Just opened two treasury direct accounts, one for me and one for DW. Going to start by funding each with $10k of ibonds. It’s small potatoes but it’s still a good deal IMO.
Yup. We've been throwing $20K at them since 2013.
The purchase limit is a bummer, but they're better than a sharp stick in the eye.
Chinese bonds IMHO, you would be better off buying VWOB, yield >4% with much more reliable creditors.The funds have a nice performance record and use derivatives as part of their portfolio. Probably options (low percentage of total) to hedge, and the fact sheet I looked at even had some Chinese bonds (1.99% coupon).
The A & C Investor funds have about the same construction and nearly the same performance and are OK for slugs like me as the minimums are reasonable.
I'm looking for ballast such as this. Thanks for posting the link!
I'm going to spend some time looking harder at the funds this weekend.
But seriously, back in the early 00's when we bought our stash of I bonds (you know, back when they actually paid some interest ) we purchased ours at a BANK. IIRC one could also cash them back IN at a BANK. Does anyone know if that is still possible. My guess is "no." Not looking forward to setting up an account with Treasury just to cash them in within 10 years or so now. YMMV
I have $70k + accumulated interest in a $10k/yr I-Bond ladder. I stopped buying them a few years back when interest rates rose and money markets started paying a better, or at least easier, yield. I'm thinking of starting up again as I'm holding a lot of cash (hoarding pre-retirement) and it's earning nothing. Does anyone know if you can "back purchase" a 2021 I-Bond? In other words, if I have $20k to invest, can I still get a bond for last year + this year, or has 2021 sailed on by me?
I'm 98% sure you can't. You don't get the 1/1 -> 4/15 window for prior year contributions like you do with IRAs.
Yeah, that is exactly what I was hoping for, but not surprised that it isn't allowed. Drat.You don't get the 1/1 -> 4/15 window for prior year contributions like you do with IRAs.
My credit union has been cashing mine for years. When my older children were in school, twice a year I would cash in a stack (average of 2 bonds purchased every pay period). The interest is federal income tax free for qualified education expenses like tuition and fees. They are state income tax free as well. I still have a bunch of the 1998s to 2002s as they had the nice fixed rate components. My youngest starts college this fall. I'll be a little sad when I cash out the ones with the best rates. I also purchased some treasury direct bonds online and found it fairly easy to transfer amounts to a bank account.
Thanks, I'll ask my bank and CU when I get a chance. No desire to cash them at this time, but that was my original plan - to cash them as needed at a bank.
DH and I have about $50,000 in EE’s and I bonds. I bought the I bonds early 2000’s but EE’s were bought in the 1980’s through 1990’s. We now have two grandsons 4 years and 18 months and this topic got me thinking about buying $10,000 or $20,000 for each in I bonds towards college. Thoughts?
My experience is that cashing them (wholly or partially) online is very easy.
Agree!!Yes. Very easy. Immediate deposit to your bank account already linked. I didn’t have to interact with the back. All done via treasurydirect.gov.
You have to go online the next year to get your 1099-INT.
DH and I have about $50,000 in EE’s and I bonds. I bought the I bonds early 2000’s but EE’s were bought in the 1980’s through 1990’s. We now have two grandsons 4 years and 18 months and this topic got me thinking about buying $10,000 or $20,000 for each in I bonds towards college. Thoughts?
DH and I have about $50,000 in EE’s and I bonds. I bought the I bonds early 2000’s but EE’s were bought in the 1980’s through 1990’s. We now have two grandsons 4 years and 18 months and this topic got me thinking about buying $10,000 or $20,000 for each in I bonds towards college. Thoughts?
No experience but I thought you get paper I Bonds with tax refunds, so they won't show up in your account.Does anyone know how long it takes for tax refund to show up in treasury direct account if you choose to purchase Ibonds with your refund? I had the small deposit based on having to buy in $50 increments show up in my bank account yesterday.
No experience but I thought you get paper I Bonds with tax refunds, so they won't show up in your account.
Yes, that was my experience. Paper bonds in the mail. You can then register them with your treasury direct account.
Sure, but you can say that for almost every investment type. Maybe some people want to hedge their bets somewhat on inflation protection. Or maybe they want to get their feet wet. Certainly 10% TIPS is better than 0% for inflation protection. Meanwhile, stocks provide some hedge on inflation as well, so it's not like TIPS and I Bonds are the only inflation hedge.DW and I believe that serious inflation protection is a "Go big or go home" kind of thing. I don't know what real protection people get with the 5%-10% kind of holdings that are sometimes mentioned.
Well, bonds don't provide inflation protection. And the connection between stocks and inflation is laggy and tenuous. For example, consumer discretionary is not going to do well if we get high inflation but agriculture and natural resources probably will if our exports become cheaper. Gold and PMs over the very long term are proven inflation protection but their volatility is high even in calm times. I have no interest in trying to ride that bucking bronco if we get the late 70s, early 80s inflation. But I don't see any reason to rely on laggy and tenuous options when I have TIPS serving up much more reliable protections (sans the tax bite of course.) So yes, TIPS are not the only inflation hedge but I think they are arguably the best because they are the most reliable. We have about five years' spending in TIPS, so we can ride out a storm pretty well I think. And we have a lot more in equities so if that horse starts to run well we are already aboard.Sure, but you can say that for almost every investment type. Maybe some people want to hedge their bets somewhat on inflation protection. Or maybe they want to get their feet wet. Certainly 10% TIPS is better than 0% for inflation protection. Meanwhile, stocks provide some hedge on inflation as well, so it's not like TIPS and I Bonds are the only inflation hedge.
That said, I'm well over 10% TIPS.