Premium bonds.

[samboy]

Hi gang.

               I have just checked my one and only bond which my grandfather bought for me when they first came out in 1956 i believe.

              Iv'e won nothing. Got a good mind to cash it in lol.

[Cawdor118]

Martin Lewis did a good series on this. Unless you have the maximum permissible, you are basically on to a loser. 

 

 

[B725]

At least you will get a quid back.

[London Best]

My wife was given £250 worth by her dad in the early 1970’s. Not a sniff yet!

[captainhastings]

Find the bonds work ok and certainly beat bank interest. We only have a few quid in but the wins are fairly regular though small.

[Ricko]

Ive got 2 premium bonds which my grandmother bought me in 1971, updated my details with National Savings a few years ago, I've won nothing in nearly 50 years!!

[B725]

I usually get 1or 2 £25 wins a year

[strimmer_13]

22 minutes ago, B725 said:

I usually get 1or 2 £25 wins a year

Same as. Even £200 once. 

[dodgy dave]

yep im the same two £25 a year had a couple of hundreds in the ten years ive had them £,5000 worth i let the wins stay in

[zipdog]

My premium bonds certainly beat the interest rate i get on my money in the bank.

Then again my Bitcoin holdings beat them all but that’s another story 😁

Edited May 16, 2020 by zipdog

[Trevorevans]

Had about £100/125 in the last 12 months or so, much better than I’d get in interest.

[zipdog]

51 minutes ago, Trevorevans said:

Had about £100/125 in the last 12 months or so, much better than I’d get in interest.

👍

[Dave-G]

7 hours ago, Trevorevans said:

Had about £100/125 in the last 12 months or so, much better than I’d get in interest.

Would it be too rude to ask the size of the investment?

Also - if say 5K were to be invested would they all be consecutive numbers for easy checking?

[B725]

Any win I have up to £100 are automatically reinvested into bond's and the numbers are consecutive, I now have around 5.6k worth. I had a free session with a financial adviser paid for by work regarding my upcoming retirement and he suggested using a bit of the lump sum to top it it to 10k. Don't forget if you need the money you just cash them in, it's just a no risk gamble as your money is safe but each month someone has to win up to a million quid. 

Providing the original details when purchased have not changed all wins are notified, there are £££££s not claimed as people move and never update their details. 

[Robden]

24 minutes ago, Dave-G said:

Would it be too rude to ask the size of the investment?

Also - if say 5K were to be invested would they all be consecutive numbers for easy checking?

When you buy some, you are given a "member's number." Then when you want to check, plug in your number and it checks all bonds in your name and informs you of any amount that you've won.

7 hours ago, zipdog said:

👍

Last year I won £25 on months 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, and then nothing until March (£25 again) this year.

[Walker570]

13 hours ago, Cawdor118 said:

Martin Lewis did a good series on this. Unless you have the maximum permissible, you are basically on to a loser. 

 

 

As above.  A gamble but you don't lose your stake.  With interests rates as they are as good as it gets.

[snow white]

My missis had £25 back couple months ago she as had £300 in since they where using gouts as money

[bruno22rf]

We have a sniff under £30k and get around £200/year - biggest has been £100 but £25 most months.

[Dave-G]

I have to say the simplicity of this appeals to me - and I won't do online banking because of potential banks data breaches. At the moment I have funds just sat in a regular account earning diddly. 

[panoma1]

6 minutes ago, Dave-G said:

I have to say the simplicity of this appeals to me - and I won't do online banking because of potential banks data breaches. At the moment I have funds just sat in a regular account earning diddly. 

The wins for me exceed any interest the banks give.....I won five lots of £25 last month! And I have nowhere near the limit of bonds allowed! 
Short lived celebrations though! The missus spent it on a new AGM battery for her car! 

[robbiep]

A couple of notes regarding premium bonds, if you're considering buying :

1. You don't get into the draw for the first calendar month following the investment - so, if you buy today, you won't be in until the July draw - draw is made at the start of the month

2. The 'interest rate' can be varied - at present, if you have 'average luck', you'll get one or two wins of £25 per year if you have £2000 invested. If you have the max £50k invested, you'll be more like £500 per annum (though it could be £1 million for a £1 holding, of course). The precise odd of any bond winning a prize in any month are about 1 in 24,500 - so the full £50k works out as averaging 2 prizes a month

3. 'Winnings' (interest) are tax free

Martin Lewis (moneysavingexpert) has a good section on Prem bonds

When you get your investment set up and your 'holder's number', you can get the official app on your phone, and check any winnings easily - they will email you a few days after each draw to confirm. Winnings are paid direct to bank, or you can choose to have them re-invested, up to the £50k maximum holding

 

[Grandalf]

I have always considered them to be a good investment.   Returns obviously vary but they always seem to come.

[Medic1281]

They seem to be as good as anything at the moment, especially as interest rates are so low on any savings. 

[Blackpowder]

£75 this year so far.

 

Blackpowder

[Dick]

The odds against winning are about 36000:1. So if you have the maximum, £50000, you should win something every month. It will most likely be £25 or multiples there of as that is what there is most of.