31–40 of 107 posts
Their website is awful and I’m afraid my money will be locked away with no recourse due to a technical error.
Same. For the potential upsides ($10,000 x 9% is $900, and that assumes I will keep it in cash otherwise), the downside risk is too great. If I could just click a button in my brokerage account and buy them, I would.
Things I wish I knew earlier. When you buy them, you lock in the current rate for 6 months from the date you purchase & then you get the next rate for 6 months after that. So today you get 9.62% for 6 months, so you'll technically earn 4.81% interest on your money after 6 months from the date of purchase. You'll then get the next rate which is most likely 3% for 6 months (often quoted as 6% annually). This site does…
That doesn't seem correct.
If I have $10k, and it earns an annual rate of 5%, for 6 months, I would get $250. That's not the same as saying I'm earning a 2.5% rate.
You're earning 5%, but only for 6 months.
If you were earning 2.5%, for 6 months, you'd only get $125.
Things I wish I knew earlier. When you buy them, you lock in the current rate for 6 months from the date you purchase & then you get the next rate for 6 months after that. So today you get 9.62% for 6 months, so you'll technically earn 4.81% interest on your money after 6 months from the date of purchase. You'll then get the next rate which is most likely 3% for 6 months (often quoted as 6% annually). This site does…
> You'll then get the next rate which is most likely 3% for 6 months Which is less than the 3.9% you get from a 6M treasury right now. If i-bonds really only get 6% in the next rate, you've lost money compared to 6M or 1Y treasury bonds.
It's also possible that in November they add something more than 0 to the fixed rate of the I Bond. Buying now though you unfortunately would not get that.
Things I wish I knew earlier. When you buy them, you lock in the current rate for 6 months from the date you purchase & then you get the next rate for 6 months after that. So today you get 9.62% for 6 months, so you'll technically earn 4.81% interest on your money after 6 months from the date of purchase. You'll then get the next rate which is most likely 3% for 6 months (often quoted as 6% annually). This site does…
Do not buy an I-bond if you need the cash or anticipate needing the cash in the near future. Also, do not treat I-bonds like investments. If you have a long time horizon and you want an investment return, you should just invest the money.
If your goal is to time the market and wait for a buying opportunity (why?) then you'd be better off just keeping your cash in a regular treasury. Even parking your money in a 1 year treasury will yield you close to 5% right now (again, not inflation-indexed), but you'll still be liquid:
https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/US1Y
If that is still too high a market risk for you, even a 3-month bill is yielding over 3%:
https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/US3M
I-bonds are a great place to put cash for things like emergency funds, assuming you keep the 1-year lockup in mind. Beyond that, they have fairly limited utility.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
You're gonna invest that 10k somewhere in all likelihood, a risk free 10% is pretty much unbeatable, it's higher than most high-yielding (and vice) stocks, but without bearing the risk of capital loss. Seems silly to me not to use I-bonds even if the cap is relatively low, sure wish I could (not American).
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.
> The Account Authorization (FS Form 5444) submitted is unacceptable as the form was not properly certified. Therefore, we must ask that you submit a new form with your signature properly certified.
> Please note that the form's instructions to the certifying officer state, "Acceptable certifications include the financial institution's official seal or stamp (such as corporate seal, signature guarantee stamp, or medallion stamp)." Notary public stamps are acceptable. Please have the bank place their official seal on the form to certify your signature. If the financial institution does not have an official seal or stamp to use when they certify a signature, they may use the savings bond paid stamp that they normally use when cashing savings bonds for a bond owner. We may accept:
> Signature/Endorsement Guarantee Stamp
> Medallion Stamp
> Official Bank Seal/Stamp
> Corporate Seal
> Consular Seal
> A commissioned or warrant officer of the United States Armed Forces may certify the signature.
> Any stamp or seal must be visible.
> The bank certifying officer should include his/her phone number by the certification.
> If none of the options listed above are available, we may give consideration when a bank officer uses notary certification when it is accompanied by the signature of the employee and the name/address of the bank is provided. The certification must clearly shows the certifying officer is a bank employee.
Things I wish I knew earlier. When you buy them, you lock in the current rate for 6 months from the date you purchase & then you get the next rate for 6 months after that. So today you get 9.62% for 6 months, so you'll technically earn 4.81% interest on your money after 6 months from the date of purchase. You'll then get the next rate which is most likely 3% for 6 months (often quoted as 6% annually). This site does…
That is incorrect. As long as you are a US resident for tax purposes you can purchase them.
https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds...
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/intr...