# Premium Bonds



## jowwy (4 Aug 2021)

I'm starting to put money in monthly......how many premium bonds have people got and are you finding them worth it??

TIA


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## DaveReading (4 Aug 2021)

Good article here:

Premium Bonds: are they worth it? - MoneySavingExpert


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## Brandane (4 Aug 2021)

jowwy said:


> how many premium bonds have people got


Are people really going to share this information with random strangers on-line? 
I have some PB's and I am happy with them. I look on them as having multiple lottery tickets but you get to keep the stake money. And with the current interest rates available in bank savings accounts, and even ISA's (does that stand for Interest-free Savings Account?), they are a reasonable alternative.


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## welsh dragon (4 Aug 2021)

I have some PB's as well. So far I have got more money Per month form them than I could ever get in interest rates from any banks.

But I only have them due to the dire interest rates from banks. If that changes then I will move what I have to a better deal.


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## potsy (4 Aug 2021)

Had my PBs for around 12 months and have only received 2 x £25 prizes so far, certainly not enough to get me to the 1% rate.

Will stick with them as there's bugger all else available without risk.


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## CanucksTraveller (4 Aug 2021)

I have a smallish amount that were bought for me when I was born, they've never won anything and I'm approaching 50 now. 
My main savings just sit in a bank, it doesn't make anything there either but I don't view savings as investments, they're more like an insurance. No doubt you can make a bit off your savings if you invest wisely but it's never struck me as being especially lucrative at the kind of numbers we'd be talking about here.


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## ianrauk (4 Aug 2021)

I have a fair amount in PB's stashed. It's not for making money rather then somewhere to put my saved money.


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## welsh dragon (4 Aug 2021)

I have made about £175 in the last 8 months so I am quite happy with that.


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## jowwy (4 Aug 2021)

Brandane said:


> Are people really going to share this information with random strangers on-line?
> I have some PB's and I am happy with them. I look on them as having multiple lottery tickets but you get to keep the stake money. And with the current interest rates available in bank savings accounts, and even ISA's (does that stand for Interest-free Savings Account?), they are a reasonable alternative.


was looking at was it high, medium, low....not actually monetry value, but its to what people would like to share

in a PB v ISA thread people have actually stated how much in money they have invested, so obviously its not a biggy for them, i mean they are not sharing their address and bank details


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## Brandane (4 Aug 2021)

jowwy said:


> in a PB v ISA thread people have actually stated how much in money they have invested, so obviously its not a biggy for them, i mean they are not sharing their address and bank details


I wasn't really considering it from a security point of view. More like humility, something sadly lacking in the modern "look at me; look what I've got," willy waving society. Quite a bit of it goes on on this very forum. I wouldn't even discuss my financial situation with close family members. No-one's business but mine. Heading off topic though, so back to PB's......


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## Flick of the Elbow (4 Aug 2021)

I bought a lump sum of PB’s earlier in the year, basically my year’s pension withdrawal. I chose PB’s because they are safe and I can easily cash some of them in as needed. Plus they have the extra fun of a potential big win. Hasn’t happened so far, just two £25 wins, but that’s ok, mainly I just need them to be safe and available.


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## jowwy (4 Aug 2021)

Brandane said:


> I wasn't really considering it from a security point of view. More like humility, something sadly lacking in the modern "look at me; look what I've got," willy waving society. Quite a bit of it goes on on this very forum. I wouldn't even discuss my financial situation with close family members. No-one's business but mine. Heading off topic though, so back to PB's......


i will always get some sort of willy waving on forums or social media, back in the day it was boasting between mates, now its boasting all over the internet. You just have to accept that, even on here we boast with the N+1 scenario


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## Arrowfoot (4 Aug 2021)

There have been at least 2 threads on this and looking at a number of posts, I am just wondering if people are aware what it is.

It is not for you if 

You want a regular income 
You're looking for guaranteed returns 
You're concerned about inflation
You want to earn interest on your capital
The pool interest of 1% becomes prizes which was attractive in the past. 
The chances are 34,000 to one now. They has been at least one adjustment in terms of winning, so the chances have been reduced.

So in essence there is no mechanism to protect the value of your capital if there is inflation. So do not leave it there if that is going to be your reserve. 

As every £1 equates to 1 ticket. Have a small as capital to be part of the jackpot each month. £1K is fine. Who knows, you might touch the big one. Put the rest of your hard earned savings in various funds such as Vanguard etc.


