Premium Bond Winner ?

ManAtHome

meanmachine wrote:

I'm sure this has been stated before, but premium bonds shouldn't really be seen as a lottery, since the odds are atrocious.

They're really only of use to high taxpayers who have maxed out on their ISAs and who can afford to put 30K into them. Even then, you should only expect to "win" 3% per back annum.

There's a 1 in 24,000 chance of winning even just £50, so you have to have at least 24,000 to expect a prize on a monthly basis. And even then it isn't guaranteed, like it would be in a savings account.

I agree with the sentiment, but a couple of points...

I view them as a lottery rather than an investment but think they stack up well against the National Lottery (which I've never tried). In overall terms, PBs return at least 100% of the punters cash, NL return around 50%. In more detailed terms, £24k in a savings account would return around £1k a year (basic rate taxpayer), with this you could buy around 80 NL tickets a month. To get your £50 you'd need to have a 1 in 16 chance (5 wins of a tenner), actual odds are nearer 1 in 60 so you could expect a lower return than with PBs.

Dunno about it only being worth it unless you have the full £30k - with £6k you could still expect a win every 3 months (sure I could scrape by on £4 million a year LOL.. although I have won the odd £100). I also appreciate that the 'prize pool' moves with the BoE rate unlike many banks and and b/socs..!

Like any form of gambling really - only play with what you can afford to lose. For PBs, you can only lose whatever your savings account after-tax return would be.

pkrnts

trademark wrote:

Thats a poor return pkrnts ..... im sure your luck will turn though . good luck

Yup, I'd only get 3% in a savings account anyway and I'm not that far behind. I'd have topped up again in Feb but forgot about it, got to wait until March 31st now so I don't lose any interest this month!

Maybe it's just building upto the million win

Vlad24

andy74656 wrote:

Wow Vlad24 & Hopefulmillionaire, your not doing too bad? do u have the maximum in?

Hi Andy,

Yes I have the maximum. I have won £1100 in the last 12 months so haven't done too badly.

Deemy

I won £50 today, my yield is now 4.2%

jaxxy00

meanmachine wrote:

There's a 1 in 24,000 chance of winning even just £50, so you have to have at least 24,000 to expect a prize on a monthly basis. And even then it isn't guaranteed, like it would be in a savings account.

Those of you with investments of a couple of hundred quid - you're wasting your time. Seriously.

I generally agree with what you are sayingbut my daughter had a £100 bond and after just a few months won her first prize which was £100. So that was very good. Didnt realise the odds were that bad though.

Deemy

jaxxy00 wrote:

I generally agree with what you are sayingbut my daughter had a £100 bond and after just a few months won her first prize which was £100. So that was very good. Didnt realise the odds were that bad though.

Thats a very good rate of return !

Sofa_Sogood

Deemy wrote:

I won £50 today, my yield is now 4.2%

:j

Pot luck like the lottery Deemy?

meanmachine_2

Because Deemy's current yield is 4.2%, it means someone else is yielding just 1.8%. I suspect it's mostly those with an investment under £24K.

My current yield is 4.65%, but that's only after a few months. I expect to "win" nothing for a few months to balance that out.

I treat it as an OK-rate interest account, that's a little more interesting thanks to the remote chance of winning much more.

After all, let's face it, saving money is stupifyingly dull.

andy74656

meanmachine wrote:

After all, let's face it, saving money is stupifyingly dull.

I agree, and at least with premium bonds its gives you something to look forward to at the beginning of the month. (input your holder number and see if you have won) , even if for most people the rate of return is slightly less that a savings account.

Andy

SAP_Saver

I enjoy losing out on 5% with a couple of grand just for the pure excitment when I get into work and I log into https://www.nsandi.co.uk and put in my number and see .. sorry no this time... but I just think that maybe next month...