On Schwab — go to building a treasury ladder then select the TIPS among the options for each rung. It will have several Treasury bonds and 1 TIPS to select from at each maturity rung. They are only visible during trading hours.
S -- I agree that reading about TIPS or a TIPS ladder is not always clear or straightforward. TIPS are a specific subset of the bond market. I had experience with CD ladders and treasury ladders but still didn't understand TIPS until recently. There is a YouTube video titled "How and Why To Build a TIPS Ladder In Retirement" by a guy names Rod Berger. I found it to be a good reference that explains how the bonds function and how to go about setting up a bond ladder. It does not address the current market or any specific situation. Just content for learning that I found helpful. I do not know who your broker is, but executing the trades to build a ladder at Schwab is very simple and straightforward. Disclaimer -- no endorsement on Rod Berger or any other content he has created. I just thought this video was well done and I learned more about the bonds and he addressed the process for setting up a bond ladder.
I’ve been reading Humble Dollar for about two years, and this is my first post. I’ve used direct indexing for about five years, and given my situation and results, I’m a strong believer. I’m 60 and retired from Corporate America 15 months ago. I’m in the highest federal tax bracket, live in a state with a relatively low flat tax, and expect to remain in the top federal bracket for the foreseeable future. My equity allocation is roughly two-thirds index funds and one-third actively managed funds (Capital Group and Dimensional), with no individual stocks outside my direct-indexing accounts. I don’t trade actively, and in a typical year, I sell funds only to rebalance in tax-deferred accounts or to harvest losses during major market pullbacks. I use direct-indexing accounts for the S&P 500 and MSCI EAFE (international). Each direct account is about 20% the size of my index-fund holdings in that area. In my experience, the direct-indexing accounts have outperformed the underlying indexes by about 40–50 basis points per year, net of incremental costs, even after five years. It’s essentially hands-off on my end...trades are executed automatically. If I transfer new money into an account it is invested the next trading day with no effort from my side. I track everything daily in Quicken, and dividends post almost daily and once or twice a month there’s a batch of tax-loss sales and reinvestments. Doing this manually in spreadsheets would be overwhelming. And the first 1099 you receive for a direct-indexing account can be eye-opening—mine was more than 150 pages. This approach isn’t for everyone, but it’s been a good fit for me. I’ll keep monitoring whether the advantage fades over time, but so far it hasn’t in the current market environment.
Comments
On Schwab — go to building a treasury ladder then select the TIPS among the options for each rung. It will have several Treasury bonds and 1 TIPS to select from at each maturity rung. They are only visible during trading hours.
Post: Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) are a Generational Bargain Right Now
Link to comment from July 28, 2026
S -- I agree that reading about TIPS or a TIPS ladder is not always clear or straightforward. TIPS are a specific subset of the bond market. I had experience with CD ladders and treasury ladders but still didn't understand TIPS until recently. There is a YouTube video titled "How and Why To Build a TIPS Ladder In Retirement" by a guy names Rod Berger. I found it to be a good reference that explains how the bonds function and how to go about setting up a bond ladder. It does not address the current market or any specific situation. Just content for learning that I found helpful. I do not know who your broker is, but executing the trades to build a ladder at Schwab is very simple and straightforward. Disclaimer -- no endorsement on Rod Berger or any other content he has created. I just thought this video was well done and I learned more about the bonds and he addressed the process for setting up a bond ladder.
Post: Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) are a Generational Bargain Right Now
Link to comment from July 28, 2026
I’ve been reading Humble Dollar for about two years, and this is my first post. I’ve used direct indexing for about five years, and given my situation and results, I’m a strong believer. I’m 60 and retired from Corporate America 15 months ago. I’m in the highest federal tax bracket, live in a state with a relatively low flat tax, and expect to remain in the top federal bracket for the foreseeable future. My equity allocation is roughly two-thirds index funds and one-third actively managed funds (Capital Group and Dimensional), with no individual stocks outside my direct-indexing accounts. I don’t trade actively, and in a typical year, I sell funds only to rebalance in tax-deferred accounts or to harvest losses during major market pullbacks. I use direct-indexing accounts for the S&P 500 and MSCI EAFE (international). Each direct account is about 20% the size of my index-fund holdings in that area. In my experience, the direct-indexing accounts have outperformed the underlying indexes by about 40–50 basis points per year, net of incremental costs, even after five years. It’s essentially hands-off on my end...trades are executed automatically. If I transfer new money into an account it is invested the next trading day with no effort from my side. I track everything daily in Quicken, and dividends post almost daily and once or twice a month there’s a batch of tax-loss sales and reinvestments. Doing this manually in spreadsheets would be overwhelming. And the first 1099 you receive for a direct-indexing account can be eye-opening—mine was more than 150 pages. This approach isn’t for everyone, but it’s been a good fit for me. I’ll keep monitoring whether the advantage fades over time, but so far it hasn’t in the current market environment.
Post: Direct Indexing Anyone?
Link to comment from May 11, 2026