If you are an individual investor, any advice to buy individual corporate bonds is not for you. Use a low-cost mutual fund or exchange traded fund (ETF) instead. Despite any so-called media-directed suggestions.
For the following reasons:
One: You would have to purchase at least thirty to fifty bonds to get some semblance of diversification in the event of possible future defaults.
Two: You could never buy bonds directly, as cheaply as does a fund in volume. Any low cost fund fees would be far cheaper in the long run than your efforts from the figures I have seen.
Three: Buy your bond funds by their duration. The duration is to be about the same as your intended holding period. (If you are not aware of the term, learn about it before you take any advice on bonds.)
Four: The interest to be paid semi-annually should be automatically reinvested in the fund. Such periodic re-investments would be very impractical with direct purchases.
I have looked at the research, and am convinced that individual purchases of corporate bonds is a misstep for both large and small individual investors.
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