THE MAIN PURPOSE of this book is to debunk the many myths surrounding investing in stocks and bonds and to provide new thinking for you to consider when developing and carrying out your financial plan. in part one, we take you on an unusual journey and encourage you to look at the financial world through our eyes and examine the proposition that for individual investors, bonds are a better investment than stocks or any other asset class.

In chapter 1 we compare stocks and bonds and describe the powerful case for investing in bonds. This case has always existed, but we believe we have a new way to explain it. if you find that bonds make sense for you, we describe in chapter 2 how to carry out the strategy of the all-bond portfolio, including the specific kinds of bonds to buy (we call them plain-vanilla bonds) and why. Plain-vanilla bonds are safe individual bonds, easy to buy and sell at low or no cost, and easy to understand. In chapter 3 we provide a case study illustrating why and how a family used the all-bond portfolio to support their life objectives and their financial goals using our four-step financial plan.

Come with us as we look at the financial world in an unbiased way, challenge the traditional thinking found in articles and books on investing, and offer evidence to support our belief in bond investments. Financial plans based on the traditional thinking and stock investing have not worked out well for many individual investors. They have taken substantial risks with their nest eggs and endured severe and upsetting market declines and financial uncertainty. Indeed, many individuals lost their retirement savings. We believe that the all-bond portfolio is a better way to plan and secure your financial future. This book will show you how to build one.