What’s that supposed to mean ?
I won £25 this month.
Yes its a very poor return whereas investing in the stock market these last three months would have brought huge returns.
However it could also go the other way and make a huge loss
.
Unfortunately PBs also lose money with inflation.
Inflation is at 3% and the win rate is 1.15% IF you are lucky.
of course there is a small ( very small ) chance you could win a million.
Julie here’s the other thread…http://www.over50sforum.com/showthread.php?t=28251&highlight=premium+bonds&page=18
Well spotted Ruthio I did look for it just escaped me 
Just to show the vast difference in PBS and other kinds of investment .
£1000 in PBS at an average win would earn you 1.9%
£1000 invested in the stock market in a fund could earn you far more.
Fundsmith Equity Fund returned 24.9% this year .
That’s £249 pounds on every £1000
Of course there is a risk -you could lose some of your money if it fails .
And you could win the million on the PBS
Yer pays yer money and takes yer choice !
When our inheritance was invested prior to being shared out the stocks lost over half the capital for a good two years, we had to thank our lucky stars it had come back up to a reasonable level before we sold the stocks.
As it was we only lost about £20,000 but once that was shared the main thing we wanted was certainty and no risk. I know bil put his straight back into stocks and it’s been interesting he’s had to come to us twice for help as his capital is worth so much less now than when he invested it.
There is always risk in the stock market but in the past years it has boomed .
The thing is never to risk money you need or could not live without .
Never risk your shirt
The other thing is to have a diverse portfolio.
Many people do this via funds which means you can invest in many shares at once .
Old Foxy would like to point out that he has just received a £25 win from his premium bonds…And they’ve only been in a month…
…That’s half way to the annual interest it would make if I’d bunged it in the bank at the present rate of interest…And there is still eleven months to go…Looking good…
You lucky man Bob, spend it well
Thanks Mags, can’t wait to see what Realist will say…
Online gambling in all its ugly forms, is predicated on the basis that there are plenty of uneducated numpties who don’t understand odds and therefore have no clue how money losing the games or schemes are. Premium bonds are no exception. Buying them just gives free money to someone else.
If you are resigned to giving your money away frivolously then give it to decent causes imo.
If I give it to a decent cause Realist it will be gone forever and I might need it someday, so it’s just a bit of fun for now. At 67 years old and suffering two heart attacks I estimate that the best I can expect is 25 years. I’m not being morbid, but ‘Realistic’ Realistic…:-D… I’ve enough money to provide a comfy life for Mrs Fox and me with some left over to have some fun with, but it also acts as a buffer against unforeseen circumstances, which means I can muddle through life and never have to worry about money. I have no desire to make money anymore, my working life is over and with careful management of funds and the governments supplement (pension) I can direct my attentions to more enjoyable pastimes…
…
See ya’ on the beach…:-D:-D:-D
Online gambling has nothing to do with this subject.
With PBs you cannot lose any of your money.
I cashed all my premium bonds in years ago as I only won about £100 over a 10 year period.
They have increased the interest rate to 1.4%
Still not good but better than banks as no tax is payed on PBs
Just out of interest has anyone ever met a premium bond holder who’s won more than £100. They say there are million pound winners but have you heard of any .
Ask me again in six months Susan…
Yes, my daughter won £500 a couple of months ago.
lols. This is entirely the kind of “numpty” mentality I referred to in my earlier post.
If you have £100 today and you buy an “asset” with that £100 then what happens?
The asset either gains value (appreciates) or loses value (depreciates).
Given there ARE assets that appreciate in the world, anyone who simply sits on £100 of cash, stuffing it in their mattress IS ACTUALLY LOSING MONEY.
They are losing the money they ought to have through basic appreciation (which could be asset appreciation or bank interest and so on).
The notion that you can not lose with Premium Bonds (because you can always pull your money back out) is utterly false and is the primary selling point that they rely on to get mug punters to hand over their dosh, mug punters who don’t understand the basics of finance.
The people taking all the money will, I assume, be investing that money in all manner of good sound investment vehicles and thereby making an absolute packet out of your money. That is profit, earnings, interest that YOU should be acquiring not them.
THAT is why you lose money with PBs. It’s about the same as stuffing the money in a mattress, you are throwing away all the additional money that the £100 should be earning for you.
I realise that owning the PBs gives you the chance of winning money, but the odds associated with that are utterly ridiculous. Small dribs and drabs is all most people win (if that). The majority go for years without anything, that’s years of profit they are throwing away that they should have been earning from investment or asset purchase.
And when I say “throwing it away” what I mean is you are wilfully just handing that money over to the people who run the PBs, free money for them, gravy train !
For those thinking about PBs or who have them and are wondering if they have been wasting their time, this link will tell you the full scoop
“Line up everyone with £1,000 worth of Premium Bonds in order of their year’s winnings, and the person halfway along would have won… not a penny! In fact, you’d need to walk past two-thirds of the line until you hit the first £25 winner”
The actual odds of winning any of the prizes is utterly staggeringly appalling as follows:
(Odds of winning at least this amount per £1 bond)
£1 million - 1 in 34,324,121,998
£100,000 - 1 in 13,729,608,271
£50,000 - 1 in 7,627,555,613
£25,000 - 1 in 3,432,398,062
£10,000 - 1 in 1,492,346,427
£5,000 - 1 in 707,710,578
£1,000 - 1 in 48,617,512
£500 - 1 in 12,814,623
£100 - 1 in 2,568,102
£50 - 1 in 1,427,044
£25 - 1 in 30,000
£0 - 68,645,647,294 Virtual certainty
So that top jackpot, your odds are 1 in 34 billion !!!
When the National Lottery first started (49 balls) the odds of winning the jackpot were approx. 1 in 14 MILLION
Here, with PBs you get to win just £500 for about the same odds.
The odds of you just winning £50 is almost 1 in 1.5 million !
It’s a losing proposition imo, what they call “a sucker bet”
But suckers are a plenty !
For those with PBs or those thinking of handing their hard-earned over, I’d encourage you to put your numbers into this Premium Bond Calculator and check the results
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/premium-bonds-calculator/