Bonds

Sea_Shell

DH has £20 worth...We've just checked, and not one jot in over 30 years!! Oh well, fingers crossed.

Eco_Miser

ashteadgirl wrote: »

You do not lose your money each draw:j

You don't lose the pound; you do lose the interest you could have been getting elsewhere.

In effect you're not betting a pound each month, you're betting a bit less than a ha'penny per bond, which you do lose.

Flobberchops

Norman_Castle wrote: »

How do the odds compare to lottery tickets?

In the sense that a lottery ticket has a negative expected value whereas a premium bond retains value (Minus inflation, minus opportunity cost), infinitely better!

It depends how you look at it. PB's are a low-thrill kind of investment. You arguably get more fun for your money with the lottery, but you'd never put your life savings into lottery tickets. Why not do both? Some people set up a direct debit for one lottery draw a month and use that as a qualifying DD for reward accounts, so either way you benefit.

jimjames

Malthusian wrote: »

For every one that did, just under one and a half million bonds belonging to people with £1 holdings won nowt.

True. But for a quid I'd keep them. I certainly wouldn't have £50k in them though

Sea_Shell

Does any one know how you add existing old bonds to your NS&I account. I've tried, and you just seem to end up in a "log-in" loop, and I can't find an option to "add account". The bonds are in the same name/address as a recently opened bond, for which we registered on-line, and have a NS&I customer number?

Malthusian

jimjames wrote: »

True. But for a quid I'd keep them. I certainly wouldn't have £50k in them though

I think it's the other way round. If you've got a lot of money it can make sense to have £50k in Premium Bonds as for a higher rate taxpayer it's a good headline rate for easy access (equivalent to 1.92% for a taxable account - if you've used up your interest allowance). It might make sense to have £50k of your pile of cash in Premium Bonds if you've filled up on higher-interest options, or just can't be bothered with treasury management.

If you've got £1 in Premium Bonds you may as well cash it in and buy a packet of crisps. For £1 you can't even plausibly claim the fantasy value.

Norman_Castle wrote:

How do the odds compare to lottery tickets?

The odds are longer compared to lottery tickets, but that doesn't mean they're worse, unless you consider a bet where if you flip heads I double your money and if tails I shoot you in the head to be better than the lottery because the odds are shorter. As others have said, Premium Bonds have a positive expectation whereas the Lottery has a negative expectation, so Premium Bonds have literally infinitely better odds.

Audaxer

I've had £10k in PBs for 10 years. Used to get the odd £25 but not won anything for a good few years so now planning to cash them in and invest the money.

Reaper

nbrewitt wrote: »

Keep them, a bond belonging to a holder with a £1 holding purchased in 1964 won £10K this month

Wow. I have a £1 bond bought in 1964 so I couldn't resist rushing off to see if it was me that won. Answer:

jimjames

Malthusian wrote: »

It might make sense to have £50k of your pile of cash in Premium Bonds if you've filled up on higher-interest options, or just can't be bothered with treasury management.

Maybe I hadn't made it clear enough that the "I" was what I personally would do. I don't have £50k cash so I have no need to hold it in Premium bonds, I'm generally fully invested other than my emergency fund which fits perfectly in current accounts

badger09

I've just checked mine online (though I do have the original paper PBs filed away)

They are in 9 x £2, all eligibility date 1 January 1957.

No idea why they were bought for a then 6 year old:cool: but I demand to win something soon or I will 'thqueam & thqweam until I'm thick':p

@ Sea Shell
Sorry I can't remember how to add them to your online account, but it must be possible because I've done it. The holder's number which appears next to my old PBs is very different from my online customer number though.