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## MontyVeda (4 Aug 2021)

If I happen to have a couple of hundred left over from the previous payday, I'll bung it into my PBs. I don't have them to make money... it's just somewhere to put some savings that are just out of immediate reach. Rainy day cash


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## jowwy (4 Aug 2021)

Arrowfoot said:


> There have been at least 2 threads on this and looking at a number of posts, I am just wondering if people are aware what it is.
> 
> It is not for you if
> 
> ...


Luckily im not worried or concerned by any of the bullet points.


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## welsh dragon (4 Aug 2021)

Flick of the Elbow said:


> I bought a lump sum of PB’s earlier in the year, basically my year’s pension withdrawal. I chose PB’s because they are safe and I can easily cash some of them in as needed. Plus they have the extra fun of a potential big win. Hasn’t happened so far, just two £25 wins, but that’s ok, mainly I just need them to be safe and available.




That's why I bought some as they are safe and there is always the possibility of getting something each month which is better than nothing at the moment.


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## cougie uk (4 Aug 2021)

An elderly relative of mine has a couple of tens of thousands in their bank current account. 

I'm thinking that it might be an idea to get them to put at least half of that into PBs. 

I'm just very wary of these banking scam phone calls that so many people have fallen for. It'd be awful to lose so much for one mistake ?

PBs seem a safe place as any ?


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## SpokeyDokey (4 Aug 2021)

jowwy said:


> I'm starting to put money in monthly......how many premium bonds have people got and are you finding them worth it??
> 
> TIA



We use PB's as easy access money ilo of keeping it in a current a/c.

We have held money in PB's for 8 months now and based on what we have won so far (pitiful) we project 0.375% interest pa by the end of our first year.

Definitely better than a current a/c but a really long way below our Cash ISA's, Fixed Rate Bonds, Stock & Shares ISA's and SIPPS.

If you do not need easy access to the money then there are better places to invest it in.


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## jowwy (4 Aug 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> We use PB's as easy access money ilo of keeping it in a current a/c.
> 
> We have held money in PB's for 8 months now and based on what we have won so far (pitiful) we project 0.375% interest pa by the end of our first year.
> 
> ...


I would like to keep easy access to it, just in case…..cheers spokey


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## presta (4 Aug 2021)

There's a premium bond calculator here:
Premium Bond Probability Calculator. Unique tool predicts what you'll win plus NEW 'luck test' (moneysavingexpert.com)


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## Saluki (4 Aug 2021)

I have PBs. I won £25 not last November but the one before. Nothing since. Some months I add to the pot, some months not. It depends really.
I live in hope though.


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## roley poley (4 Aug 2021)

had nowt for years but this month won £100 ..4x£25 so a new chainring for the brommie as a treat to the gods of luck


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## biggs682 (5 Aug 2021)

We have some , not a lot else out there savings wise but bonds are safe and hopefully a win or two along the way


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## PaulSB (5 Aug 2021)

Over the decades we've held widely varying numbers. The biggest prize we've won was £500 perhaps 30 years ago. We still sleep in the bed that paid for.

I use PBs for our cash savings. Being retired we have 80% invested and 20% easy access cash. There's always the chance of a big win.

There have been times when for different reasons we've had large amounts of cash swilling around. At those times we've put it all in PBs. Ocassionally we've held the maximum in two accounts. In my experience with this level we usually won £125/150 per month. Annualised the return was around 1.4% which these days for cash is good.

I'd stress this was only ever on the very rare ocassions when we had things like pension lump sums kicking about awaiting investment etc.


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## Lozz360 (5 Aug 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Definitely better than a current a/c but a really long way below our Cash ISA's, Fixed Rate Bonds, Stock & Shares ISA's and SIPPS.
> 
> If you do not need easy access to the money then there are better places to invest it in.


Personally, I don’t have any PB’s, preferring Stocks & Shares ISAs and a SIPP for my investments. Yes, they give a better return, but I can understand why people prefer PB’s as there is no risk to the capital unlike S&S ISAs, etc.


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## jowwy (5 Aug 2021)

Well just had confirmation that the account is all set-up, so my premium bond journey begins......


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## PeteXXX (5 Aug 2021)

Last year, I was way above inflation on my PB's. This year, so far, about level with several months to go. 
As has been said, if inflation rises too much, I'll move out of them and find somewhere else to invest, maybe my AJ Bell account.


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## delb0y (5 Aug 2021)

SpokeyDokey said:


> ...we project 0.375% interest pa by the end of our first year.



Yep, that's about what I'm experiencing, too. There was talk on the news this evening that interest rates could start to edge up soon, so then there may be better options for easily accessible savings.


