I-Bonds have rules. For example, you have to hold the bond for five years or you must pay back three months interest. I expect in about 12 months there will be a horde of people upset when they find that out.
I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
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Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
#132Are bonds issued by a dysfunctional government that is severely in debt in the middle of a couple of years of consistently tumultuous world events really “risk free” anymore though? These bonds only match inflation as defined by the government via CPI. But there is a strong argument that real world inflation is significantly higher than CPI.
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Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
#133I thought this was funny. Weird comments in the thread about how he/she should have known better. Author is not making a complaint to demand internet outrage. There is no inflammatory justice warrior content here. Sheesh! Author admits they screwed up, decided to share the screwup, and who hasnt been trough that exact dunder blunder? Fun short read 8/10.
It’s not a big deal, it’s just the author did a bonehead move and it writing it up because it’s funny. I think it’s appropriate to say they made a stupid mistake and move on. The author is likely a little frustrated so I can forgive their shade throwing at treasury.
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Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
#134That’s why you buy through a bank. Edit: I am wrong. You can only buy it two ways which is ridiculous in my view. More to the point of the website that belongs in a museum, why can’t they update this consumer facing portal? What happened to all the people from “digitization” govt organizations? Such as 18F and usds. Oh. You mean all they do is replace the front end? Got it.
Unfortunately, for this particular type of bond, a Series I US Savings Bond, they can only be purchased through TreasuryDirect or by way of a tax refund. Since 2012, they are no longer sold through banks [1]. For regular Treasury Bills, Notes, and Bonds, buying through a broker is an option.
But separately, it is a miracle that the author didn't hit the physical identity verification path [2] when signing up for the TreasuryDirect account.
[1] https://treasurydirect.gov/timeline.htm?src=td&med=banner&lo...
[2] https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/46840/treasury-dir...
Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
#135I-Bonds have rules. For example, you have to hold the bond for five years or you must pay back three months interest. I expect in about 12 months there will be a horde of people upset when they find that out.
And those people will have gotten all their advice from a page that humorously details just how hard it is to use the website and warning them to be careful.
Hard to put that on anyone but the purchasers.
Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
#136The irony of these ibonds is that the payments will contribute to even more inflation.
Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a Canadian who’s (very) thankfully becoming American I can guarantee you that American government is very incompetent. At least in comparison to a Commonwealth one. The wait times, the level of uncaring, the general attitude was jarring when I first moved here. I even worked as for a few years for the gov, and the bureaucracy is even worse inside!
Serious curious question. Why would you want to become American if you’re Canadian?
Hell, Canadians usually correct me by saying ‘Canada is in America too’ when I tell them I’m ‘Mercian.
Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
#138Just curious about the "golden window for buying I-bonds" he mentions: what is the benefit of buying ibonds on April 30, 2022 at 7.12% gain versus buying on May 1, 2022 at 9.6% gain?
It's not really golden. It' just i-bond inflation rates are high at the moment.
The bond rates are set per 6 month window - but you get it relative to the purchase date. So if you buy before the last possible day before the rate change date you would get 7.12% (annualized) for 6 months then 9.6% (annualized) for 6 months. If you buy after the rate change, you would get 9.6% (annualized) followed by some yet to be determined yield for 6 months.
Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
#139If I ever feel an urge to try out test cases on banking apps, hopefully I'll think of this story and stop.
Do the same thing one does with software: setup a dev environment
Either create an LLC or a child. Both can have a tax identifier. Not sure which is cheaper in the long run but the child is definitely more fun.
Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s not a big deal, it’s just the author did a bonehead move and it writing it up because it’s funny. I think it’s appropriate to say they made a stupid mistake and move on. The author is likely a little frustrated so I can forgive their shade throwing at treasury.
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