Premium Bonds.

[Baron99 772]

18 minutes ago, Pettytom said:

That 50k would earn you £5 per year in interest in many deposit accounts. So, the chance of a decent win outweighs the loss of interest in my view.

 

Because of COVID, I’ve just shifted some of my savings from the stock market to Premium Bonds. Mostly for liquidity purposes, but also because they are quite good fun. 
 

It’s not easy to make money from savings anywhere at the moment. At least PB are secure and give you the chance of a big win. 
 

I’ve won £25 per month for the last four months, thanks for asking😀

Well if you search around, look for the right account & are prepared to lock your money away for a few years, you could get a decent return in an account.  Just don't look to the familiar High Street banks. 

 

I've got around £5k of bonds & don't recall winning at all in the past few years, even then it was only the £25 or £50 prizes.  I reckon I've had a better return in the National Lottery & betting on the Irish Lotto. 

 

I'm the opposite of you, I've invested quite a bit in shares since COVID-19 hit & the stock market bottomed out around April.  If I sell on Monday, I'll be quids in but I'm going to hold the lot until the pandemic's well & truely over.  One of the shares was Wetherspoons.  They dipped from over £17 to below £6.  I got into them at £6 & now they're sitting at over £10, No rush to sell, just sit on them until they hit £17.

 

There's always money to be made on the Stock Market of you do your homework / research.  

[Padders 2,833]

10 hours ago, Baron99 said:

You might as well cash them in, less chance of winning & fewer prizes, come this December, (a million less), but it's up to you?  

 

"With the maximum £50,000 bonds you will now expect a £50 or £100 prize very 6 and a bit years, a £500 prize every 33 years and £1000 ever 100 years." 

 

http://paullewismoney.blogspot.com/2016/03/not-so-premium-bonds.html?m=1

 

 

Cash them in,  I've only got one...

Thanks for the info though, interesting.

[Padders 2,833]

9 hours ago, Baron99 said:

 One of the shares was Wetherspoons.  They dipped from over £17 to below £6.  I got into them at £6 & now they're sitting at over £10, No rush to sell, just sit on them until they hit £17.

 

 

Wetherspoons shares are currently trading at £1070.00

[jackanne 10]

2 hours ago, Padders said:

Cash them in,  I've only got one...

Thanks for the info though, interesting.

The minimum premium bond holding is £25.

[iansheff 84]

14 hours ago, Baron99 said:

You might as well cash them in, less chance of winning & fewer prizes, come this December, (a million less), but it's up to you?  

 

"With the maximum £50,000 bonds you will now expect a £50 or £100 prize very 6 and a bit years, a £500 prize every 33 years and £1000 ever 100 years." 

 

http://paullewismoney.blogspot.com/2016/03/not-so-premium-bonds.html?m=1

 

 

On the MSE site, the MSE calculator says if you have average luck and you have £50,000 holding you will get about £500 a year (1.0%)

Premium Bond Probability Calculator. Unique tool predicts what you'll win plus NEW 'luck test' (moneysavingexpert.com)

 

On  this link Paul Lewis Money: NOT SO PREMIUM BONDS it says with the maximum £50,000 bonds you will now expect a £25 prize every month at least - 17 over a year.  So if you won 17 x £25 over a year it is £425 which is 0.85%, that's a lot better than most ISA's are paying over a year.

 

 

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by iansheff

[Janus 28]

Over the years, NSandI have changed the minimum purchase amount over a number of years. The minimum holding is £1 for those that have some of them. As Padded says, his dad had  a £1 PB. I had some £1 bonds in the 60s-still got them. 

 

It was not that long ago that the minimum you could purchase was £100. I don't know when the minimum purchase was brought down to £25. Possibly after 2017

 

They may even reduce the minimum purchase to £5. This would probably  encourage more people to have a go. Anything can happen. It is a cheap way for the government to borrow money from us. They certainly need to at the moment.

[Jeffrey Shaw 88]

18 hours ago, El Cid said:

Is there a minimum of a £100 stake now?

No, each one-unit bond has an equal chance.

But one cannot buy fewer than 25 at once.

 

See https://www.nsandi.com/products/premium-bonds

6 hours ago, Padders said:

Wetherspoons shares are currently trading at £1070.00

No- it's 1070p, or £10.70.

Edited November 22, 2020 by Jeffrey Shaw

[cressida 1,548]

19 hours ago, RiffRaff said:

I once worked with someone who held the (then) maximum number : £30,000, from memory.

It was rare a month went by without him winning some prize.

Same here 

[Padders 2,833]

1 hour ago, Jeffrey Shaw said:

No, each one-unit bond has an equal chance.

But one cannot buy fewer than 25 at once.

 

See https://www.nsandi.com/products/premium-bonds

No- it's 1070p, or £10.70.

Sorry, your right..

[Janus 28]

NS&I said it had faced extremely high call volumes with many savers trying to withdraw their money.

BBC news:
The chances of winning any of the monthly prizes on offer, which include a £1m jackpot, from Premium Bonds will also fall sharply, starting with the December draw.

Savers will soon have a one-in-34,500 chance, against one-in-24,500 previously.

It is also slashing the number of £100,000 prizes from seven to four and £50,000 prizes from 14 to nine.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-55061891
 

[pintor 32]

44 minutes ago, enntee said:

My attitude is that as long as interest rates, elsewhere, are so low, I may just as well stay with my bonds.

The odds of getting a million are extremely low, but are infinitely higher than me getting a million out of the bank.

Agree

[catmiss 12]

My mum left me some money when she died. I didn’t want it swallowed up into my family expenses so my ex husband suggested PB as my mum liked an occasional flutter. That was over 30 years ago and I think I’ve probably matched interest rates over the years. I’m staying with them - mum might just have the big win!