Should I cash in my great grandparent's premium bonds?

zxzx1974

Should I cash in my great grandparent's premium bonds?

SOA:
Income £475.97
Outgoings
Rent £200.00
Council Tax £40.59
Water Rates £20.00
Gas £40.00
Electric £30.00
Housekeeping £152.00
TV Licence £6.00
Travel £70.00 (Includes car tax, car insurance, servicing and MOT)
Meals at work £25.00
Clothing £15.00
Mobile £5.00
Dentist £7.50
Total: £611.09
Balance:-£135.12

First Direct: £2,441.25
Barclaycard: £833.37
Nationwide BS: £244.37
First Direct: £296.00
Total: £3,814.99

First Direct Credit Card 16.9 APR (the bigger First Direct balance)

First Direct 1st Account (current account) not sure what the unauthorised rate is, but the first £250 is 0% AER. I only went over because a direct debit for my credit card went through.

Barclaycard 16.9%

Nationwide 9.9 EAR

I've written to all 3 offering £1 a month.

Nationwide came back and said I don't have an arrangement and that my overdraft is fixed until 3rd August 2008. They are still charging interest.

First Direct came back and said I need to pay £25.21 a month.

I chased up Barclaycard today and there is a letter in post on its way.

I currently work part time for 16.25 hours a week school term only. The pay is paid pro-rata over 12 months.

I will be starting a 2nd part-time job on 25th February for another 8 hours a week but the pay for that won't come through until end of March and I want know how much the pay will be until the contract comes through in the next few weeks.

I only have about £40 cash at the moment.

Should I cash in that £25 premium bond from 1974?

Eshka_2

zxzx1974 wrote: »

Should I cash in my great grandparent's premium bonds?

SOA:
Income £475.97
Outgoings
Rent £200.00
Council Tax £40.59
Water Rates £20.00
Gas £40.00 - have you tried uswitch?
Electric £30.00 - as above
Housekeeping £152.00 - what is this for, if you don't mind me asking?
TV Licence £6.00
Travel £70.00 (Includes car tax, car insurance, servicing and MOT)
Meals at work £25.00 - packed lunches? £25 is a lot of money for a part time job
Clothing £15.00
Mobile £5.00
Dentist £7.50
Total: £611.09
Balance:-£135.12

First Direct: £2,441.25
Barclaycard: £833.37
Nationwide BS: £244.37
First Direct: £296.00
Total: £3,814.99

First Direct Credit Card 16.9 APR (the bigger First Direct balance)

First Direct 1st Account (current account) not sure what the unauthorised rate is, but the first £250 is 0% AER. I only went over because a direct debit for my credit card went through.

Barclaycard 16.9%

Nationwide 9.9 EAR

I've written to all 3 offering £1 a month.

Nationwide came back and said I don't have an arrangement and that my overdraft is fixed until 3rd August 2008. They are still charging interest.

First Direct came back and said I need to pay £25.21 a month.

I chased up Barclaycard today and there is a letter in post on its way.

I currently work part time for 16.25 hours a week school term only. The pay is paid pro-rata over 12 months.

I will be starting a 2nd part-time job on 25th February for another 8 hours a week but the pay for that won't come through until end of March and I want know how much the pay will be until the contract comes through in the next few weeks.

I only have about £40 cash at the moment.

Should I cash in that £25 premium bond from 1974?

I'm no expert on premium bonds but I did think your SOA was interesting, someone else no doubt will give more detailed advice, I just threw in a couple of suggestions....HTH...BUMP!

rayday2

I wouldn't cash them in they will help you only the once then what do you do after that?

Have you thought about going through a charity you may find the companies will listen to you more then? They nearly always do refuse the first time but you have to keep paying what you offer. I feel the backing of a charity would boost you though.

Also if you are doing this you need to make sure that you have an unrelated bank account to anyone you owe money to otherwise they can take what they like from your account.

barnaby-bear

rayday2 wrote: »

I wouldn't cash them in they will help you only the once then what do you do after that?

