Jim at Bargaineering has a great post explaining why now is a good time to buy some Series I Bonds. It reminded me I hadn't bought any bonds in several years, and hadn't even checked how much interest I'd earned in quite a long time. So I went through the lengthy log-in process at Treasury Direct (it's set up to be extremely secure, with various access codes and security questions required), and was pleased to see I had over $140 more interest than I had the last time I checked, and I also moved $5,000 out of a couple of savings accounts to purchase additional bonds, bringing my purchases up to $8,000 in online-only bonds, and a $1,000 paper bond sitting in my fireproof box at home. The total value of these is currently $10,196.80 with the interest I've earned. I think I may start buying these a bit more aggressively, as I'm sitting on too much cash earning almost zero interest. I now have bonds that are old enough to redeem without penalty, so I could access the money if I needed it. Earning over 3%, and even more for the next few months, is very attractive right now!
If you haven't bought bonds before, check out TreasuryDirect.gov for more info.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Just Bought Some I-Bonds
Labels:
bonds,
interest rates,
investing,
saving
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3 comments:
Timely post. I'm tired of earning almost nothing from savings, money market accounts, and CD's. There are few good options for savings right now! I might look into the I-bond. Thanks!
Hmm this is the first time I'm hearing about I-bonds. Is this something you should look into after you've built up a substantial emergency fund?
Consider preferred stock ETFs like PFF at over 6% interest.
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