Forum menu
It's Premium Bonds ...
 

It's Premium Bonds draw day.

Posts: 2628
Free Member
 

It’s the hope that kills you.


 
Posted : 02/02/2024 10:36 pm
EhWhoMe and EhWhoMe reacted
Posts: 386
Free Member
 

counting backwards

£550 this month, £275 last month, nothing December, £250 November, £150 October, £125 September, £50 August, £200 July, £75 June, £150 May, £75 April, £50 March - from a full pot.

that’s £1950, which is 3.9% for the year.

Advantage is no tax due, so if all your allowances were used up elsewhere that’s an effective rate of 4.875% I think, or more depending on your tax bracket.

Disadvantage is that it’s not compounding as the account is maxed, so you have to put it somewhere else at a similar rate to effectively get compounding.


 
Posted : 02/02/2024 10:59 pm
Posts: 33189
Full Member
 

Daughter's inheritance from her grandparents has won another £300.

Really wish I'd not pissed off my mother in law....


 
Posted : 02/02/2024 11:04 pm
Posts: 135
Free Member
 

Have a thousand quid in there and March will be my first eligible draw, so I'm getting excited.


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 6:57 pm
Posts: 4468
Full Member
 

I wouldn’t be 😂


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 6:58 pm
Kryton57, retrorick, bruneep and 3 people reacted
Posts: 135
Free Member
 

Yes I probably need to reign it back.


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 7:04 pm
Posts: 10747
Full Member
 

I thought someone here had got "the call".


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 7:32 pm
Posts: 3267
Free Member
 

I had to withdraw some funds this week #gutted


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 7:37 pm
 myti
Posts: 1815
Free Member
 

Been months since I had anything. Fingers crossed for this month as not sure it's making the interest rate at the moment though I've not done the maths. Is there a calculator on the premium bonds website?


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 7:53 pm
Posts: 4468
Full Member
 

There’s no interest rate as there’s no guaranteed returns. Pretty easy to do the maths over several months or years to work out the percentage returns though.


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 7:57 pm
 myti
Posts: 1815
Free Member
 

It's not an interest rate as such but they do advertise the variable prize fund rate as 4.40 percent on their website. So I need to do the maths as I'm not sure I've achieved that.


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 8:38 pm
Posts: 14105
Full Member
 

That’s based on averages - someone wins a million, most win nothing.

Think of it as gambling without losing your stake and you won’t go far wrong. If you want guaranteed returns lock your money away in a ISA for 3 years.


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 8:40 pm
Posts: 27603
Free Member
 

Damien explains it well:

TLDW - they are not the best savings vehicle unless your beyond your tax allowances on your savings, best for a tax free, possible surprise bonus rainy day fund.


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 8:53 pm
Posts: 14536
Free Member
 

This is not news
They're a little flutter for your emergency cash funds


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 9:46 pm
 myti
Posts: 1815
Free Member
 

Yes yes I know all that guys I was just saying that I should have a look and see it's working out in my favour or not compared with the average.


 
Posted : 28/02/2024 10:31 pm
Posts: 1794
Full Member
 

Money Saving Expert have some good info on this.

Basically, the less invested, the less likely you are to achieve the headline 4.4% returns, and on average the lower you returns will be. That said, some people have won the top prize with a few hundred or less invested so their returns are unbeatable!


 
Posted : 29/02/2024 2:31 pm
Posts: 7038
Full Member
 

Big zero.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 2:00 am
Posts: 7751
Free Member
 

And another failure to win.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 2:01 am
Posts: 3497
Free Member
 

3 prizes , £25, £50 and £100.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 4:20 am
Posts: 221
Free Member
 

I guess people only use this when they've maxed their isa and pension contributions etc?

Just seems like a really bad place to keep money unless done purely for tax reasons.

No chance of me ever having 50k spare so maybe I'm not their target market lol.

Edit. Apologies this has been said already.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 7:26 am
Posts: 12667
Free Member
 

£175 from reduced pint of £43K.  Won't be losing much when this money comes and and goes towards an extension in a few months.

Just seems like a really bad place to keep money unless done purely for tax reasons.

IME yes it is but then the gambler/dreamer in me sees that bigger win that I won't get from an ISA.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 7:43 am
Posts: 17291
Full Member
Topic starter
 

£175 for me

£75 for mrs zip

£50 for mrs zips mum

I’m the only one who did better than Chase.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 8:03 am
Posts: 14536
Free Member
 

£275 for me

£100 for my wife

😎


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 8:11 am
Posts: 135
Free Member
 

No chance of me ever having 50k spare so maybe I’m not their target market lol.

