Premium Bonds - Not a bean for months now!!!!

[GrizzlyBear]

Ozzie Osmond said:

The rate of return on Premium Bonds is negative to inflation. Avoid.

Comparing them to the best instant access savings accounts that now only pay about 1.2% net (admittedly the only reason it is 1.2% was due to the governments funding for lending scheme that allowed lenders to access taxpayers cash at extremely low rates of interest thus removing the need to compete for savers cash, but that has allegedly ended for mortgage lending so rates will increase if savers move their money to better rates) so really for a basic rate taxpayer they are comparable, also the money is not in one of the banks which many people understandably don't trust.

I have seen people lose significant amounts of money in stocks and investment bonds and that is the point, if people can't afford to risk the money there is actually very little choice for them anymore (largely due to government/Bank of England schemes like the above), I only invest in the markets with money I can afford to lose.

Edited by GrizzlyBear on Friday 28th March 08:49

[Oakey]

Well, Disappointment Day is almost upon us...

[gwm]

I agree they're a bit pants, but such low interest in any savings account/ISA too. So I'm spending some on a bike instead

[Revisitph]

Steamer said:

Exactly.

And as I keep asking people - 'Does anyone know, or even have a friend-of-friend that scooped a million on the Premium Bonds?!'

I've heard rumors of folks winning £5k and £10K but thats it. (oh and think we had reports of 'a bloke at work that won £25K' earlier in the thread).

In about 1964 my father won £1000. The average wage at the time was about £1000 so it would be roughly equal to a £25k win now. In those days when the only similar product was the pools, local papers would mention if someone in the town had won one of the large (as £1000 was then) PB prizes. I think the top prize was £100k and, if the tiers were similar to those now, that would imply that there would be only 6 £1000 prizes a month (there are only 11 25k prizes, 6 50k prizes a month now). The minimum bond then was £1 - my wife has 3 dating from the 1960s. So, yes, I know someone who did win a £25k equivalent prize.

My best win was as a student in the 1980s. I had only about £15 to £20 worth of bonds, bought for me as £1 and £5 Christmas presents and I won £500, which was great. The maximum student maintenance grant then was £1410, on which a student could just about live in London, so £500 was a term's living costs. Average wage then was about £6.5k according to the "Measuring Worth" website, so £500 was equivalent to about £2000 now...which makes me wonder why my children can't live as students on £5400 - I suppose it is because the cost of renting accommodation has gone up faster than wages inflation....because of all the PH BTL fans perhaps.

[uncle tez]

Won 3x£25 this month. 2x£25 last month with £19K. Been doing a lot better since i started putting £50 a month direct debit in. Still not had a single prize over £25 though.

[okgo]

2 x £25 on £15k

[Justin Cyder]

0 x 30k.

[BoRED S2upid]

Anyone increasing their holdings? Can't you put in 50k now?

[okgo]

BoRED S2upid said:

Anyone increasing their holdings? Can't you put in 50k now?

Yeh, I am going to put a few more grand in, maybe take me to £20k. What else is it going to achieve sitting in my other savings account, f all

Not sure if the £50k is in effect just yet?

[Rick101]

First win

1 x £25 on 30K
meh.

[DSLiverpool]

2 * £25 for me, not checked others yet.

[loftylad]

BoRED S2upid said:

Anyone increasing their holdings? Can't you put in 50k now?

£30,000 to £40,000 on 1 June 2014 increasing it again to £50,000 during 2015-16

Also increasing the number of £1 million Premium Bonds prizes per month to two, starting with the August 2014 prize draw

[S5PJV]

Second month in:
£30k = 0
£30k = £25

Total over 2 months:

£30k = £50
£30k = £75

I'm only in it for about 6 months so a few more wins would be nice, then I'll be pulling it out anyway

[Supernova190188]

£50 this month on £20k worth, so total in the 6 months I've had them so far is £175 , not too bad a return so far!

[Pork]

Pork said:

I'm expecting a big win this month. I can just feel it. I just know it.






it worked for Neil Trotter

That paid off!

Not. Nowt for me this month.

[jock mcsporran]

Took out everything except for 5k and won £25 after two months of nothing on 30k.

[liller]

£25 for me, first since January.

Didn't realise they were increasing the maximum amount, perhaps that'll mean more prizes.

[Ozzie Osmond]

liller said:

Didn't realise they were increasing the maximum amount, perhaps that'll mean more prizes.

The overall return on premium bonds is pre-determined.

Therefore one thing is dead certain - the bigger the prizes, the fewer the prizes.

The approach today is to give,

• a handful of big prizes to attract the punters, and
• lots of tiny prizes so that punters think they are getting something and hold onto their "investment".

Sadly today Premium Bonds are just another useless cash investment with returns negative to inflation. And in the usual way since returns are tax free they are more valuable to 40% taxpayers than 20% taxpayers.

Avoid. (But it's a better idea than doing the Lottery.)

[Jockman]

Another £25 today

That's 8 in 11 months !!

Still a poor return on £30k tbh

[Revisitph]

Yesterday's paper: The April million pound winner had £1000 in PB and is from County Durham.

An exception to the usual scenario of large holders in the SE being the winners because they hold more bonds. Odds of winning the million are 40bn to one, so, if the number of zeros I put into the calculator is right, 1.3m to one for a 30,000 bond holder, i.e. once every 11,000 years, and when 2 x 1m prizes are reinstated and the limit rises to 50k, assuming no more bonds are bought overall, a max holder should win once every 3333 years.