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## Scotchlovingcylist (7 Aug 2021)

I've had premium bonds for around 4 years now with varying amounts of cash when saving for my house or car etc.
I would guesstimate I've won around £300 total over them years however have had nothing the last 8 months or so and from what I gather the odds are less than they used to be.
My girlfriend has had hers alot longer and has around 3 times what I have in mine and seems to win £25 - £100 every few months, jammy bugger.
Its secure and I enjoy the lottery style of it every month wondering if it'll be a big win.
Interest rates in banks aren't worth it to me and I dont know enough about anything else to invest etc and like the money easily accessible.
I like them, that's all I can add


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## vickster (7 Aug 2021)

The full amount. I’ve never bothered really checking how much I’ve had, but something most months, just goes into current account, most was £75min a month. 
As above it‘s somewhere with no risk and accessible to have some savings (as well as instant access savings which really do make bugger all with no chance of more than bugger all)


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## Mike_P (7 Aug 2021)

I was quite regularly getting £25, last time was April; buying then seems to have decreased my winning chances


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## Chislenko (16 Aug 2021)

We received £150 between me and Mrs. C this month.

Not a fortune but more than the interest on our ISA's so won't complain.


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## Legs (17 Aug 2021)

Mrs L won a grand about a year ago...


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## user00856 (24 Aug 2021)

The accepted threshold is that you need about £15,000 worth to be in with a realistic shout of winning on a regular basis. That fits with my experience; nothing until it crept over 15k then regular and more frequent wins as the balance increased. I keep something in the 30's k in PB and am disappointed if there's no win in any given month, usually it's 2, 3, or occasionally 4 x £25 wins. Rough man-maths shows that it's returning about 2%, so not bad compared to a savings account, and there's always the chance - slimmer than slim can be - of a big win with no loss of capital.


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## Tenkaykev (24 Aug 2021)

user00856 said:


> The accepted threshold is that you need about £15,000 worth to be in with a realistic shout of winning on a regular basis. That fits with my experience; nothing until it crept over 15k then regular and more frequent wins as the balance increased. I keep something in the 30's k in PB and am disappointed if there's no win in any given month, usually it's 2, 3, or occasionally 4 x £25 wins. Rough man-maths shows that it's returning about 2%, so not bad compared to a savings account, and there's always the chance - slimmer than slim can be - of a big win with no loss of capital.


So that’s where my winning are going ! 😉 The statistical returns should be about 1% since the recent reduction in the prize fund. I too was ahead, but recently have had several months without a prize bringing me back towards the mean.


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## potsy (24 Aug 2021)

Tenkaykev said:


> So that’s where my winning are going ! 😉 The statistical returns should be about 1% since the recent reduction in the prize fund. I too was ahead, but recently have had several months without a prize bringing me back towards the mean.


Mine too! 
7 months of diddly squat!


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## Salty seadog (24 Aug 2021)

potsy said:


> Mine too!
> 7 months of diddly squat!



Stick another £25 in. You'll be golden.


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## Tenkaykev (24 Aug 2021)

Salty seadog said:


> Stick another £25 in. You'll be golden.


I’ve selected “ reinvest prizes” so any winnings immediately go into the following months draw. Now just need to wait for that £Million to drop…


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## MontyVeda (3 Feb 2022)

12 months since i began stashing my spare cash in PBs and just got my first £25 win... which is equivalent to almost 2% interest


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## Chislenko (3 Feb 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> 12 months since i began stashing my spare cash in PBs and just got my first £25 win... which is equivalent to almost 2% interest



Hopefully with the interest rate rises they may make the prize pot a bit bigger. I've had a not bad run of late with some £50's and a £75. Like you this month though just £25.

I am surprised they haven't raised the investment limit if you believe all these reports about "lockdown savings" swilling around in people's Bank accounts.


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## Jenkins (3 Feb 2022)

I'd also like to see them drop one of the £1million prizes and have more of the smaller ones instead - something like 2000 extra £50 prizes or 1000 x £100.


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## MontyVeda (3 Feb 2022)

Jenkins said:


> I'd also like to see them drop one of the £1million prizes and have more of the smaller ones instead - something like 2000 extra £50 prizes or 1000 x £100.


There's well over a hundred billion PBs; three thousand extra prizes would be a mathematical problem way beyond my capabilities, but i reckon the odds of winning would alter by something in the region of zilch


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## Mike_P (4 Feb 2022)

Indeed and having bought more my win rate has plummeted Did get £25 this month.


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