Premium Bonds Article Discussion Area

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  • kevanf1
    kevanf1 Posts: 299 Forumite
    Maybe you could let us all have a breakdown of your monthly winnings over 12 straight months as this frankly is amazing. You must have won some very major prizes to reach that amount when most people get only £50 or £100 and you must presumably be winning every month which again is exceptional on a single holding of £30,000....


    Over to you.............

    Erm, I win pretty regularly every month too with max holding. I usually get 2x £50 cheques though sometimes I get the odd £100 as well. My max win has been a £500 and 2x £100's. I've had these in for about 10 years now and can always take the lot out if I need to. I can't do that with the lottery, which I never do by the way... not since I got 4 numbers plus the other two were just one off each :( I figure I'll never get that lucky again...

    Oh, I did have a go on the Euro Lottery last year. Twice. Won £10 and £14 respectively so I came out nicely on top with that and then I stopped.
    Kevan - a disabled old so and so who, despite being in pain 24/7 still manages to smile as much as possible :)
  • isofa
    isofa Posts: 6,091 Forumite
    tightwadman, I'd not say it's that uncommon at all! I win pretty regularly too, over the past 24 months I've won a small prize for 20-22 months, so I'm not complaining.

    If you read through the winners and discussion threads, you'll see many people win regularly, but equal numbers don't.
  • One thing that appears to be missed by many is that although PB interest is generally low your money is SAFE. With the banking industry in meltdown is it worth the risk of chasing high interest and ending up with your cash invested in something similar to the Icelandic banks that have recently crashed? I believe the first £30k of bank savings is guaranteed by the Gov but avoiding the stress and hassle in chasing to get your money back seems to me to be worth the low interest rates given by Premium Bonds and I can still dream of the million.
  • One thing that appears to be missed by many is that although PB interest is generally low your money is SAFE.
    No it isn't. It's at (high) risk of erosion through inflation.
    I believe the first £30k of bank savings is guaranteed by the Gov
    It's the first £50K, and it's the FSCS that provides the guarantee. Apart from that, you're right.

    Alternatively you could use one if the NS&I's proper savings products and get a 100% guarantee.
    Conjugating the verb 'to be":
    -o I am humble -o You are attention seeking -o She is Nadine Dorries
  • timt
    timt Posts: 11 Forumite
    Whilst it is true that the average returns on Premium Bonds are not particularly attractive, as interest rates generally drop another factor comes into play.
    For a £1000 investment, at present the difference between premium bonds and a good savings account are currently about £30/year. As interest rates drop further, and with the announcement that premium bond returns have been frozen against the current interest rate drop, this differential is likely to decrease.
    This makes the average interest earned less significant - in so much as the interest is becoming so low as not to be worth having - and so premium bonds become more attractive, with the small chance of a big win becoming more attractive than the loss of a small amount of interest.
    Tim
  • rb10
    rb10 Posts: 6,334 Forumite
    timt wrote: »
    with the announcement that premium bond returns have been frozen against the current interest rate drop, this differential is likely to decrease.

    They are only frozen for February and March. Who knows what will happen in April. And given that you have to have had the bonds in for at least a month before they'll first be entered into a draw, it's too late for new money to be entered into the February draw, and nearly too late for March as well.
  • Paul_Herring
    Paul_Herring Posts: 7,481
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    timt wrote: »
    For a £1000 investment, at present the difference between premium bonds and a good savings account are currently about £30/year.
    As things currently stand I have a 70% chance of getting nothing for my £1000 off premium bonds over a year. I have a 100% chance of getting more than that on any interest bearing account.
    Conjugating the verb 'to be":
    -o I am humble -o You are attention seeking -o She is Nadine Dorries
  • As things currently stand I have a 70% chance of getting nothing for my £1000 off premium bonds over a year. I have a 100% chance of getting more than that on any interest bearing account.

    The savings rates are so poor at the moment I would prefer to have a mixed portfolio of savings, one that includes Premium Bonds.

    Take the Nationwide Instant Cash ISA, it paying a pathetic 1.5% for savings under £10K. Yes folks, the rates really have got that shocking!
    I fully understand you can shop around for better savings rates but I prefer to visit branches in person and pay in cash by hand.
    http://www.nationwide.co.uk/savings/all_accounts/all_accounts.htm

    At current rates I would have to leave £1000 in the Nationwide ISA for 3 years to earn less than £50 in interest. With average luck having £1000 invested in Premium Bonds I would need just 1 x £50 win in a 3 year period to beat what I earn from the Nationwide. There is also a possibility you could win alot more and possibly nothing but I think they merit investing in. Inflation could be heading close to zero during the next 12 months so you are not risking very much.

    I am now investing regular amounts of cash, 50% in Cash ISA's and 50% in Premium bonds. Not a bad mix, I can get my cash out pretty quick in the case of an emergency. I am not going to get rich but at least Premium Bonds gives me a shot of winning tens of thousands of pounds, something I am never going to get in a savings account.
  • NPowerUser wrote: »
    Inflation could be heading close to zero during the next 12 months so you are not risking very much.


    are you living in a country that doesn't plan to bail out the banking crooks with billions in new money? do you know what causes inflation?
  • Strangely enough I chanced across this thread while looking for the best way to invest the £50K I just "won"!
    I found the main article very informative and I'm sure statistically correct - I so glad I didn't read it last month and sell my bonds!

    Good luck everyone....
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