all of you.
Post: Celebrating the Win
Link to comment from June 11, 2026
Sure it is. Compare theirs to yours. Which is hopefully not short per se, but relatively speaking.
Post: Would You Be Miserable?
Link to comment from June 10, 2026
Then the time horizon is even longer.
Post: Would You Be Miserable?
Link to comment from June 9, 2026
“But I don’t see waiting as resulting in a more difficult move.” That may sound rational at first but seems to me a dangerous way of thinking about this. True, you can’t take a lot of stuff, there are outfits that will do estate sales, and a realtor can handle the sale of a house. But, even if one can near completely outsource those things (and having had parents do it three times I’ll say may not be as feasible as it sounds), one still has to handle the outsourcing. And even with great professionals (not a certainty) there’s still work and stress involved in that outsourcing (as Dr Lefty can attest). Add on top the unknown of what one’s physical, medical or cognitive condition may be after waiting a few years. Maybe the waiting itself doesn’t make it harder, but it sure increases the likelihood of it being harder.
Post: Moving is Expensive!
Link to comment from June 7, 2026