I have never understood bonds. I taught Latin and European history, not pre-Calculus. I get large dividend stocks, instead. But, I guess I am just wondering if I should sell off a bunch of stock and do something else with it, like maybe pay off my house.
I’m going to punt on telling someone how to run their finances. If there is a reputable finance manager near where you live, that might be a better starting point. I wish you luck.
In my case, I had my house paid off LONG before I retired at age 51, and I had no other debts besides the mortgage. I figured that the less monthly expenses I had, the less regular income I'd need.
BTW, I owned a municipal bond once for a couple of years about three or four decades ago. I understand them, to the point that my conclusion was that they didn't make any sense as a long term investment. At least not unless you're buying them in a very high interest rate environment.
“I have never understood bonds.”
Basically, bonds are loans to a company or a government. Ideally, they pay back the loan, with interest.
Simplified example: Entity XYZ issues 10-year bonds worth $1,000 face value each. You buy some at $500 each, and in 10 years (the maturity date of the bonds) Entity XYZ owes you $1,000 per bond.
The thing with bonds is a guaranteed rate of return. In addition in a worst case scenario, bond holders get some security in the case of bankruptcy, where stocks can suspend dividends.
The thing about retirement is you need a steady stream in income that can be planned for.
Are you paying a higher rate of interest on your house than receiving from the investments?
Look at the money going to interest for the life of your loan and that may help you make a decision.