Have you thought about going through a charity you may find the companies will listen to you more then? They nearly always do refuse the first time but you have to keep paying what you offer. I feel the backing of a charity would boost you though.

Also if you are doing this you need to make sure that you have an unrelated bank account to anyone you owe money to otherwise they can take what they like from your account.

Did your great-grandparents buy them in YOUR name? If they are in dead people's names you can claim them back for the estate but you can never claim prizes they win. So if they are in their names inflation means they are devaluing as they can't win.

IWantToBeFree_2

zxzx1974 wrote: »

Should I cash in my great grandparent's premium bonds?

SOA:
Income £475.97
Outgoings
Rent £200.00
Council Tax £40.59 - Is this spread over 12 months?
Water Rates £20.00 - Is this a meter? Would a meter be cheaper?
Gas £40.00 - Look at if switching would be cheaper & go through Quidco for cashback
Electric £30.00 - Ditto above
Housekeeping £152.00
TV Licence £6.00
Travel £70.00 (Includes car tax, car insurance, servicing and MOT)
Meals at work £25.00 Packed lunches are the way forwards
Clothing £15.00
Mobile £5.00
Dentist £7.50
Total: £611.09
Balance:-£135.12

First Direct: £2,441.25
Barclaycard: £833.37
Nationwide BS: £244.37
First Direct: £296.00
Total: £3,814.99

First Direct Credit Card 16.9 APR (the bigger First Direct balance)

First Direct 1st Account (current account) not sure what the unauthorised rate is, but the first £250 is 0% AER. I only went over because a direct debit for my credit card went through.

Barclaycard 16.9%

Nationwide 9.9 EAR

I've written to all 3 offering £1 a month.

Nationwide came back and said I don't have an arrangement and that my overdraft is fixed until 3rd August 2008. They are still charging interest.

First Direct came back and said I need to pay £25.21 a month.

I chased up Barclaycard today and there is a letter in post on its way.

I currently work part time for 16.25 hours a week school term only. The pay is paid pro-rata over 12 months.

I will be starting a 2nd part-time job on 25th February for another 8 hours a week but the pay for that won't come through until end of March and I want know how much the pay will be until the contract comes through in the next few weeks.

I only have about £40 cash at the moment.

Should I cash in that £25 premium bond from 1974?

Can you switch any cards to 0% cards or is your credit rating shot?

floss2

barnaby-bear wrote: »

If they are in dead people's names you can claim them back for the estate but you can never claim prizes they win..

You CAN claim prizes on deceased bonds for the estate but only within 12m of the holder's death.

barnaby-bear

floss2 wrote: »

You CAN claim prizes on deceased bonds for the estate but only within 12m of the holder's death.

I didn't know that but saw a "hard done by" newspaper story about some folk who'd found some old bonds that had won a big prize only the holder had been dead a while so they only got the £3 stake back....
Thanks for the correction.

medman

The chances of winning any prize on premium bonds is about 30,000/1 and most prizes are £50. For your bonds to win, with average luck, you would need to hold them for 100 years and then you might win £50. If they're in your name sell them and use the £25 to keep you afloat.

Most of your current income seems to go on accommodation and living expenses, it looks like you really need to find ways of increasing your income. There are lots of people on here with better ideas for doing that than me.

Good Luck
MM

floss2

Put it this way, I've had £20-worth for almost 44 years and haven't won a bean yet.....

bathgatebuyer

Personally, I'd keep them. I've got £10 worth which my Gran gave me and as a gift, they're absolutely non-negotiable for me.

Bismarck

Hi, forgive me if I've missed something but are you working part-time for child reasons - if so are you claiming all the benefits you can? If not, I think £152 housekeeping gives you something to work on to squeeze a few pounds out - especially if you're also spending £25 on work meals...