What Is a Bond? How to Buy One and What $1,000 Earns Today (2026)

A bond is an IOU: you lend money, get interest every six months, and get your money back at the end. In mid-October 2026 a 10-year US Treasury paid 5.09% a year: about $509 over ten years on $1,000, compared with about $38 in the average savings account. Here is how bonds work, how people buy them, and the catch when rates rise.