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Premium Bond Diary - October Update

1 x 50 cheques in September - better than nothing, although I am lagging behind what I could have earned in interest according to a recent Times article.

At the end of November 2003 I invested my 30,000 savings - mortgage deposit - in Premium Bonds. My aim being to see if I could get a better 'return' from the Bonds than from the interest I was receiving from my building society.

Buying the Bonds in November meant that I was eligible for draws from January 1st 2004.

So, November has to be that million pound cheque as it will be a full 12 months since the money was withdrawn from the BS, thereby losing me the interest, and invested in bonds. OK, a cheque for 5K or 10K will do nicely :-)

Winnings so far:

January 2004 1 x 50 cheque February 2004 1 x 50 cheque March 2004 3 x 50 cheques (150) April 2004 1 x 50 cheque May 2004 - NOTHING, NOT A JOT June 2004 - NOTHING, NOT A JOT July 2004 1 x 50 cheque August 2004 2 x 50 cheques (100) September 2004 3 x 50 cheques (150) October 2004 1 x 50 cheque

Reply to
John Smith
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But how inaccessibly would your money have been tied up? With PBs you have pretty much instant access.

The amount you have won so far this year is £650. How much do you think you could have made through alternative investments?

MM

Reply to
MM

About twice that on an instant access savings account with someone who offers a reasonable rate.

Reply to
Jonathan Bryce

30k @ 5% = 1,500. 10 months' worth is 1,250, if you're not a tax payer that is.

Basic rate tax payer - 1,000 Higher rate tax payer - 750

Premium Bonds are just cheap(ish) debt for the government. Invest in (say) an Egg account and get a higher return.

Reply to
Paul

"Paul" wrote

Do Egg give you the chance to win a million ?

Reply to
Tim

You`re actually up on the deal here. 13 cheques in 10 months. On average (over a long period of time etc etc etc) you`ll get a win each month if you hold the maximum allowed value of premium bonds.

Reply to
Simon Finnigan

In message , Simon Finnigan wrote

The odds of winning a 'prize' are 24,000:1

Reply to
Alan

£650 over 10 months, so let's work this out, scaling up to annual gains...

(650 * (12/10) = 780) / 30000 * 100% = 2.6% annual, equivalent to 4.33% gross for a 40% taxpayer, by my calculations. And that's not a bad rate of interest. Not top whack either, but not bad.

You're trailing behind the current posted rate of 3.2%, but that rate's been increased during the year, so I'd not expect you to be near it. Don't forget that building societies have also been increasing their interest rates, so to compare like-for-like, you would need to average your society's interest rates over the year to date.

Jon

Reply to
Jon S Green

"Simon Finnigan" wrote

It's up to more like 15 wins per year now, isn't it?

Reply to
Tim

When I bought some, the odds where 30,000:1. Now you`ve mentioned it, I do remember hearing the chances had improved, which is good news.

Reply to
Simon Finnigan

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