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Ask HN: Have you bought I bonds yet? Why not?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you bought I bonds yet? Why not?

#11

Post by bombcar »

freediver wrote: post #8

The cap of $10,000 makes it not very interesting from an investment standpoint. And while the yield is great on paper, it merely lets you keep up with inflation in practice. There are probably better ways to use $10,000 if that is all you have and you are interested in growing money - online courses come to mind.

You can double that and more if you're married, and use the tax refund trick.

But the reality is that 10% on 10k isn't a terribly large amount of money at the end of the day.

Re: Ask HN: Have you bought I bonds yet? Why not?

#12

Post by avemg »

I tried but my account got flagged for extra validation. This requires me to take a form to a bank or brokerage so that someone there can verify my identity and then stamp the form with some special stamp.

Well I do my banking with online banks so I have no access to a brick and mortar branch nor do I really have the time or inclination to try to talk to somewhere there and get what they're asking for.

Re: Ask HN: Have you bought I bonds yet? Why not?

#13

Post by amilios »

freediver wrote: post #8

The cap of $10,000 makes it not very interesting from an investment standpoint. And while the yield is great on paper, it merely lets you keep up with inflation in practice. There are probably better ways to use $10,000 if that is all you have and you are interested in growing money - online courses come to mind.

Online courses? Do you mean "investing in yourself" per se? Any ideas for growing the money that involve actual investment instruments, if I hypothetically have $10k lying around?

Re: Ask HN: Have you bought I bonds yet? Why not?

#15

Post by zjmil »

No because when I went to register, my account couldn’t be automatically authorized (probably because I had just moved). Instead for authorization they require that I fill out a form, have a certifying officer at a financial institution sign it, and mail it in. I couldn’t be bothered for only 10k.

Form: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/pdf/rs/acctauth.pdf

Re: Ask HN: Have you bought I bonds yet? Why not?

#16

Post by bombcar »

icapybara wrote: post #2

Their website is awful and I’m afraid my money will be locked away with no recourse due to a technical error.

Historically US bonds have been one of the hardest things to actually lose; as they will go through painful amounts of attempts to salvage them (via purchase history, reconstructing burnt physical bonds, reissuing, etc).

Re: Ask HN: Have you bought I bonds yet? Why not?

#17

Post by bombcar »

ed25519FUUU wrote: post #9

Probably one of the most user-hostile websites I’ve ever used. They actually expect you to “click” a virtual keyboard to input your password! Truly astounding.

I can estimate exactly when that was done; it was all the rage around the time of the "IGN Orange savings account" or whatever it was in the early 2000s.

Re: Ask HN: Have you bought I bonds yet? Why not?

#18

Post by toomuchtodo »

bombcar wrote: post #11
freediver wrote: post #8

The cap of $10,000 makes it not very interesting from an investment standpoint. And while the yield is great on paper, it merely lets you keep up with inflation in practice. There are probably better ways to use $10,000 if that is all you have and you are interested in growing money - online courses come to mind.

You can double that and more if you're married, and use the tax refund trick. But the reality is that 10% on 10k isn't a terribly large amount of money at the end of the day.

This. Depending on your portfolio, time value, and investment objectives, there isn’t any point in jumping through hoops for a few hundred bucks and having the funds illiquid versus something you can liquidate in a few clicks (or margin for immediate access for another opportunity).

Re: Ask HN: Have you bought I bonds yet? Why not?

#20

Post by benmanns »

bombcar wrote: post #11
freediver wrote: post #8

The cap of $10,000 makes it not very interesting from an investment standpoint. And while the yield is great on paper, it merely lets you keep up with inflation in practice. There are probably better ways to use $10,000 if that is all you have and you are interested in growing money - online courses come to mind.

You can double that and more if you're married, and use the tax refund trick. But the reality is that 10% on 10k isn't a terribly large amount of money at the end of the day.

Additionally, the 10% will probably only last for a year or two, at which point it'll be earning 1-3% and we'll have all jumped through these hoops for $100-300/year.
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