VGSH
Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF
stock NASDAQ ETF

For safety go to short term bond funds like SGOV or VGSH. You’ll barely keep ahead of inflation, but you won’t lose money.
At 7% on the 10 year, half my portfolio is going into a treasury ladder.

# Today is Thursday, the 1st of October
## Upcoming events for Thursday, October 1st
- Stock splits:
- BGM @ **1:30**
- KUST @ **1:10**
- MYPS @ **1:10**
- Expected earnings:
ACN, ALAR, AYI, BTTC, CMMB, DAVA, EONR, HUBG, IPST, ITP, MKC, MKC.V, NKE, SMXT, VFS, VRAX
- Ex-div:
ACQQ, ACRT, ACSP, ADAML, ADAMM, ADAMN, ADAMZ, AGNCL, AGNCM, AGNCN, AGNCO, AGNCP, AGNCZ, AMUN, ANDE, ANGL, BALQ, BCLO, BEDY, BGRN, BKMI, BKMS, BMOP, BND, BNDP, BNDW, BNDX, BREM, BRHY, BRTR, CAIQ, CALI, CANQ, CHAD, CLOA, CPB, CPLS, CWCO, DVAL, EMB, EYEG, FALN, FIMU, FSTB, FULT, GNMA, GOLI, GPIQ, GPIX, GPRF, HBANL, HBANP, HOVNP, HYXF, IBGA, IBGB, IBGC, IBGK, IBGL, IBGM, IBTG, IBTH, IBTI, IBTJ, IBTK, IBTL, IBTM, IBTO, IBTP, IBTQ, IBTR, IEF, IEI, IGIB, IGSB, INBK, IQQQ, ISTB, IUSB, JEPQ, MBB, MULT, MYCF, MYCG, MYCH, MYCI, MYCJ, MYCK, MYCL, MYCM, MYCN, MYCO, MYCP, MYHA, MYHB, MYHC, MYHD, MYHE, MYHF, MYMF, MYMG, MYMH, MYMI, MYMJ, MYMK, MYML, NCPB, NPFI, NUSB, ODTE, PCMM, PEGA, PFF, PLPC, PMBS, PPH, PSC, PSET, PY, QQQT, QQQY, ROCQ, ROCY, SATA, SHY, SKOR, SLQD, SUSB, SUSC, TAXI, TAXS, TAXT, THFF, TLT, TRUC, TRUD, TRUF, TRUH, TRUI, TRUM, TRUN, TRUO, TRUR, TRUT, TRUU, ULTI, USFI, USIG, USMC, USOY, VBCA, VBCB, VBCC, VBCD, VBCE, VBCF, VBCG, VBCH, VBCI, VBCJ, VBIL, VCIT, VCLT, VCRB, VCSH, VGIT, VGLT, VGSH, VGUS, VLGEA, VMBS, VPLS, VSNT, VTC, VTIP, VWOB, WABF, WASH, WTFCN, YLDE, YQQQ
- Economic events and announcements:
- ADP Nonfarm Employment Change (actual: 90K, consensus: 73K, previous: 36K)
- Atlanta Fed GDPNow (actual: 3.7%, consensus: 5.0%, previous: 5.0%)
- Chicago PMI (actual: 58.8, consensus: 51.2, previous: 47.1)
- Core PCE Price Index (actual: 0.2%, consensus: 0.3%, previous: 0.1%)
- Core PCE Price Index (actual: 3.0%, consensus: 3.3%, previous: 3.0%)
- Core PCE Prices (actual: 3.30%, consensus: 3.60%, previous: 4.40%)
- Corporate Profits (actual: 7.7%, consensus: 8.2%, previous: 0.5%)
- Crude Oil Imports (actual: -0.468M, previous: 0.369M)
- Crude Oil Inventories (actual: 0.922M, consensus: -0.700M, previous: 2.969M)
- Cushing Crude Oil Inventories (actual: 0.553M, previous: 2.266M)
- Dallas Fed PCE (actual: 1.90%, previous: 1.90%)
- Distillate Fuel Production (actual: -0.156M, previous: -0.068M)
- EIA Refinery Crude Runs (actual: -0.554M, previous: -0.519M)
- EIA Weekly Distillates Stocks (actual: -2.251M, consensus: -0.200M, previous: -0.428M)
- EIA Weekly Refinery Utilization Rates (actual: -1.5%, previous: -2.8%)
- FOMC Member Barkin Speaks
- FOMC Member Kashkari Speaks
- Fed Goolsbee Speaks
- Fed Governor Cook Speaks
- GDP (actual: 2.2%, consensus: 1.5%, previous: 2.1%)
- GDP Price Index (actual: 6.1%, consensus: 6.4%, previous: 3.6%)
- GDP Sales (actual: 2.8%, consensus: 2.2%, previous: 1.9%)
- Gasoline Inventories (actual: -1.684M, consensus: -0.500M, previous: -1.686M)
