Maybe I should have started a new thread but people here that invest in bonds, do you use ETFs/mutual funds or do you invest in individual bonds?

Personally I invest in individual bonds since I know what I will get at maturity while with funds there isn't really a maturity ... so when you need the money the fund could be down 10 or 20% and I wouldn't like that.

Same goes for if you need to raise money by selling a bond. The prices of all fixed income investments swing up and down. doesn't matter if it is an individual bond or a bond fund. It's the nature of the beast and you cannot avoid it.

Preferred stocks are arguably better than individual bonds. For example, TBB (AT&T preferred maturing 2066) has 5.87% current yield.
WFC-L (perpetual) has 6.06% yield.

If you are looking for income investments, CEFs and ETFs can pay much better than bonds or bond funds.
Here is a list of a bunch that sell at a discount from Net Asset Value (NAV) and their yields. Some of them pay monthly.
The tag "s" have strong buy recommendation, the tag "b" have weak buy recommendation.
I own several of these.

Never buy a CEF/ETF that is selling at a premium. You want good discount and good yield.

For comparison, Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (BND) current yield is 3.76%

    
Symb  Discount   Yield  
AOD    -4.17%  12.42%  s
CPZ    -7.47%  10.76%  s
EOD   -10.34%   8.86%  s
ETV    -7.26%   8.33%  s
NIE   -10.58%   7.89%  s
UTF    -7.32%   7.73%  s

ERH    -7.54%   7.80%  b
ETJ    -8.05%   8.77%  b
NBXG  -12.49%   9.60%  b
STK    -4.38%   4.96%  b

ADX    -8.30%   8.01%  
AIO    -6.53%   7.57%  
ASG    -9.06%   8.54%  
ASGI   -1.09%  12.12%  
BCAT   -6.74%  22.08%  
BCX    -8.31%   8.42%  
BDJ    -5.41%   8.17%  
BGR    -5.58%   8.85%  
BGY    -8.69%   8.84%  
BME    -8.25%   8.22%  
BMEZ   -8.13%   8.72%  
BOE   -10.23%   8.57%  
BST    -6.29%   7.12%  
BSTZ  -11.38%   9.04%  
BTX   -14.74%   9.39%  
BXMX   -9.09%   7.52%  
CGO    -8.79%   8.11%  
CHW   -10.85%   7.94%  
CII    -2.77%   7.21%  
CSQ    -7.38%   6.45%  
DIAX  -11.03%   8.11%  
DPG    -8.90%   6.32%  
EMF   -11.36%   1.28%  
EMO    -7.48%  10.07%  
EOI    -1.99%   7.78%  
EOS    -5.22%   7.80%  
ETB    -6.62%   8.41%  
ETG    -5.90%   7.15%  
ETO    -9.01%   7.41%  
ETW    -9.86%   8.80%  
EVT    -8.32%   8.04%  
EXG    -5.65%   8.58%  
FFA    -8.26%   7.19%  
GAM   -10.42%   7.14%  
GDV   -10.83%   6.17%  
GGN    -2.20%   7.36%  
GLO   -12.61%  10.02%  
GLQ   -13.09%  10.13%  
GLV   -12.65%  10.50%  
GNT    -9.54%   6.94%  
GRX   -11.00%   7.31%  
HEQ   -11.66%   9.29%  
HQH    -9.14%  10.74%  
HQL    -9.28%   9.99%  
HTD    -5.12%   7.58%  
IAE    -4.83%  10.14%  
IDE    -4.43%   9.76%  
IGA    -4.37%  10.37%  
IGD    -3.28%  10.17%  
IHD    -7.27%  10.34%  
JCE    -5.38%   8.09%  
KYN   -11.79%   8.28%  
LGI    -5.75%  10.22%  
MCN    -6.12%  11.73%  
NFJ   -11.98%   9.49%  
NXG    -4.62%  13.29%  
PDX   -10.88%   7.24%  
PEO   -10.60%   9.49%  
PGP    -1.96%   9.72%  
QQQX   -8.62%   7.98%  
RIV    -8.36%  13.19%  
RLTY   -7.13%   8.66%  
RMT   -12.50%   6.72%  
RQI    -5.05%   7.73%  
RVT   -10.38%   7.11%  
SCD    -8.86%   9.59%  
SPXX   -7.83%   7.65%  
STEW  -20.79%   3.72%  
TDF   -13.64%   0.87%  
THW    -2.87%  10.87%  
TY    -10.71%   3.11%  
TYG    -8.32%  10.33%  
USA    -9.22%  11.25%  
UTG    -3.58%   6.23%  
ZTR    -9.39%   9.15%  

If you want to know where this list came from, drop me an email.