Yeah, that kind to money I wouldn't be using premium bonds. You'd be getting well over £150 a month at least even in quite a bog stand savings account.

I have a £1k and may put a bit more in just for the fun and chance of a bigger win.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 8:45 am
Posts: 739
Full Member
 

2 x £100 for me. Zero for Mrs JL.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 9:11 am
 myti
Posts: 1815
Free Member
 

£100 that makes up for the last few months of nothing!


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 9:11 am
Posts: 5807
Free Member
 

I guess people only use this when they’ve maxed their isa and pension contributions etc?

Or they need to keep some savings more liquid and like a bit of a punt? Or they're retired and past the point where paying into a long term investment like a pension is less viable?

Anyway, £100 for me this month, equivalent to a 5% return on my holding, so just about keeping up with what I'd get from an easy access account. I'll leave it there another month.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 9:41 am
Posts: 2094
Full Member
 

£100 for me. Pays some bills or buys some social activity for the month ahead. 🤔


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 9:46 am
Posts: 44803
Full Member
 

Nowt for me this month


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 9:48 am
Posts: 5400
Free Member
 

Nowt for me.

It’s my rainy day money, so not serious savings.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 9:50 am
Posts: 1754
Full Member
 

Won 5 prizes again this month though less than I've spent at Wiggle CRC in their closing down sale 🤣


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 10:32 am
Posts: 9104
Full Member
 

£175

That's our 6th month and we've had at least £100 in every draw.

It's hard to work out an exact percentage as I keep adding every month but we're comfortably over the interest rate for now.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 10:38 am
Posts: 17291
Full Member
Topic starter
 

Mrs Zips friend won a 100k last year.

Means they can retire at 60.

It does happen.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 10:41 am
Posts: 5171
Free Member
 

I guess people only use this when they’ve maxed their isa and pension contributions etc?

Just seems like a really bad place to keep money unless done purely for tax reasons

Have you seen the thread on here where people post how much interest they’ve made on their savings account each month?
Thought not 😀


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 10:42 am
retrorick and retrorick reacted
Posts: 1524
Full Member
 

Wowzers, as they say. £600 for me - I've never had that much in one go before, in 40-odd years (£500 and 2 x £50)
And £200 for Mrs Lawman.

Pretty happy here.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 11:26 am
 DT78
Posts: 10066
Free Member
 

zero. again. so return is less than 2.5% now. wife doesnt want to move it though.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 11:46 am
Posts: 27603
Free Member
 

Wahey £250, perfectly timed to pay the last instalment for Jnr's braces.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 11:51 am
Posts: 11
Free Member
 

Nothing last month, £100 today!


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 11:56 am
Posts: 863
Free Member
 

£625 here, biggest yet.


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 4:41 pm
Posts: 5400
Free Member
 

@ElShalimo

£100 for my wife

Is she a looker? 😇😉


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 5:59 pm
Posts: 14536
Free Member
 

I couldn't possibly comment

🙃


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 6:01 pm
Posts: 2652
Free Member
 

People comparing premium bond returns against bank interest rates need to factor in that premium bonds winnings are tax free . Last year I beat what I would have got from bank interest . This year 3 months and 3 £100 wins puts me about where I would be with the money in a bank


 
Posted : 02/03/2024 11:34 pm
Posts: 12667
Free Member
 

I would guess that a lot of people who are not requested/forced to fill in a self assessment are declaring things like interest on savings?  I doubt I would be.


 
Posted : 03/03/2024 7:46 am
Posts: 27603
Free Member
 

Well you have to have £20k at the lower tax rate and £10k at the higher rate in a 5% account to get to the amount you’d need to declare.  But really that first £20k should be in an ISA, so really you have £40k/£30k (double if you have an accommodating wife)   Then it goes into PB’s.  That’s a fair amount of savings for the average person.

On that note I’ve always wondered how invested monies work - say you have a non isa/SIPP Vanguard account  and it’s made money, I assume it’s not declared until you withdraw it? Becuase of course it could go down again, so technically you haven’t made money until it’s withdrawn….


 
Posted : 03/03/2024 9:05 am
Posts: 167
Free Member
 

Correct - for a non ISA/SIPP fund or share you would only pay Capital Gains Tax when you sell.

Anyway - £150 on the Premium bonds for me this month.


 
Posted : 03/03/2024 11:13 am
Page 38 / 52