It’s Premium Bonds draw day.

£100.00.

2x£25 on 10k. Can’t complain…wait a minute, of course I can!

£25 this month.

Total for 2024 now stands at £1,175. Not got the time or inclination to work out the percentage return just now as the amount in there varied over the year. Not a full pot, so that’s ahead of expectations anyway, I’m fairly happy with that. Best was £225 in January, only month with nothing was September

£0. On a reduced pot. The remaining pbs bar £1 will be removed and go to earn interest for 6 weeks. That should earn me at least another £50.

I’ve had a good year for wins, skewed by an £850 earlier in the year.

Apologies – triplicate post thanks to supposed WordPress errors.

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£200  here.

After last months £100 win, we’re back to the status quo of nowt.  That’s £100 win for the year on £10k holding.  V. Bad.

My wife has won £100 on a £1000 she managed to save, we are aware though of how it works as we studied the Martin Lewis guide. I can’t post a link but some of you do really need to understand how it works? We can’t afford to lose any money so it makes a nice bonus for Christmas!

Me £200

Mrs Zip £350

Mrs Zips mum £25

Last 6 months for me £800 , mrs zip £1200 ,mrs zips mum £550.
It’s only Mrs Zip that’s beating the bank.

£50 this month.

Only £100 this time. Boooo…

Wheelsonfire1 – not sure what you mean about understanding how it works.  It’s gambling, without loosing your stake.  Your £100 on £1000 is well above the normal odds of winning, and that’s great, especially in time for Xmas, well done.   Don’t be expecting that to happen often though.

Anyone using it as savings is gambling that the return is higher than what it would offer in other forms of saving/investing.  An easy access ISA pays 4.9% atm and is safe, my £10k would net me a safe £49 a month,  I’ve only won £100 over the year in PB which makes it a poor return.  But, there’s a chance of winning big(ger), which is why I keep it there.

I know how premium bonds work… It is a tombola raffle, all the prizes will be won every month. It is a random draw, each bond has the same chance of winning as any other. If you hold maximum amount bonds you have a 49999 more chances of winning than if you only hold 1 bond. Winning isn’t guaranteed.

I’ve a good idea of the basic game I’m playing with my money and I’m lucky to do what I’m doing. It has taken a fair amount of restraint to save up.

I won’t always win and I’ll try to minimise my losses. Premium bonds are my low risk form of gambling.

My current thinking is not too reinvest pb wins straight back into your incomplete holdings as you will lose out on nearly 2 months of interest or just general enjoyment of spending the win.

All pointless musings anyway and my interpretation of luck, winning, losing, profit and loss will be different to someone else’s.

£100 for me.

on the ‘how it works’, how long do you need to have between buying bonds and them being eligible for the draw ?  I bought a chunk last week so not expecting them to be eligible till Jan draw..

It’s my very first ever draw – ooh the anticipation!

275 on a full pot.

Feels like a good start.

I think I asked for winnings to be paid into my bank account – how long does that typically take?

how long do you need to have between buying bonds and them being eligible for the draw ? I bought a chunk last week so not expecting them to be eligible till Jan draw

Yes, that’s right. You need to hold them for an entire month before they become eligible, so anything bought in November will be eligible from January onwards. This is different for prizes which become eligible straight away if reinvested.

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My current thinking is not too reinvest pb wins straight back into your incomplete holdings as you will lose out on nearly 2 months of interest or just general enjoyment of spending the win.

I have no idea what Rick is on about here

how long do you need to have between buying bonds and them being eligible for the draw ?

One full calender month.

So deposit in pb account near the end of one month (so you earn interest up to this point) then you miss the next draw, which would be a few days later, then you’ll be in the draw around 30 days later.

I’ll be re entering the pb game at the end of January so I’ll miss out on February’s (short month) interest earnings and be in the draw for March.

And because the bonds will be at the top of the pile Ernie will have a better chance of picking my bonds out. As mentioned earlier in the thread. Winky eye emoji!

Nothing yet again for me (I only have around £7k in there).

I have no idea what Rick is on about here

Actually, I think I’ve worked it out,  You aren’t using the automatic reinvestment thing are you? In which case it’s better to keep the prize in your own account until the end of the month rather than buy more as soon as you get it to get some interest before you buy. But the new ones will be eligible earlier if you use the reinvestment option

Naff all here.

“I think I asked for winnings to be paid into my bank account – how long does that typically take?”

Mine appears in my bank account on the 6th of the month.

Oh £100 this month on a full pot.

£225 this month, 5.8% return over the past year.

But the new ones will be eligible earlier if you use the reinvestment option

Any winnings will only be eligible for the draw when then have completed a full calender month in your account? So the government/ns&i will be earning on your winnings rather than yourself.

Either way, I enjoyed the winnings turning up in my bank account more than the amazingly small odds of actually winning something with a small prize.

For the next 2 months I’ll have £1/month in the draw. If I win a million I’ll be pleased/retiring!

Zero again.

£0 on a full pot.  Again.

Based on some slightly dodgy average balances across the year, my annual return is about 1.75%

Not great, but there’s actually not much in there now. I’m happy with that return for the gamble on winning my mortgage paid off.

£0 for me

£25 for my wife

Early retirement on hold once again

£250. 🙂

nowt for me.  first month of nothing

Friend of my parents won £25k last month!!!

DrP

50 quid here on max holding, ytd c5% so okish. I ll sell them if next month is the same.

£50 here on a holding of 14k-ish. Not great, but not terrible since it’s tax free and my ISA and savings interest allowance are maxed out.

Alternative strategy for those on the max pot.  Start January with £45k and get prizes paid as bonds then cash in winnings after December draw for Xmas spends.  Rinse and repeat.

Mrs S in the draw for the first time and comes up with £100 and £1,000

£100 on a full pot this month.

Takes me to £2,600 for the year which I think is 5.2% return so I’ve done okay.

Might squeeze into the January draw before it all comes out to pay for expensive things 🙁

Alternative strategy for those on the max pot.  Start January with £45k and get prizes paid as bonds then cash in winnings after December draw for Xmas spends.

Great plan. Now, how do I find £45k before January?

On a more serious note, is it worth paying a lump into Premium Bonds? I know you can just withdraw your investment at anytime so no real risk but there seems to be a very mixed return.

Any winnings will only be eligible for the draw when then have completed a full calender month in your account? So the government/ns&i will be earning on your winnings rather than yourself.

No.

If for instance you won something on 1 December and had automatic reinvestment selected the new bonds would be eligible from January onwards. If you just bought new bonds on 1 December they would have to sit there for the whole of January and would be eligible from February onwards.

Im happy with £250 for me, although it’s a rather less scintillating £50 for Mrs Lawman this time around. Still a lot better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

And in response to a question earlier, I got my winnings last month on 8th Nov, so roughly a week into the month