Community Chat

[Sooner]

The bonds also reach a maximum at some point then no longer earn interest.  And you pay taxes on them at some point--either after they max out or you cash them if I remember.

[Sooner]

---

@occasionalrain wrote:

@Sooner  That's true, interest isn't what it used to be.

---

@occasionalrain And if it goes up, so do loan rates as many of my vintage can testify.  I remember home loans 14 to 18 percent.  Yikes.  

[millieshops]

@Sooner  Interest is due when our bonds expire or sooner if you cash them in before maturity.

I started following the bond info carefully in the 1980s when when mother died and part of my inheritance turned out to be bonds.  Had some I purchased myself to defer taxation.  Pretty funny since my tax rate has never declined!   And the under 1% bonds?  I received several of those as a gift.  They did earn more in some years, but they pretty much track what banks pay for their short-term accounts.  Those I cashed and reinvested long before their maturity.

[suzyQ3]

---

@Sooner wrote:

---

@occasionalrain wrote:

@Sooner  That's true, interest isn't what it used to be.

---

@occasionalrain And if it goes up, so do loan rates as many of my vintage can testify.  I remember home loans 14 to 18 percent.  Yikes.  

---

@Sooner, so do I. I think that was close to the percent we paid for the mortage on our first house. Of course, we refinanced several times over the years.

But this is the reason that I roll my eyes when I hear people griping about any slight uptick.

[Marp]

https://treasurydirect.gov/BC/SBCPrice

You will need to provide the series, denomination and issue date.

[RedTop]

@occasionalrain 

Yes to your bank being able to tell you what the bonds are worth, and yes to hospitals doing footprints of all newborns.

One of my daughters had the bank figure up the value of her bonds recently.  She liked the amount, but decided not to cash them in right now.   

[BirkiLady]

Check with your tax accountant before cashing them at one time. They are worth their face value, but the interest now accrued is very low.

The money (after taxes) and should be invested elsewhere. Probably a wise decision at the time, but if you have a lot of them you may face a hefty tax burden when cashing them in at once. Be very careful; it may take several years to keep from going into the next tax bracket. Your tax preparer will give you excellent advice on how much to cash in each year.

Then, reinvest the money again and pay taxes on the dividends annually. 

[occasionalrain]

Thank you, one and all. I now know more about bonds then I did this time yesterday.

We complain about the BB, often deserved, but no matter the topic, all of us know we can come here and get help.

[Cats3000]

Depends on when the bonds were issued.  Old bonds earned a much higher interest.  The fascination with bonds was that they were "safe" and consistent.  I had some decades ago.  Don't have any now.

[Lipstickdiva]

You can go to Treasury Direct on-line and there is a savings bond calculator.  You can find out what your bonds are worth.  You need the information from the bond.

The rate now on newly issued bonds is horrible but bonds issued previously may carry a better intereste rate.  Your series EE bonds will keep the interest rate they had when issued.

I deal with bonds for work on a fairly regular basis.  I just had to send some on to be liquidated and the interest rate was 4.5% but I know I've seen higher for older issued bonds.