Premium Bond Diary - August update

I like these posts, make sure you keep reporting to us! :-)

Isn't that exactly what you'd expect - you'll lag behind the mean return unless or until you scoop one or more of of the bigger prizes.

Thom

Assuming they've got their sums right!

Population also comes into it, though as Wales has nearly 3 times the population of Surrey and about 2.5 times the population of Hampshire so it actually makes the Home County bias more tenable as a hypothesis. (However, I'd suspect that, say, having 10 times as many 30K bond holders in Surrey than Wales is hardly out of the question).

Thom

They say someone with 30K invested should win 15 small prizes a year. I believe they determine a small prize as being 50 or 100. Alot of the financial articles state that, bearing in mind these are tax free 'prizes', that someone with the 30K can do as well as if the money is earning interest. I am not convinced by that but, of course, you do have a chance of a bigger prize.

I live in Wales and I notice from month to month that Wales hardly ever features in one of the 'big' prizes - 1,000 or over. Surrey, Hants and Berkshire seem to win most of the big prizes but, being a richer part of the UK, one would assume those areas have a much higher percentage of bond holders.

Of course, until I win the million I will be convinced that the bonds are biased in favour of the Home Counties :-)))

I am ranting now. :-)

John.

Being given bonds as a birth gift is common in Wales so I think the Welsh are probably very high owners of small amounts of bonds - a few quid each prior to the days when you had to buy a 100 block. However, I would suspect, bearing in mind how poor Wales is, that the numbers of Welsh people who have 30K or amounts near 30K are few and far between, especially when compared to the Home Counties.

I am reminded of a national newspaper who I long ago gave up entering their competitions when I suddenly twigged the winners nearly always lived in Surrey, Berks or Hants. I did win a prize once with them I have to admit and could not believe it - a toaster. It then transpired they had cocked up and printed the wrong numbers in the paper and every reader technically won a toaster. I never got my toaster.... which would have sat neatly on my kitchen cupboard next to the other two toasters that I do not use.

However, it would be nice if in next month's Premium Bond draw a Welsh bond holder did win 50K or a 100k.... or a million... and that bond holder was me :-)))

John.

In message , John Smith wrote

One of the current £50,000 winners lives in Rhondda Cynon Taff and had an investment of £29,995

Mine's a pint :)

Well, time to cash in my bonds. Another person in Wales won't win now for another 50 years. Not that I am jealous :-)

In message , John Smith writes

You could just move to England.

I doubt 'they' say that. What they might say is that *on average* you'd get that. However, probably only a small proportion (1/15?) get 15 and the majority would get either more or less, ie there is more chance you'd get 16 or more, or 14 or less.

Actually, they say someone with 30k invested should win 15 prizes a year. It doesn't stipulate whether the prize is small or large.

| Actually, they say someone with 30k invested should win 15 prizes a | year. It doesn't stipulate whether the prize is small or large. |

Does that mean there's really no point investing with anything less than

In message , Tom wrote

All bonds have an equal chance of winning. One of your bonds could win a £1m in a few days time.

Using your logic the person who only has 314 bonds shouldn't have won one of the August £50,000 prizes as he only bought the winning bond 4 years ago.

"Tom" wrote

Why on earth would it mean that?

"Tom" wrote

If 30K on average gets 15 prizes per year, then 1.5K will get on average

This does *not* mean that you'll get a prize after 16 months, then the next prize after 32 months, etc. You *could* still win a prize in the first/second/etc month - and that prize