J-rap Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 I was going through some old papers today and found two U.S. Savings Bonds to a couple of my kids for $50 each. I've never quite understood how these worked. Should my kids cash them in? Have they reached their potential value? One of the bonds is 12 years old and the other is over 20 years old! Is there any point in holding on to them? (I mean, not yet cashing them in yet?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratford Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 I've use this site to figure out what old savings bonds are worth. It will give you their maximum maturity date, etc. Kind of a fun thing to find, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 I've use this site to figure out what old savings bonds are worth. It will give you their maximum maturity date, etc. Kind of a fun thing to find, huh? Ha- indeed! :) I'll check out that site. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 We had a similar situation last year. Interestingly, I couldn't find a bank who would cash them. They weren't mature yet, so I didn't want to cash them at the time anyway, I just wanted to know what to do with them down the road. The banks I contacted said it was a paperwork "nightmare" and wouldn't cash them when the time came. I didn't look any more into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Ugh, that doesn't sound good. Dh always said I was being a curmudgeon because I wasn't thrilled with how his grandmother always sent our kids a $50 savings bond for their birthdays and Christmas. But not even the actual bond; she keeps it in her safety deposit box and they get a piece of paper saying she bought one for them. Yay. How fun is it to get a gift that maybe one day will result in some money? LOL OK, trying not to be a jerk, but it's like over $1000 for my 2 oldest and now it may not be easy to get the money? Great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 We've never had problems cashing savings bonds. That's weird that any bank wouldn't. Indy and Han Solo have a stack of bonds each. My dad bought Indy and $200 savings bond every month since he was born. He's done the same for Han Solo. The early ones can be used for college because they'll be mature by then, and the others can be cashed later when they mature. By the time Indy gets to college, the earliest ones will be worth over $20000. That's a lot. After they mature, they continue to earn interest up to a certain time (at least the kind of bonds we have do), so they'll actually be worth more than face value by then. We have a tone of bonds that we started buying when we first got married, and some are already mature, while others will be in a few years. They are worth a bucket load. IMO, they're better in some ways, because it's money, but you can't spend it, like you would if you just put the money up. Cash is always a temptation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Our son will be cashing his in (~$1800) to pay for next year's college tuition. Does everyone recommend cashing them at a local bank, or is there a direct way to cash them with the U.S. Treasury Dept. and get more proceeds? We live in a small town, and I'm guessing they may not be thrilled about cashing them as well. I guess I'm hijacking this thread . . . but am clueless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I've never had trouble cashing in savings bonds, but I'm not a fan of them. They take too long to mature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Ok dumb question. Is it possible for a savings bond to be worth more than the face value? One of mine says it is worth more per that calculator. I'm clueless about these things. Mine do, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 And oddly that one is from 2002. So not exactly that old really. Mine are all over 40 years old and are worth more than 4 times their face value according to the calculator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Wow Mine is only slightly over the face value, but I was surprised that after such a relatively short period of time that was the case. So maybe that really IS how it works? I sure hope so. I told DH it's my mad money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Wow Mine is only slightly over the face value, but I was surprised that after such a relatively short period of time that was the case. So maybe that really IS how it works? So I just asked my mom (because she knows everything) and she said that they earn interest for 30 years and 4x the value is about right for the ones I have. She knows mine specifically because they were gifts from her parents and lived in her safety deposit box until I left home. So thank you Grandma and Grandpa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 My credit union has cashed savings bonds without a single grumble. If you don't want to deal with a bank, go to US TreasuryDirect. You can transfer your paper bonds to a digital account and then cash them in. The Treasury will forward your dollars to your checking account electronically. I have never experienced any hassle with bonds--which I bought ages ago and which my son inherited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 And oddly that one is from 2002. So not exactly that old really. That's weird... my daughter's from 2002 is only worth about 2/3 its face value... I really don't get how these work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 So I just asked my mom (because she knows everything) and she said that they earn interest for 30 years and 4x the value is about right for the ones I have. She knows mine specifically because they were gifts from her parents and lived in her safety deposit box until I left home. So thank