I was thinking along the same lines. Although I'd probably go with a ladder of 5 year CDs in place of the bond funds. I'm a bit skittish about bond funds today. If (When?) interest rates spike up, the value of bond funds will drop like a rock. With CDs, you'll at least get your principal back intact.



and i've been thinking that interest rates are so low ... i'd not be in a hurry to invest in either (Bonds or CDs) *


.. is there an advantage to Vanguard index fund over SPY?



* i've put my 'fixed' money into dividend paying 'utilities'