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Premium Bonds

(39 Posts)
MrsJamJam Tue 01-Aug-17 18:47:29

We use PBs as our holiday saving fund. I set up a standing order to pay in monthly, easy to change if I want to, and then the money is there to withdraw to pay for holiday. Always hope that the regular in and outs keeps Ernie noticing me! Occasional £25 and when I work it out it is pretty comparable with most saving rates, plus it is easy to get at when we want it. Keep hoping there might be a big win, but at least I don't lose anything as I would with the lottery. Regard that as a wicked waste grin

harrigran Tue 01-Aug-17 17:37:02

I make as much on premium bonds as I do on some of my bank accounts and there is always the chance I will win a million. Strangely the same group of numbers come up over and ove, I wonder what the odds of tha are.

Niobe Tue 01-Aug-17 16:42:47

When we were planning to relocate and cashed in some investments to put towards the new ( more expensive) house we bought PBs as a medium term investment until we found a house. We won quite a few £20s , one £50 and £5000! Well worth it !

tanith Tue 01-Aug-17 15:04:01

Had a few £25 over the years but that's it.

hildajenniJ Tue 01-Aug-17 14:49:54

I have all of £2:00 of premium bonds. I've no chance of winning anything! ?? They were bought for me as a gift when they started. My DD won £50 when she was five years old. Not a sausage since.

downsized Tue 01-Aug-17 12:16:23

I've done quite well with mine so far this year - no huge amounts but better than nothing. The ones I had from when I was born have never won a penny, only the more recent ones. I don't have a clue how it works either confused

Maggiemaybe Tue 01-Aug-17 12:05:18

I like that theory, Welshwife. Might well be worth a try. I've just had a look online at where the big prizewinners are this month and none of them are from round here. sad

Welshwife Tue 01-Aug-17 11:54:55

I saw ages ago that if you needed to make any changes to your 'account' such as added new bonds or changed address etc it sort of kick started the system and you had more chance of winning in the next few months than when all stayed quiet.

devongirl Tue 01-Aug-17 11:40:39

ww I think you have hit on something here - when I sold my house I used some of the money for PBs and it seems to me you're much more likely to win with newer bonds - or is it just me?

Welshwife Tue 01-Aug-17 11:20:15

My mother had a few bonds and regularly won £25 or£50. I have more than she had but only a couple of wins of £25.

My BIL had a good few bonds so when they bought a house he used the bonds as a budget system - he worked out his annual spend on insurance and regular bills etc and bought bonds to 1/12th the amount each month - then when a bill same in he cashed in the old bonds to pay it - because of the frequent movement on his account he seemed to win frequently - in fact almost monthly although never a really big prize.
My nephew was given two bonds when he was born and 18 years later he won £25 one month and the same again the next month on the other bond!!

Eglantine19 Tue 01-Aug-17 11:08:58

I kept a record for the last twelve months. It worked out to 1.5% return overall. Better than the ISA, I'm hanging on to mine!

Maggiemaybe Tue 01-Aug-17 10:59:14

I've had a couple of (literally two) £50s and £500 a few years ago. I'd checked online and called DH in excitedly to see what I'd won. His disappointing/disappointed answer was that he thought I must have got a big prize. I thought I had! My DM won £1,000 back in the 70s when it was worth a lot more.

I've got £6 worth of bonds that were bought for me in 1956. I'd really love one of them to come up. I think this might be my month. grin

KatyK Tue 01-Aug-17 10:51:55

We bought premium bonds when we retired instead of putting money in a low interest savings account, which was all there seemed to be at the time. This was a few years ago. I have patiently waited for Mr Million and he has never called. Mr £25 has called a few times and once Mr £500. I have complained to DH and but he just says I am being ridiculous and tha that millions and millions of people have them so the chances of winning are minute. When I was putting my £25 cheque into the bank once, the teller said 'do you know in all my years working here, I have never seen one of these for more than £25.' You can however check online to see the winning Bond numbers and the location of the winners. Good luck Katey .

Kateykrunch Tue 01-Aug-17 10:40:57

I am really hoping for a knock at the door from Mr. Million. This has set me wondering (I find the whole PB random number thing a bit ???, I have researched it and still dont fully understand how my bond number which is made up of numbers and letters can be generated).
What I really do wonder is, as there is a very small chance of winning, why do I manage to win £25 now and again, I'm grateful for this, BUT, it's such a small chance of winning, but I have won, so why never a big prize.....if you see what I mean......