- Gasoline Production (actual: -0.124M, previous: -0.054M)
- Goods Trade Balance (actual: -132.60B, consensus: -116.30B, previous: -118.80B)
- Heating Oil Stockpiles (actual: -0.620M, previous: 0.346M)
- MBA 30-Year Mortgage Rate (actual: 7.30%, previous: 7.12%)
- MBA Mortgage Applications (actual: -6.0%, previous: -1.5%)
- MBA Purchase Index (actual: 148.2, previous: 154.9)
- Mortgage Market Index (actual: 213.6, previous: 227.3)
- Mortgage Refinance Index (actual: 557.8, previous: 611.0)
- PCE Price index (actual: 3.4%, consensus: 3.7%, previous: 3.4%)
- PCE Prices (actual: 5.0%, consensus: 5.3%, previous: 4.6%)
- PCE price index (actual: 0.3%, consensus: 0.4%, previous: 0.1%)
- Personal Income (actual: 0.2%, consensus: 0.5%, previous: 0.3%)
- Personal Spending (actual: 0.9%, consensus: 0.8%, previous: 0.1%)
- Real Consumer Spending (actual: 3.8%, consensus: 3.4%, previous: 0.5%)
- Real Personal Consumption (actual: 0.6%, previous: 0.1%)
- Retail Inventories Ex Auto (actual: 0.1%, previous: 0.8%)
- U.S. President Trump Speaks
- Wholesale Inventories (actual: 0.7%, consensus: 0.5%, previous: 1.3%)
## Upcoming events for Friday, October 2nd
- Stock splits:
- RETO @ **1:20**
- ZCMD @ **1:2**
- Expected earnings:
CELU, ENLV, HTLM, LNAI
- Ex-div:
ALCO, ATNI, CHAD, CSCO, HBNC, LFMDP, MORN, PKBK, RGLD, ROP, SATA, THRM
## Upcoming events for Saturday, October 3rd
- Economic events and announcements:
- Average Hourly Earnings (YoY) (previous: 3.1%)
- Average Hourly Earnings (consensus: 0.3%, previous: 0.3%)
- Average Weekly Hours (consensus: 34.3, previous: 34.4)
- CFTC Aluminium speculative net positions (previous: -0.8K)
- CFTC Copper speculative net positions (previous: 90.5K)
- CFTC Corn speculative net positions (previous: 535.8K)
- CFTC Crude Oil speculative net positions (previous: 141.1K)
- CFTC Gold speculative net positions (previous: 225.9K)
- CFTC Nasdaq 100 speculative net positions (previous: 56.1K)
- CFTC Natural Gas speculative net positions (previous: -216.5K)
- CFTC S&P 500 speculative net positions (previous: -133.2K)
- CFTC Silver speculative net positions (previous: 25.4K)
- CFTC Soybeans speculative net positions (previous: 281.6K)
- CFTC Wheat speculative net positions (previous: -7.4K)
- Durables Excluding Defense (previous: 0.1%)
- Durables Excluding Transport (previous: 0.3%)
- Factory Orders (consensus: 0.1%, previous: 0.9%)
- Factory orders ex transportation (previous: 0.6%)
- Fed Logan Speaks
- Government Payrolls (previous: 35.0K)
- Manufacturing Payrolls (consensus: 10K, previous: 16K)
- Nonfarm Payrolls (consensus: 89K, previous: 162K)
- Participation Rate (previous: 61.6%)
- Private Nonfarm Payrolls (consensus: 82K, previous: 127K)
- Total Vehicle Sales (consensus: 16.30M, previous: 16.80M)
- U.S. Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count (previous: 455)
- U.S. Baker Hughes Total Rig Count (previous: 599)
- U6 Unemployment Rate (previous: 7.7%)
- Unemployment Rate (consensus: 4.1%, previous: 4.1%)
^^^^2026-10-01

For very short-term goals, SGOV and VBIL are popular choices. For goals closer to a year, I like PULS and ICSH.
