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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

#251

Post by tomatowurst »

prepend wrote: post #114
xkbarkar wrote: post #69

I 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.

Felt like a wallstreetbets post. Inflation is only at "8%" (still remember back in 2021 calling this a conspiracy), so 8 / 12 = ~0.7% = 700 USD loss / month on 10k deposit.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#252

Post by js2 »

baobabKoodaa wrote: post #213
shireboy wrote: post #197

What is the “might be screwed if you purchase after May”? I understand what I bonds are and am considering, but am missing why the May cutoff?

This 8.5% calculated inflation rate is a temporary anomaly and the author expects it to drop significantly, so if you purchase after May you might get significantly lower interest on the bond.

8.5% rate is based on locking in 7.12% for first six months (Nov 2021 - Apr 2022 rate) and 9.62% for second six months (May - Nov 2022 rate). You only "get screwed" depending upon how much the rate drops in future adjustments.

I personally think this is an overblown concern given the absolute dollar amount is so tiny. We're talking about interest on $10K. It's just not that much, a few hundred dollars.

https://tipswatch.com/2022/04/24/lets-handicap-the-i-bonds-f...

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#253

Post by cesarb »

UncleEntity wrote: post #137
philliphaydon wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Canada is in America too

Even Brazil is in America. This is why I dislike using the term "American" when referring to US citizens, it's hopelessly ambiguous: are you talking about the country or the continent?

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#254

Post by bmitc »

ntkachov wrote: post #143
jefftk wrote: post #62

> They require you to enter your password by clicking on a virtual keyboard. This pseudo-security measure actually only slows down humans, not bots, because you can still edit the value of the text field using Javascript. I don't think this is generally worth it as a security measure, but the goal is not to protect against automation. Instead, custom on-screen keyboards are attempts to thwart keyloggers.

Which is ridiculously annoying. I have to edit the HTML every single time to remove "readonly" on that field and paste in my randomly generated password.

Why are some fields like that? I have never understood why. It happens a lot when entering in bank account numbers. I am almost always copying and pasting the bank account number directly from my bank's website, but yet, these fields require me to type it in, increasing the possibility of a mistake.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#255

Post by rhexs »

Best part is, I went in to login this morning to check my account and it's down for "system maintenance". At least the government is consistent with running a service that feels like it's out of 1998.

I never want to see what their backend database looks like -- probably ROT0ing the passwords.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#256

Post by jen729w »

xkbarkar wrote: post #69

I 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.

Best thing my content blocker (1Blocker) does is remove comments. It does it so well I’ve basically forgotten that they exist. :-)

Agreed, fun little article.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#257

Post by gkuan »

nknealk wrote: post #247
gavinray wrote: post #225

Is this window the author speaks about still open? I don't know anything about money/finance. Can someone ELI5 to me if I can still get the free money from this, this year?

It’s not “free money”. The US Government offers a special savings program called iBonds (not an apple product). Technically they’re referred to as Series I bonds. These bonds are special. Each citizen can only purchase $10,000 per year. The thing that makes them special is that they have really favorable interest rates that are made up of two components. There’s a fixed component largely controlled by the Fed. Curren…

Sorry to be a bit pedantic, but you got me curious, looks like from TreasuryDirect that one doesn’t have to be a citizen to buy and hold, just a resident with a SSN is fine [1]. Everything else right on!

[1] https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds... under “Who May own an I Bond”

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#258

Post by baobabKoodaa »

js2 wrote: post #252
baobabKoodaa wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This 8.5% calculated inflation rate is a temporary anomaly and the author expects it to drop significantly, so if you purchase after May you might get significantly lower interest on the bond.

8.5% rate is based on locking in 7.12% for first six months (Nov 2021 - Apr 2022 rate) and 9.62% for second six months (May - Nov 2022 rate). You only "get screwed" depending upon how much the rate drops in future adjustments. I personally think this is an overblown concern given the absolute dollar amount is so tiny. We're talking about interest on $10K. It's just not that much, a few hundred dollars. https://tipswa…

Sure. I just explained what the author's concern was. I'm not arguing in favor or against that concern.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#259

Post by scarface74 »

sacrosancty wrote: post #243
cmeacham98 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I was primed by the author because I was reading their article, but I understood it the same way they did - the entire $10k was rejected because it put them over the limit. I probably would have tried the same $9975 transaction they did.

Maybe I still don't understand but why didn't he get any I-bonds for either the $10k or the $9975 if they're only refunding the excess? What are you supposed to do if you over-pay? Wait for your refund before buying again?

According to their system yes. It’s a bad case of eventual consistency.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#260

Post by coffeeblack »

xkbarkar wrote: post #69

I 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.

This wasn’t the authors fault at all.

It’s 2022, not 1998.

I would expect a banking/payment UI to be very clear and foolproof.

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