What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Personal Finance Advice and Education! (1 Viewer)

Something I didn't know about ibonds. Thought others might find it edifying.

Interesting, not following how the math works out there where you're better off in just 4 years but i'll take that guys word for it, I'm already in at the 9.6% rate but that leads me to believe I should buy more next year even with the lower rate.
The math in that article is seriously fla\/\/ed but the conclusion of buying more bonds is probably true. Really depends on what the gap between that and the 1 year treasury will be around January though.
 
Last edited:
Something I didn't know about ibonds. Thought others might find it edifying.

Interesting, not following how the math works out there where you're better off in just 4 years but i'll take that guys word for it, I'm already in at the 9.6% rate but that leads me to believe I should buy more next year even with the lower rate.
The math in that article is seriously fla\/\/ed but the conclusion of buying more bonds is probably true. Really depends on what the gap between that and the 1 year will be around January though.
I must need :coffee: because I don’t get what you’re saying here.
 
So, the ibonds will continue to draw interest at whatever the new rate is correct? I purchased 20k last year. It will continue to increase at whatever the newly established rate is, correct?
 
Something I didn't know about ibonds. Thought others might find it edifying.

Interesting, not following how the math works out there where you're better off in just 4 years but i'll take that guys word for it, I'm already in at the 9.6% rate but that leads me to believe I should buy more next year even with the lower rate.
The math in that article is seriously fla\/\/ed but the conclusion of buying more bonds is probably true. Really depends on what the gap between that and the 1 year will be around January though.
I must need :coffee: because I don’t get what you’re saying here.
You have to lockup iBonds for one year and take a 3 month penalty if you withdraw, so you really want to compare 75% of the iBond rate to the US Treasury rate. The May reset is likely to be lower than the current iBond rate.

The flawed math is explored in the comments to the article.
 
Something I didn't know about ibonds. Thought others might find it edifying.

Interesting, not following how the math works out there where you're better off in just 4 years but i'll take that guys word for it, I'm already in at the 9.6% rate but that leads me to believe I should buy more next year even with the lower rate.
The math in that article is seriously fla\/\/ed but the conclusion of buying more bonds is probably true. Really depends on what the gap between that and the 1 year will be around January though.
I must need :coffee: because I don’t get what you’re saying here.
You have to lockup iBonds for one year and take a 3 month penalty if you withdraw, so you really want to compare 75% of the iBond rate to the US Treasury rate. The May reset is likely to be lower than the current iBond rate.

The flawed math is explored in the comments to the article.
Depends how long you’ll hold. If you’re selling right at a year, sure. But this is comparing current I bonds to the previous rate without the base rate.

Many of the comments are using bad math too some ignore that you get the initial rate for 6 months, not 12.
 
Last edited:
So, the ibonds will continue to draw interest at whatever the new rate is correct? I purchased 20k last year. It will continue to increase at whatever the newly established rate is, correct?
Right, but you keep the same base rate as when you bought. Before November that was zero.
 
So, the ibonds will continue to draw interest at whatever the new rate is correct? I purchased 20k last year. It will continue to increase at whatever the newly established rate is, correct?
Right, but you keep the same base rate as when you bought. Before November that was zero.

Base rate is in addition to the inflation rate, right? So we are still getting good returns.
 
Something I didn't know about ibonds. Thought others might find it edifying.

Interesting, not following how the math works out there where you're better off in just 4 years but i'll take that guys word for it, I'm already in at the 9.6% rate but that leads me to believe I should buy more next year even with the lower rate.
The math in that article is seriously fla\/\/ed but the conclusion of buying more bonds is probably true. Really depends on what the gap between that and the 1 year will be around January though.
I must need :coffee: because I don’t get what you’re saying here.
You have to lockup iBonds for one year and take a 3 month penalty if you withdraw, so you really want to compare 75% of the iBond rate to the US Treasury rate. The May reset is likely to be lower than the current iBond rate.

The flawed math is explored in the comments to the article.
Depends how long you’ll hold. If you’re selling right at a year, sure. But this is comparing current I bonds to the previous rate without the base rate.

Many of the comments are using bad math too some ignore that you get the initial rate for 6 months, not 12.
Even if you assume that the inflation rate stays flat for the next 4 years, the early withdrawal penalty means waiting to buy in November is still inferior. You can get there in 5 though when you lose the penalty. The lower inflation goes the worse off you are for waiting.

The author mainly is ignoring the compound impacts of buying earlier. It is misleading to say that folks were better off waiting.
 
Something I didn't know about ibonds. Thought others might find it edifying.

Interesting, not following how the math works out there where you're better off in just 4 years but i'll take that guys word for it, I'm already in at the 9.6% rate but that leads me to believe I should buy more next year even with the lower rate.
The math in that article is seriously fla\/\/ed but the conclusion of buying more bonds is probably true. Really depends on what the gap between that and the 1 year will be around January though.
I must need :coffee: because I don’t get what you’re saying here.
You have to lockup iBonds for one year and take a 3 month penalty if you withdraw, so you really want to compare 75% of the iBond rate to the US Treasury rate. The May reset is likely to be lower than the current iBond rate.

The flawed math is explored in the comments to the article.
Depends how long you’ll hold. If you’re selling right at a year, sure. But this is comparing current I bonds to the previous rate without the base rate.

Many of the comments are using bad math too some ignore that you get the initial rate for 6 months, not 12.
yeah the math does make sense with only the initial rate for 6 months, i had heard that but had forgotten
 
Something I didn't know about ibonds. Thought others might find it edifying.