[iShares iBonds ETFs](https://www.ishares.com/us/strategies/bond-etfs/build-better-bond-ladders) are great for saving towards big expenses a few years away. For example, you can use IBDU (2029), IBDV (2030), or IBDW (2031) for expenses around those years. If you want to take a bit more risk, you can use the high-yield bond funds (IBH_). If your state income tax rate is pretty high, you can use the Treasury bond funds (IBT_). (Remember to [claim state tax exemptions when you file](https://thefinancebuff.com/state-tax-exempt-treasury-fund-etf.html).)
If you want to start saving towards something roughly 2-4 years away, but you're waiting to set your timeframe, a short term bond fund would make sense:
- If your state income taxes are low or zero: VCSH, SCHJ, IGSB, or SPSB (yielding ~5.2%)
- If you're in a high income tax state, a short-term Treasury fund may be preferable: VGSH, SCHO, or SPTS (yielding ~4.6%). (Remember to [claim state tax exemptions when you file](https://thefinancebuff.com/state-tax-exempt-treasury-fund-etf.html).)
If you want to start saving towards a medium-term goal (~3-6 years), but you're not sure how much you will need or when, AOK (a 30/70 mix of stocks and bonds) is a good default. Or, similarly, 70% in SPIB/SPTI + 20% VTI + 10% VXUS.

For safety go to short term bond funds like SGOV or VGSH. You’ll barely keep ahead of inflation, but you won’t lose money.
At 7% on the 10 year, half my portfolio is going into a treasury ladder.

# Today is Thursday, the 1st of October
## Upcoming events for Thursday, October 1st
- Stock splits:
- BGM @ **1:30**
- KUST @ **1:10**
- MYPS @ **1:10**
- Expected earnings:
ACN, ALAR, AYI, BTTC, CMMB, DAVA, EONR, HUBG, IPST, ITP, MKC, MKC.V, NKE, SMXT, VFS, VRAX
- Ex-div:
ACQQ, ACRT, ACSP, ADAML, ADAMM, ADAMN, ADAMZ, AGNCL, AGNCM, AGNCN, AGNCO, AGNCP, AGNCZ, AMUN, ANDE, ANGL, BALQ, BCLO, BEDY, BGRN, BKMI, BKMS, BMOP, BND, BNDP, BNDW, BNDX, BREM, BRHY, BRTR, CAIQ, CALI, CANQ, CHAD, CLOA, CPB, CPLS, CWCO, DVAL, EMB, EYEG, FALN, FIMU, FSTB, FULT, GNMA, GOLI, GPIQ, GPIX, GPRF, HBANL, HBANP, HOVNP, HYXF, IBGA, IBGB, IBGC, IBGK, IBGL, IBGM, IBTG, IBTH, IBTI, IBTJ, IBTK, IBTL, IBTM, IBTO, IBTP, IBTQ, IBTR, IEF, IEI, IGIB, IGSB, INBK, IQQQ, ISTB, IUSB, JEPQ, MBB, MULT, MYCF, MYCG, MYCH, MYCI, MYCJ, MYCK, MYCL, MYCM, MYCN, MYCO, MYCP, MYHA, MYHB, MYHC, MYHD, MYHE, MYHF, MYMF, MYMG, MYMH, MYMI, MYMJ, MYMK, MYML, NCPB, NPFI, NUSB, ODTE, PCMM, PEGA, PFF, PLPC, PMBS, PPH, PSC, PSET, PY, QQQT, QQQY, ROCQ, ROCY, SATA, SHY, SKOR, SLQD, SUSB, SUSC, TAXI, TAXS, TAXT, THFF, TLT, TRUC, TRUD, TRUF, TRUH, TRUI, TRUM, TRUN, TRUO, TRUR, TRUT, TRUU, ULTI, USFI, USIG, USMC, USOY, VBCA, VBCB, VBCC, VBCD, VBCE, VBCF, VBCG, VBCH, VBCI, VBCJ, VBIL, VCIT, VCLT, VCRB, VCSH, VGIT, VGLT, VGSH, VGUS, VLGEA, VMBS, VPLS, VSNT, VTC, VTIP, VWOB, WABF, WASH, WTFCN, YLDE, YQQQ
- Economic events and announcements:
- ADP Nonfarm Employment Change (actual: 90K, consensus: 73K, previous: 36K)
- Atlanta Fed GDPNow (actual: 3.7%, consensus: 5.0%, previous: 5.0%)
- Chicago PMI (actual: 58.8, consensus: 51.2, previous: 47.1)
