I like them as a place to hold the rainy day fund. Relatively easily accessible without penalty, tax free, the returns are decent and a chance (albeit very slim) of a big prize. There's nothing else that offers quite the same mix on the market.
max amount in, last 12 months winnings total £550 ( and that inc £350 one month )this month was only £25, 3 months with nil winnings, crap return you don't have to tell me !, but its that hope against all odds of a big winand the fact i can at least get my money back should i need it.
Good start to the year for me, with 5 prizes totaling £450.
Wife drew money out to pay for new car so circa £35k holding, 2 prizes this month totalling £1050, hoping this is the start of something of a great year.
Had the max holding for a few years and generally got something every month with winnings roughly equal to the prize fund %. The increased prize fund has coincided with three blank months out of the last five!!
Last 6 months prizes total £350 - approx equivalent to 1.4% pa. See what next month brings!
Last edited by David_D; 4th January 2024 at 20:24.
Got my best win today of £100, I’m very happy with that.
I really like the excitement of the Prize Checker telling me I’ve won and I just need to press that button to reveal my fortune, normally deflated to see £25, not this time though.
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I have the maximum holding and won three prizes of £100 each this month, the best result I've had in a while.
I've got £35k invested in June last year. Not impressed at all so far.
3 monthly wins of £100, 2 monthly wins of £25 & one month with no win.
My IFA said invest the £50k max, but based on experience so far, I've not bothered.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
I’ve got the maximum holding and have had £50 per month the last few months which wasn’t good but £475 this month which is a bit better!
To be honest, I don’t see them as a great investment but as a readily accessible way of investing tax free they work quite well.
That's not how it works!Originally Posted by andy tims
So how does it work?
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
If you invest over a long enough period you'll get on average something like a 6% (or whatever it is) return.
Can't really decide it's not a good investment after a few months.
lol a girl I know was saying she has not won a bean in 40 odd years. Then told us She has one bond
My mum bought me a few bonds when i was a youngster as a gift/investment incentive.lol a girl I know was saying she has not won a bean in 40 odd years. Then told us She has one bond
This is how you used to get them - a paper certificate.
These particular ones (bought while on holiday in Swanage by the look of it!) have been eligible for ~642 draws and have produced approximately............. zero wins!
Myself and the Mrs have been experimenting with PB`s for the last few years, mainly as a bit of fun (the monthly draws are something we anticipate) and while i got dissillusioned with the prizes (despite having a full house for part of the time) invested elsewhere for a guaranteed return while the wife has had much better luck especially recently after the prize fund was increased.
She seems to get much more regular and larger prizes since then, she`s got over 1k on at least two draws last year and multiple hundreds most months bettering the current 4.65% rate.
She is maxed out and has funds in offsprings` account as well,though....
They`re a bit of fun while retaining quick access if needed, it`s the lure of a big win that keeps folk holding on to them when perhaps you`d get a better return elsewhere..
Last edited by E_2_Right-Force; 6th January 2024 at 17:12.
4.65% payout rate but you’d be lucky to get even that. It’s a poor investment which is explained in a link posted up thread.
Now you can get decent returns on a money market fund these seem a poor place for you money.
If you want a long shot gamble there are plenty of lotteries.
The 6% was just a guess TBH.
Not commenting on whether it's a good 'investment', just pointing out that no-one should decide after 'trying' it for a few months.
Some misleading information posted above.
It`s only the last 10 months or so that interest rates have risen to a useful level from the pitiful lows of recent years so while they were that low you might as well have put your ££ into PB`s and hoped for the best.
But not now.
Maybe.
NSandI were offering 6.2% for one year a month or so back (taxed)..
Interest rates will shoot down soon enough so PBs will remain attractive.
And then they reduce the PB rate…swings and roundabouts
The old man scooped £1500 this month and a few hundred last month too. Overall for the year to date he's netted circa £2k. That's on a holding of £40k.
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Rate being reduced to 4.4% in March.
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February prizes for me equivalent to 1.8% pa!
The statistical chance of the poor run I’ve had of late must be the same as the chances of winning the big prize!!
£450 for me this month. Helpful as my newly purchased "project" FFRR '53 is being MOTd next week!
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Snap. Same for us.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
£725 this month, closes my year at about 5.4%
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A paltry 50 for me but all good.
7 prizes this month - total £350 (full amount invested)
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£25 for me, just to add some balance lol
I always balance the disappointment of a poor month with optimism it might bring an over average next time.
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RIAC
Indeed I'm at 1% return for this calendar year so far, still on track 👍
U
How many bonds do you hold?
And me. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick
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Down to normal this month at £50 but always better than FA.
£925 in 2023, so about 1/3 towards another dental implant coming my way.
£150 so far in 2024.
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4% on my daughters PB pot in 2023.
She won £100 in the latest draw but that’s the biggest amount. It’s usually £25.
I have £10k to do something with, think premium bonds are worth it with just £10k? Or stick it in a easy access with 4.8%
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Depends on what your total savings/investment income is for the tax year. If it’ll be under the threshold )£1000 for lower rate tax payers and £500 for higher rate), you are far better to put it in an online savings account. Monzo currently give 4.6% and Metrobank give 5.1%. If you are going to end up over the limit, the taxman will be taking 40% which reduces your effective interest rate to 3%….premium bonds become a better prospect in that case because the median percentage win is 3.5%.
To really make PB`s worth while you need to maximise your chances and have a full house really, i think you`ll be dissapointed with the amount of draws with 10k worth where you `win` nothing.
It really is the luck of the draw though, a winner in the latest draw bought £150 worth only last June and won 100K this month.
Do it for a bit of fun if it`s just spare cash hanging around doing nothing - you never know - but you`d probably be better off with the guaranteed 4.8%.
The above is spot on in my opinion.
The fun element is the clincher for me. Genuine excitement checking the prize checker app at the beginning of the month.
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A £10,400 total holding won a million this month.
Jammy bugger eh!
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