Premium Bonds…..why, oh why…

Nowt, zilch, dim byd, nada

I have won £25 this month and it is always exciting to win. The bank is paying nothing on my savings so this is always a bonus. I saved up my premium bond wins to go for a wonderful meal in Edinburgh last month. Lovely memories made!

My dh bought £5 worth of Ernies in the mid 60s, and promptly won £25.

We used to have the max holding each, when it was less than now, and used to win about the same as we’d have got in an instant access savings a/c. And tax free on top.
All cashed in a while ago, though, to help dds with house purchases.

After what D1012 said, I’m tempted to start a monthly direct debit! I used to enjoy checking each month, so I do miss that.

www.nsandi.com/get-to-know-us/quicker-prizes

I presume everyone that bought bonds for themselves, children, gc etc. over the past 50+ years has let NSI know every time you moved house. The amount of warrants returned to Ernie marked not known at this address amounts to millions in unclaimed prizes.

For info Ernie got phased out a couple of years ago its now a computer developed by a Swiss company that generates all the numbers in 10 mins a week before the end of the month.

I went through a phase of not winning so cashed in and bought again. Then started winning regularly again. However I do keep a note of those bonds that win (usually buy 3k lots) and if any don't come out in a year I cash in and buy again. I have never won big but I do win regularly, £50 this month.

www.nsandi.com/help/lost-touch-with-nsandi/check-unclaimed-prizes

My bonds pay out every single month. They provide me, over a 12 month period, with more interest than I would ever get from any other source.
They are not my only source of capital growth but they are by far the best.

If you have the maxmum (£50K) you should average about £50 per month. Some months you won't get anything and some months you will get more. Most wins are £25 and the odds of winning with one bond are 1 in 24,000. There is the chance of a big win if you are lucky. Equivalent to an interest rate of just over 1%.

Well, in 1966 I bought 5 Premium Bonds from Gloucester Road Post Office, they have brought me Zilch!!!

I'm a bit of a nerd in keeping records of my wins! Those over the last 2 years have been, by year purchased, as followed -
1994 (year purchased) - 1
1998 - 1
2000 - 1
2001 - 1
2004 - 3
2005 - 10
2006 - 2
2014 - 4
2015 - 7
2016 - 4

Only one has been £100, the rest all £25. I've got the full £50.000 purchased between 1994 to 2016.

The reason why more recent winners seem to be successful is that they have a larger percentage of bonds held in comparison to those purchased in previous years.

But in the end you only need one bond to win!

Rumpunch

There are far fewer of the older bonds still in the draw as people cash them in. When you die then your heirs can keep them for a year but then have to cash them in. Loads of the original purchasers will probably have died by now reducing the amount of them in the draw. I still have the £1 bond my Nan bought me in 1958, it was worth far more than £1 today.

thisismoney.co.uk informs me that £1 in 1958 is now worth about £25. I like my old 1956 bond as it's a souvenir of my childhood!

I also have premium bonds purchased in 1970.
Never one a penny either.

I have had a couple of hundred since they started - never won a thing ????

How do you find out if you have won? I have had a premium bond sice birth ( 64 yrs ago ) £1 was worth a lot more then !!! To my knowledge I have never won anything.

The reason that the early bonds don’t generally win prizes Is that they are such small amounts. A £1 bond from 1960 is unlikely to win, a lot more bonds have been bought much more recently, during lockdown huge sums of money was invested with some people saving more than almost ever before. Many people have £50,000 in Premium Bonds so they have many, many more chances of a win than someone with only a few. I love the security of Premium Bonds with the chance of a big win however remote. Almost every mont I have a “ win “ sometimes two or three but really it should count as interest.

at the end of september i increased my holding to the maximum and waited with baited breath till the first eligible draw in november.
with high hopes (and crossed fingers!) i checked the nsi site thinking how my win of thousands could be spent, spend it all on myself or maybe a down payment on a house for my daughter, the possibilities were endless. i entered my details, quickly opened the relevant page and wait for it, 500,000, no chance, but i did get 3 x 25 which is 75 more than catman had and at least it has got me more than i would have had for the year had i left it in my savings account,
hey ho, roll on next month and carry on dreaming in the meantime!!

Kateykrunch, that is because there are hundreds more £25 prizes . The less the prizes are worth the more of them there are.

Never won a penny and have had them all my life!!

We win some thing most months. Most bonds bought in 90s. Had a couple of bigger ones.£500. Also had an unexpected £25 towards end of month recently and then long after a letter saying that there had been a redraw ref invalid wins (people cashing in)!!??

We received a letter addressed to someone who used to live in this house many years ago. By chance I knew where the person now lives so popped it through the door.

The lady came round to thank me as there was a cheque for £50 in the envelope!

Do you have to check if you win, surely they contact you if they have your correct details??

We do the post code lottery every so often we win £10. We only pay that in so we are just getting back what we put in. Ha ha

My parents brought me a £6 premium bond when I was born in 1958. I have won 2 x £25 . The last time 34 years ago . I was surprised I ever won anything .

My oldest bonds were £6 worth, bought for me in 1956. When you cash in any bonds NSI cash in the oldest, unless you apply by filling in a longish form and stipulating which ones should go. I held out for many years, but finally got fed up of it and just cashed in the oldest online. I still have the certificates though, even though they’re no longer valid. They never won a thing in 64 years.

Why are people checking if they have won? Does the winning cheque not just get sent out to you? Curious

shinamae you don’t have to claim them. If you have asked for the winnings to go into your bank account it will, without them telling you.