- Core PCE Price Index (actual: 0.2%, consensus: 0.3%, previous: 0.1%)
- Core PCE Price Index (actual: 3.0%, consensus: 3.3%, previous: 3.0%)
- Core PCE Prices (actual: 3.30%, consensus: 3.60%, previous: 4.40%)
- Corporate Profits (actual: 7.7%, consensus: 8.2%, previous: 0.5%)
- Crude Oil Imports (actual: -0.468M, previous: 0.369M)
- Crude Oil Inventories (actual: 0.922M, consensus: -0.700M, previous: 2.969M)
- Cushing Crude Oil Inventories (actual: 0.553M, previous: 2.266M)
- Dallas Fed PCE (actual: 1.90%, previous: 1.90%)
- Distillate Fuel Production (actual: -0.156M, previous: -0.068M)
- EIA Refinery Crude Runs (actual: -0.554M, previous: -0.519M)
- EIA Weekly Distillates Stocks (actual: -2.251M, consensus: -0.200M, previous: -0.428M)
- EIA Weekly Refinery Utilization Rates (actual: -1.5%, previous: -2.8%)
- FOMC Member Barkin Speaks
- FOMC Member Kashkari Speaks
- Fed Goolsbee Speaks
- Fed Governor Cook Speaks
- GDP (actual: 2.2%, consensus: 1.5%, previous: 2.1%)
- GDP Price Index (actual: 6.1%, consensus: 6.4%, previous: 3.6%)
- GDP Sales (actual: 2.8%, consensus: 2.2%, previous: 1.9%)
- Gasoline Inventories (actual: -1.684M, consensus: -0.500M, previous: -1.686M)
- Gasoline Production (actual: -0.124M, previous: -0.054M)
- Goods Trade Balance (actual: -132.60B, consensus: -116.30B, previous: -118.80B)
- Heating Oil Stockpiles (actual: -0.620M, previous: 0.346M)
- MBA 30-Year Mortgage Rate (actual: 7.30%, previous: 7.12%)
- MBA Mortgage Applications (actual: -6.0%, previous: -1.5%)
- MBA Purchase Index (actual: 148.2, previous: 154.9)
- Mortgage Market Index (actual: 213.6, previous: 227.3)
- Mortgage Refinance Index (actual: 557.8, previous: 611.0)
- PCE Price index (actual: 3.4%, consensus: 3.7%, previous: 3.4%)
- PCE Prices (actual: 5.0%, consensus: 5.3%, previous: 4.6%)
- PCE price index (actual: 0.3%, consensus: 0.4%, previous: 0.1%)
- Personal Income (actual: 0.2%, consensus: 0.5%, previous: 0.3%)
- Personal Spending (actual: 0.9%, consensus: 0.8%, previous: 0.1%)
- Real Consumer Spending (actual: 3.8%, consensus: 3.4%, previous: 0.5%)
- Real Personal Consumption (actual: 0.6%, previous: 0.1%)
- Retail Inventories Ex Auto (actual: 0.1%, previous: 0.8%)
- U.S. President Trump Speaks
- Wholesale Inventories (actual: 0.7%, consensus: 0.5%, previous: 1.3%)
## Upcoming events for Friday, October 2nd
- Stock splits:
- RETO @ **1:20**
- ZCMD @ **1:2**
- Expected earnings:
CELU, ENLV, HTLM, LNAI
- Ex-div:
ALCO, ATNI, CHAD, CSCO, HBNC, LFMDP, MORN, PKBK, RGLD, ROP, SATA, THRM
## Upcoming events for Saturday, October 3rd
- Economic events and announcements:
- Average Hourly Earnings (YoY) (previous: 3.1%)
- Average Hourly Earnings (consensus: 0.3%, previous: 0.3%)
- Average Weekly Hours (consensus: 34.3, previous: 34.4)
- CFTC Aluminium speculative net positions (previous: -0.8K)
- CFTC Copper speculative net positions (previous: 90.5K)
- CFTC Corn speculative net positions (previous: 535.8K)
- CFTC Crude Oil speculative net positions (previous: 141.1K)
- CFTC Gold speculative net positions (previous: 225.9K)
- CFTC Nasdaq 100 speculative net positions (previous: 56.1K)
