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Premium bond winnings.

(60 Posts)
Usedtobeblonde Fri 07-Aug-26 12:14:05

This may be odd to you but if you hold Premium bonds and when you win how many times in your mind do you spend that money?
I won £125 this month and I need new step ladders so I will spend it on those.
I need to hire a skip to get rid of all our decluttering , oh that’s ok I can put my winnings toward that.
My S told me this morning he is taking the GS’s away on Monday so I will give them extra spends.
By the end of the month I will have spent that money several times over.
I would spend on those things anyway but that sum of money means I justify all my purchases.
Are you disciplined or do you save it?

wendyann23 Fri 14-Aug-26 17:36:06

£100 this month which came in useful as had grandchild here. If Agent millionaire called to tell me I had won a million I would need convincing it wasn’t a scam or wind up!

crazyH Thu 13-Aug-26 22:46:50

I moved most of my PB to a Savings Account. My thinking was, whether I had the maximum amount or just £100 worth - it’s the luck of the draw as they say.
Since taking out most of it , I won £150 .

Gracesnan Thu 13-Aug-26 22:28:08

I won £375 this month! I always reinvest, and really look forward to checking every month!

Tuliptree Thu 13-Aug-26 21:38:46

Charleygirl5

I never see a penny as all winnings are ploughed back in. I should sell a lot and buy blocks as mine are the odd £25 or £50 each month but zilch this August.

I should be reaching maximum soon I would have thought.

How easy is it to buy and sell? I haven't done it for so long. I enjoy the excitement of checking if I have won each month.

I do it all online - very easy. And I have the app for checking every month

FriedGreenTomatoes2 Thu 13-Aug-26 21:38:41

I wish I still had some PBs we cashed them in over the years. I used to like looking the draw up on 2nd of each month.

I spend any (all) disposable monthly income now but if I ever receive inheritance I intend to purchase the full allowance. Back to having that anticipatory frisson of excitement! Until then, if I’ve 10p my pocket I have to spend it!

Charleygirl5 Thu 13-Aug-26 21:37:18

I never see a penny as all winnings are ploughed back in. I should sell a lot and buy blocks as mine are the odd £25 or £50 each month but zilch this August.

I should be reaching maximum soon I would have thought.

How easy is it to buy and sell? I haven't done it for so long. I enjoy the excitement of checking if I have won each month.

FriedGreenTomatoes2 Thu 13-Aug-26 21:27:27

kittylester

I get that UTBB

DH has stopped buying a season ticket for the football so we are having work done on the roof and the outside decorated and possibly a weekend away. Flipping expensive season ticket. grin

That made me chuckle kitty!

Tuliptree Thu 13-Aug-26 21:25:17

Marmight glad you came back - your solicitor must have sold your father’s bonds and used the money to buy new ones for you because pbs have never been transferable. The only reason I wanted to clarify this on the thread was in case other people didn’t realise and it happened to them. I didn’t know until my husband died what the position was. I’d assumed I could just transfer them.

Marmight Thu 13-Aug-26 20:19:58

My father died 25 years ago. So far as I know his Bonds were transferred to my already existing account. His solicitor dealt with everything financial. I am almost up to the limit. Not sure what happens thereafter. Maybe withdraw a few thousand and keep going.

kissngate Sun 09-Aug-26 09:18:24

The above should read "a dead person cannot buy NEW bonds".

kissngate Sun 09-Aug-26 09:06:53

Marmight

Last year I won around £3,500 on my PBs. This year not going so well. Every month I think, this is it I’ll get the Big One. Still waiting 🤣. My grandfather gave me a £1 PB in 1956 and I then inherited my father’s which automatically reinvest. I call it my ‘emergency fund’. I’m thinking of having an emergency quite soon as I’m not getting any younger….

Definately cannot inherit bonds. NSI will give you the option of leaving them in for 12 months only after death however any prizes cannot be reinvested. A dead person cannot have bonds.

Gin Sat 08-Aug-26 22:40:22

£250 for me this month. We do quite well over the year usually above or comparable to savings rates. The biggest wine was £500 and we both hold the maximum amount

Usedtobeblonde Sat 08-Aug-26 20:59:32

I am sure I could getter returns by investing in a bank or building society but I just enjoy the frisson of checking at the start of the month if I have been lucky.
As I said up thread, I don’t need to save at my advanced age, I have a house to leave to my family and any money I have is mine to spend as I wish.
A little gamble seems a small return for me.

HelterSkelter1 Sat 08-Aug-26 18:23:06

Sueinkent has he checked that he has won but they have a previous address for him?

Witzend Sat 08-Aug-26 17:24:48

tanith

My bond winnings go straight to buying more bonds.

And mine - when I win anything, which isn’t very often! I used to have a fairly substantial holding, but most of that went on helping dds with house purchases.

Sadgrandma Sat 08-Aug-26 17:11:07

I have one PB worth £1 which was bought for me by my late ex MIL, it has never won anything! Some years ago I bought about £2,000 worth but I think the most I ever won was £25. However a couple of years ago I bought another £5,000 and these have had regular wins of £25,£50and £100. This is quite comparable to ISA interest rates. I didn’t win this month though. I can’t help thinking that somehow only newer bonds go in the draw.!

AmberGran Sat 08-Aug-26 16:46:19

So far over the last couple of years we have won enough over the year to slightly exceed what we would have got from a tax free ISA. So not a mug's game at the moment. I think our money is safer than in a bank and we get an equivalent return plus the bonus of the possibility (not probability) of a big win.

Erica23 Sat 08-Aug-26 16:36:08

I’ve cashed mine in, over two years we had winnings equal to 2% were now getting 4.5% in an Isa

HelterSkelter1 Sat 08-Aug-26 13:49:42

Is he tempted to cash them in and buy some more?

JenniRen Sat 08-Aug-26 13:49:30

Sueinkent

My husband has had bonds for 50 years and has never won anything.

If they were bought at different times in small amounts he might be better selling them then buying a block.

Sueinkent Sat 08-Aug-26 13:40:54

My husband has had bonds for 50 years and has never won anything.

watermeadow Sat 08-Aug-26 12:41:06

I won every month from December to June then nothing in July, so naturally I expected a BIG win in August. Nothing again!
I’ve had bonds for seventy years and win often now I have a lot but I’ve never won a big prize, £200 was by far the biggest.
I count on my modest wins as a valuable extra to my very small income. My winnings go into my current account to help pay the bills. Holidays do not figure in my expenditure.

HelterSkelter1 Sat 08-Aug-26 11:10:02

DH and I find over the year the winnings are equal to interest on a tax free savings product like an ISA. We do both have the maximum. But DD1 with much less invested has done well.

Buying lottery tickets/scratchcards is more of a mugs game..if you don't win anything you have lost your money completely.

JenniRen Sat 08-Aug-26 10:50:15

No, you can't inherit Premium Bonds directly, they have to be cashed in and the money goes into the estate to be distributed between the heirs.

JenniRen Sat 08-Aug-26 10:47:48

It's not a mug's game if you keep an eye on interest rates, work out the interest you have gained over a year in comparison to other investments such as an ISA.

This month I was looking forward to spending my winnings (£225!) but then came a tooth problem so it will go to the dentist.