Series I bonds

[cptacek]

I work for a defense contractor, and yearly there is a drive to get the employees to buy bonds from the government; I chose to buy Series I bonds, starting in August 2002, and have contributed $10 a paycheck every since. I now have 23 $50 I bonds. The company takes it from your paycheck, and once you have contributed up to the face value of the bond you get one in the mail.

I have only kept them because I didn't know if there was a penalty to cash them in.

I have only kept on contributing because I don't know who to contact to stop the contribution.

I'm going to search through the company web site tomorrow to stop contributing, but what do I do with the ones I have now?

[puck36]

you might want to check out http://www.treasurydirect.gov/ about your I bonds.

[cptacek]

Looks like I need to stop buying them now, and starting in August 2007 I should cash them in one at a time:

<quote>Interest accrues monthly and compounds semiannually. Bonds held less than five years are subject to a three-month interest penalty</quote>

Thanks puck36 for the reference...I couldn't find that last night.

[mbhunter]

What's your "real rate of return" on those bonds? What is the term of the bonds?

I'm not a pro but you might look at your asset allocation to see what percentage is in bonds. It's a safer investment than some other vehicles, and it might be a good buffer if you have a lot of equities. Just a suggestion.

[puck36]

Originally Posted by cptacek

Thanks puck36 for the reference...I couldn't find that last night.

Not a problem. I don't have any I bonds but my company has it now where we can buy some if we want thur payroll.