Premium Bonds

A question about : Premium Bonds

Hi People...Great forum!

Just wondered what your thoughts on Premium Bonds are??

I've had Ј10k's worth for a year and only won Ј50

Anyone on here had any decent prizes??

Many thanks

Grebbo

Best answers:

• I believe I have Ј2000 worth of premium bonds since I was 18 (am now 25). I have so far won Ј50x2 and Ј1000.
  So all in all has been a good investment.
• Discussed here
  https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi...num=1047132240
• D'oh...thanks for that
  I did a search but didn't come accross that post :
• It's ok, we're nice to newbies.
  When you've been around a while, we'll get brutal.
• I'm a newbie too, please be gentle
  My parents have the maximum Ј30k holdings of Premium Bonds and I think they win Ј50 quite regularly ;D
  I used to play the National Lottery, but I never won a
  thing, so I don't buy tickets any more.
  I am hoping to buy some Premium Bonds soon, and
  wait with anticipation :-[
  In short, I think they are a good investment.
  Leia
• Due to the rise in interest rates Ernie recently announced he would be increasing the number of prizes.
• i had Ј20,000 and cashed them in i know you never lose your money but the odds of winning a million is one billion too one. in a year i won about Ј250 in50
• Just received Ј50 through the post this morning from Ernie 8)
  I think the odds to win Ј50 is something like 24,000/ 1
• I got Ј100 this morning . Just in time for the bar bill for tomorrow's England game
• Wow! This month's Ј1 million pound winner owns only Ј17 worth of Premium Bonds, apparently bought in 1959. There's hope for us all yet. The odds of her winning were 1.4 billion to one. At that rate I should be collecting the jackpot prize on my Ј2 worth of PBs in, ooo lets see, some time around 2375 AD. :
• Sorry to be a nag, but Premium Bonds are really a waste of money [IMO]
  The reason? Basically the cost of the larger prizes is borne by a reduction in the 'average' payout for anyone not winning a large prize. So the 'expected return' on a large holding would typically be 10% less than it might be if all prizes were of equal value.
  This is why having a large holding (and so having a realisitic chance of regularly winning a prize) comes at a 'cost' - let's say about 10% of the 'interest' the same holding would achieve in one of National Savings alternative tax-free savings acounts.
  It seems to me that 'investors' in Premium Bonds don't appreciate this (or it is never pointed out to them by NS&I) and think that Premium Bonds are almost a 'free bet'.
  Assuming you can get 3.5% tax-free on Ј30,000 (Ј1050) then you will 'on average' get maybe Ј100 less than this in Premium Bond prizes. This is the real 'premium' in Premium Bonds >
  [If you have to have any then my advice is only hold the minimum and forget about it]
• Well, it's a gamble. You gamble the interest you could earn on the hope of winning more. If you like to gamble, it is actually one of the safer ways to do it, because your principal is safe. But to call it investing is pretty questionable.
• It looks like this months big winner only has Ј17 worth of premium bonds bought in 1950's ;D
• I have had 10k invested for the past year, Have won Ј450 so far, all in Ј50 increments.
  David.
• I've had a tenner's worth since my first birthday. I'm now almost 26 and I've won !!!!!! all. At least, not that my mother has told me. Hmmmmm.....maybe that's where she got the money for that Aston Martin......
  MattLG
• Having just read https://www.thisismoney.com/20040819/si81600.html I am tempted to buy Ј100 of Premium Bonds each month and hope to reach the Ј30,000 limit eventually .
  It will only take me 25 years;D. But, of course, I could add my expected Ј50 prizes now and again .
  Leia
• Don't forget to buy them at the end of the month as they don't go into the draw until the month after you've bought them.
  No point in them sitting on your money when you can leave it in a savings account for the best part of a month.
• They've got their fans and they've got their critics but I thought the following was worth a mention:
  You can now pay into Premium Bonds monthly by standing order (min. Ј50 per month).
  Details here or by calling NS&I on 0845 964 5000.
• I invested Ј29,500 between Jan 04 and Aug 04 and won Ј300 in total, I cashed them in, in Sept 04 as they were just not worth it.
  I've left Ј1500 behind for the 'chance' win.