you Grandma and Grandpa. Hmmm... so does that mean we should wait 30 years before we cash them? I don't even know if we'll remember them anymore, by then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Hmmm... so does that mean we should wait 30 years before we cash them? I don't even know if we'll remember them anymore, by then. Like Kinsa said, that will depend on the series of the bond. They all have different things. My grandparents gave me the bonds for a specific purpose, so they chose ones that would work for that purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Hmmm... so does that mean we should wait 30 years before we cash them? I don't even know if we'll remember them anymore, by then. Do you need the cash? Otherwise your bonds may be paying an interest rate that is higher than your bank or credit union. You can research this on Treasury Direct. (Note: new bonds are not paying much but some of the older bonds are paying more.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Do you need the cash? Otherwise your bonds may be paying an interest rate that is higher than your bank or credit union. You can research this on Treasury Direct. (Note: new bonds are not paying much but some of the older bonds are paying more.) No, don't need the cash, and they belong to my daughters (although they probably don't even remember :)). I was more just trying to understand how they worked, since I happened to run across them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I have never had a problem cashing savings bonds. That is weird that the bank would not cash them. They earn interest for 30 years so to get the maximum amount stick them in your safe deposit box and forget about them. I believe they are worth face value after 12 or 15 years. I can't remember. I am a believer in savings bonds. Thanks to my bonds we were able to cash them in and have the down payment for our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertechmom Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 My fil gave the kids a $50 EE bond each birthday and Christmas. Those are basically worthless though when I was growing up, more than one friend cashed them in at graduation and received a load of cash! The oldest bond from 1997 will mature in 2017 (HOLY COW BATMAN) and right now is only worth 43.50. I was told by the bank, the treasury would at least honor the face value when they mature because it looks like they won't reach face value by the time they mature. They are only of any value if you wait until the 30 yr mark to cash them in. When he is 30, the newest ones from this year will still not hit the mature mark. So for us, they are rather pointless. He may just cash them all in and take his 1000.00 and put toward a cheap car or his first semester of college or gamble it on aggressive stock market investments. It makes me sad because my FIL thought he was going to fund the kids college with them. Not going to happen unless something drastic happens with the interest rates. One of the few times I think the money he used to purchase the bonds would have been better spent at the stock market. here's a link http://www.savingsbonds.com/bond_basics/ee-savings-bonds.cfm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 My fil gave the kids a $50 EE bond each birthday and Christmas. Those are basically worthless though when I was growing up, more than one friend cashed them in at graduation and received a load of cash! The oldest bond from 1997 will mature in 2017 (HOLY COW BATMAN) and right now is only worth 43.50. I was told by the bank, the treasury would at least honor the face value when they mature because it looks like they won't reach face value by the time they mature. They are only of any value if you wait until the 30 yr mark to cash them in. When he is 30, the newest ones from this year will still not hit the mature mark. So for us, they are rather pointless. He may just cash them all in and take his 1000.00 and put toward a cheap car or his first semester of college or gamble it on aggressive stock market investments. It makes me sad because my FIL thought he was going to fund the kids college with them. Not going to happen unless something drastic happens with the interest rates. One of the few times I think the money he used to purchase the bonds would have been better spent at the stock market. here's a link http://www.savingsbonds.com/bond_basics/ee-savings-bonds.cfm Interest rates have been abysmally low whether from the Fed or your local bank. It is probably a better idea for a young child's college savings to be in mutual funds although I know some folks lost their shirts during the tech crash of the 90's or the most recent economic downturn. Parents need to decide how much risk they can assume with college funds. If the answer is "not much" then I suppose either a CD or savings bond at 1% might be the way to go. My son inherited bonds that were earning 3 and 4 percent. After the most recent downturn, those interest rates looked pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 my grandmother was a big supporter of 'savings bonds". dh, with his finance background, despises them. their interest rates suck (for starters.) my grandmother gave me some as a baby gift for 1dd. dh immediately cashed them out, and put them a long term something with a higher yield. you can cash them out at anytime, but that doesn't mean they will be worth the "face" value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I have $200 in bonds sitting here. It isn't much and I think they are worth all of $200 right now. They are in my fire proof box so I do know where they are but I never think about them. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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