- CFTC Natural Gas speculative net positions (previous: -216.5K)
- CFTC S&P 500 speculative net positions (previous: -133.2K)
- CFTC Silver speculative net positions (previous: 25.4K)
- CFTC Soybeans speculative net positions (previous: 281.6K)
- CFTC Wheat speculative net positions (previous: -7.4K)
- Durables Excluding Defense (previous: 0.1%)
- Durables Excluding Transport (previous: 0.3%)
- Factory Orders (consensus: 0.1%, previous: 0.9%)
- Factory orders ex transportation (previous: 0.6%)
- Fed Logan Speaks
- Government Payrolls (previous: 35.0K)
- Manufacturing Payrolls (consensus: 10K, previous: 16K)
- Nonfarm Payrolls (consensus: 89K, previous: 162K)
- Participation Rate (previous: 61.6%)
- Private Nonfarm Payrolls (consensus: 82K, previous: 127K)
- Total Vehicle Sales (consensus: 16.30M, previous: 16.80M)
- U.S. Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count (previous: 455)
- U.S. Baker Hughes Total Rig Count (previous: 599)
- U6 Unemployment Rate (previous: 7.7%)
- Unemployment Rate (consensus: 4.1%, previous: 4.1%)
^^^^2026-10-01

For very short-term goals, SGOV and VBIL are popular choices. For goals closer to a year, I like PULS and ICSH.
[iShares iBonds ETFs](https://www.ishares.com/us/strategies/bond-etfs/build-better-bond-ladders) are great for saving towards big expenses a few years away. For example, you can use IBDU (2029), IBDV (2030), or IBDW (2031) for expenses around those years. If you want to take a bit more risk, you can use the high-yield bond funds (IBH_). If your state income tax rate is pretty high, you can use the Treasury bond funds (IBT_). (Remember to [claim state tax exemptions when you file](https://thefinancebuff.com/state-tax-exempt-treasury-fund-etf.html).)
If you want to start saving towards something roughly 2-4 years away, but you're waiting to set your timeframe, a short term bond fund would make sense:
- If your state income taxes are low or zero: VCSH, SCHJ, IGSB, or SPSB (yielding ~5.2%)
- If you're in a high income tax state, a short-term Treasury fund may be preferable: VGSH, SCHO, or SPTS (yielding ~4.6%). (Remember to [claim state tax exemptions when you file](https://thefinancebuff.com/state-tax-exempt-treasury-fund-etf.html).)
If you want to start saving towards a medium-term goal (~3-6 years), but you're not sure how much you will need or when, AOK (a 30/70 mix of stocks and bonds) is a good default. Or, similarly, 70% in SPIB/SPTI + 20% VTI + 10% VXUS.

That seems like a lot, even though you are 50. And BND is exposed to long-term bonds, highly volatile with rates changes. I am barely comfortable with intermediate-term bonds given the current rates.
My plan is to only hold in bonds 5 years of living expenses. This is used to buffer my spending during a bear market in equities.
I use a combo of VGSH and VGIT for the present year, then iShares iBonds bullet bonds for the years after that. If you want to be more conservative, just increase to 8-10 years.
You can read [my draw down strategy](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UrbUHDzBCqcBhCh-mEoUlG2AWeGe-QNxorT4AEZMGxs/edit?usp=drivesdk). It might help.