[Finance] Premium Bonds - prize pool increased again - you ever have any luck?

[CaptainDaveUK]

Zero for a few months on the bounce, so not great, although I’m quite relaxed about it. Can’t even remember how much is in there. Maybe £7K, so hardly going to win that often. Biggest I’ve had is £100, be nice to get a big prize one day but not banking on it.

 

[kjgood]

£50 this month

 

[Denis]

£50 for me this month, but probably going to reduce holding and put into a high interest ISA.

 

[Mustafa II]

Zero for a few months on the bounce, so not great, although I’m quite relaxed about it. Can’t even remember how much is in there. Maybe £7K, so hardly going to win that often. Biggest I’ve had is £100, be nice to get a big prize one day but not banking on it.

With £7k, you should be average a prize every 3-4 months.

 

[Rowdey]

Good month.. £300 on £35k. Wife got £125 on £50k..

 

[arewethereyet?]

June £300
July £300
August £200

on a 26k holding, so far about a grand won this year.
happy with that.

 

[BN41Albion]

What a handy thread for folk to subtly or not so subtly show off how much they have in savings

 

[Colonel Mustard]

I’ve posted this before on a previous thread, but I borrowed £5k to put towards my current car whilst the interest rates were low, and put the £5k I had saved into PB’s. It was an experiment to see if I could win more than the interest I would have to pay over the 3 year loan term. Anyway, I’ve made at least 3 times the interest on the loan and still have 7 months to go.
As interest rates are creeping up, I suspect ISA’s and whatnot will become better earners, but PB’s have worked ok for me. And it’s been a bit of fun checking the app once a month around the 3rd or 4th

You’ve been lucky, well done. The effective 'interest rate' of Premium Bonds based on average winnings is something below 2%. Anyone able to transfer money into a savings account or ISA can get a guaranteed rate of more than 6% at the moment.

 

[dazzer6666]

You’ve been lucky, well done. The effective 'interest rate' of Premium Bonds based on average winnings is something below 2%. Anyone able to transfer money into a savings account or ISA can get a guaranteed rate of more than 6% at the moment.

It’s 4%

 

[Colonel Mustard]

It’s 4%

Ok, fair enough, I see that NS&I has increased the prize fund to 4%. But (and it’s my fault for using a phrase like 'effective interest rate') this isn’t the equivalent of an annual rate because it’s obviously not guaranteed, and in fact most PB investors will gain less than that, particularly if they don’t have a big stake in Bonds. Martin Lewis explains this much better than me, about how for one person to earn more than the average, a much larger number of people have to earn less than the average, but his conclusion is that for a majority of people, Premium Bonds are a poor investment. What they offer instead is hope. Like buying a lottery ticket, you agree to the statistical likelihood of you losing money in exchange for the off-chance that you might win big. Despite lottery tickets being a poor investment, I confess to occasionally buying one for the reason outlined! Most of us don’t invest rationally.

 

[dazzer6666]

Ok, fair enough, I see that NS&I has increased the prize fund to 4%. But (and it’s my fault for using a phrase like 'effective interest rate') this isn’t the equivalent of an annual rate because it’s obviously not guaranteed, and in fact most PB investors will gain less than that, particularly if they don’t have a big stake in Bonds. Martin Lewis explains this much better than me, about how for one person to earn more than the average, a much larger number of people have to earn less than the average, but his conclusion is that for a majority of people, Premium Bonds are a poor investment. What they offer instead is hope. Like buying a lottery ticket, you agree to the statistical likelihood of you losing money in exchange for the off-chance that you might win big. Despite lottery tickets being a poor investment, I confess to occasionally buying one for the reason outlined! Most of us don’t invest rationally.

In isolation perhaps yes, but they are useful as part of a balanced portfolio, particularly if you have already used up your ISA allowance So can’t obtain the headline rates bandied about. Winnings are also tax free and the investment is very liquid and 100% safe.

 

[dolphins]

Ok, fair enough, I see that NS&I has increased the prize fund to 4%. But (and it’s my fault for using a phrase like 'effective interest rate') this isn’t the equivalent of an annual rate because it’s obviously not guaranteed, and in fact most PB investors will gain less than that, particularly if they don’t have a big stake in Bonds. Martin Lewis explains this much better than me, about how for one person to earn more than the average, a much larger number of people have to earn less than the average, but his conclusion is that for a majority of people, Premium Bonds are a poor investment. What they offer instead is hope. Like buying a lottery ticket, you agree to the statistical likelihood of you losing money in exchange for the off-chance that you might win big. Despite lottery tickets being a poor investment, I confess to occasionally buying one for the reason outlined! Most of us don’t invest rationally.

But you don't lose money? You can get back your investment in full whenever you like. A lottery ticket is the opposite.

 

[Steve Foster]

As an Independent Financial Advice practice in Worthing, we presented a cheque for £1m to one lucky local winner last year.

In my 27 years as an IFA it is the first time that I have met a Premium Bond winner, but with only 24 prizes a year getting the top prize, those odds seem about right

 

[Marshy]

As an Independent Financial Advice practice in Worthing, we presented a cheque for £1m to one lucky local winner last year.

In my 27 years as an IFA it is the first time that I have met a Premium Bond winner, but with only 24 prizes a year getting the top prize, those odds seem about right

Really, they don't send an National Savings employee out anymore to do it ? they did when i won

 

[Colonel Mustard]

In isolation perhaps yes, but they are useful as part of a balanced portfolio, particularly if you have already used up your ISA allowance So can’t obtain the headline rates bandied about. Winnings are also tax free and the investment is very liquid and 100% safe.

You make your own investment decisions, absolutely. It’s not my preference but YMMV. You can get more than 6% on non-ISA savings though of course you’d pay tax on the interest.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

But you don't lose money? You can get back your investment in full whenever you like. A lottery ticket is the opposite.

Well, you actually lose money as inflation is high. Unless you win one of the bigger prizes, or a large number of smaller ones, you will always get back less than you invest. Same principle for a lottery ticket really, except you agree to lose all your money in exchange for a higher reward if you win big. The classic risk-reward relationship.

 

[LamieRobertson]

You make your own investment decisions, absolutely. It’s not my preference but YMMV. You can get more than 6% on non-ISA savings though of course you’d pay tax on the interest.

Not much more than 6…..maybe 6.1/2 before tax and use of PIA…and it’ll be a fixed term…say 1 or 2 years without access

 

[LamieRobertson]

Really, they don't send a National Savings employee out anymore to do it ? they did when i won

Someone from the Post Office visited when i last won £25

 

[dazzer6666]

Well, you actually lose money as inflation is high. Unless you win one of the bigger prizes, or a large number of smaller ones, you will always get back less than you invest. Same principle for a lottery ticket really, except you agree to lose all your money in exchange for a higher reward if you win big. The classic risk-reward relationship.

As you do with cash + interest as long as the rate of inflation is higher than your interest rate.

 

[Marshy]

Someone from the Post Office visited when i last won £25

haha, the national savings employee went to my home, then came to my work to find me..