Interesting, not following how the math works out there where you're better off in just 4 years but i'll take that guys word for it, I'm already in at the 9.6% rate but that leads me to believe I should buy more next year even with the lower rate.
The math in that article is seriously fla\/\/ed but the conclusion of buying more bonds is probably true. Really depends on what the gap between that and the 1 year will be around January though.
I must need :coffee: because I don’t get what you’re saying here.
You have to lockup iBonds for one year and take a 3 month penalty if you withdraw, so you really want to compare 75% of the iBond rate to the US Treasury rate. The May reset is likely to be lower than the current iBond rate.

The flawed math is explored in the comments to the article.
Depends how long you’ll hold. If you’re selling right at a year, sure. But this is comparing current I bonds to the previous rate without the base rate.

Many of the comments are using bad math too some ignore that you get the initial rate for 6 months, not 12.
Even if you assume that the inflation rate stays flat for the next 4 years, the early withdrawal penalty means waiting to buy in November is still inferior. You can get there in 5 though when you lose the penalty. The lower inflation goes the worse off you are for waiting.

The author mainly is ignoring the compound impacts of buying earlier. It is misleading to say that folks were better off waiting.
That’s fair. I took it more as saying it’s okay if you didn’t have the funds before November. But yeah, generally invest when you have the money.
 
Had to laugh slightly when I received my pay stub. I had gone ahead and adjusted for next year’s contributions already, going from $800/pp (with the last pp being $500) to $866 to max in 2023. I bumped up the traditional and the Roth down a bit; from $100t / $700r to $533t / $333r; the take home ended up being $1.23 less. Our annual pay raise kicks in next month.
 
Quick question for the group.

For those of us who automate contributions, with the IRA limit at $6500 this year, how are you handling it? I’m inclined to go $250 biweekly for mine to hit right after my paycheck hits the bank, while I know others prefer to do monthly.

I think I’m just going to have my wife’s paycheck go fully into her Roth IRA this year until it’s maxed. She only earned like $7,500 in 2022.
 
My company announced that there will be no bonuses for 2022. We missed the minimum threshold for all 4 of our metrics. Target is 10% of my salary, so it's like an extra monthly paycheck.

Might not be able to do that vacation for Easter to Costa Rica like we were planning. My mom bought a condo there last year so we had a free place to stay and just had to get there. Tickets are $1000+, so taking the family is pricey...
 
My company announced that there will be no bonuses for 2022. We missed the minimum threshold for all 4 of our metrics. Target is 10% of my salary, so it's like an extra monthly paycheck.

Might not be able to do that vacation for Easter to Costa Rica like we were planning. My mom bought a condo there last year so we had a free place to stay and just had to get there. Tickets are $1000+, so taking the family is pricey...
Well that sucks.

Sorry man.
 
My company announced that there will be no bonuses for 2022. We missed the minimum threshold for all 4 of our metrics. Target is 10% of my salary, so it's like an extra monthly paycheck.

Might not be able to do that vacation for Easter to Costa Rica like we were planning. My mom bought a condo there last year so we had a free place to stay and just had to get there. Tickets are $1000+, so taking the family is pricey...
That sucks. My company is not getting a bonus either.
 
My company announced that there will be no bonuses for 2022. We missed the minimum threshold for all 4 of our metrics. Target is 10% of my salary, so it's like an extra monthly paycheck.

Might not be able to do that vacation for Easter to Costa Rica like we were planning. My mom bought a condo there last year so we had a free place to stay and just had to get there. Tickets are $1000+, so taking the family is pricey...
That sucks. My company is not getting a bonus either.
I wonder what percentage of places do bonuses? I've never gotten one.

Z - that does suck. I hope business gets better next year for your place.
 
My company announced that there will be no bonuses for 2022. We missed the minimum threshold for all 4 of our metrics. Target is 10% of my salary, so it's like an extra monthly paycheck.

Might not be able to do that vacation for Easter to Costa Rica like we were planning. My mom bought a condo there last year so we had a free place to stay and just had to get there. Tickets are $1000+, so taking the family is pricey...
That sucks. Are other companies in your industry also not doing bonuses this year?
 
My company announced that there will be no bonuses for 2022. We missed the minimum threshold for all 4 of our metrics. Target is 10% of my salary, so it's like an extra monthly paycheck.

Might not be able to do that vacation for Easter to Costa Rica like we were planning. My mom bought a condo there last year so we had a free place to stay and just had to get there. Tickets are $1000+, so taking the family is pricey...
That sucks. My company is not getting a bonus either.
I wonder what percentage of places do bonuses? I've never gotten one.

Z - that does suck. I hope business gets better next year for your place.
Thanks guys. I think it will get better in 2023 if only because they'll set the targets lower. I think we'll be flat on the top line but have better operating margin due to the cost cutting that happened in Q3-2022.

Stock price is down about 60% YTD.
 
My company announced that there will be no bonuses for 2022. We missed the minimum threshold for all 4 of our metrics. Target is 10% of my salary, so it's like an extra monthly paycheck.

Might not be able to do that vacation for Easter to Costa Rica like we were planning. My mom bought a condo there last year so we had a free place to stay and just had to get there. Tickets are $1000+, so taking the family is pricey...
That sucks. Are other companies in your industry also not doing bonuses this year?
I dunno. I don't really know anyone directly in my industry that would share that info with me. Maybe one guy that left last year and went to a competitor.

There are only really 3-4 true competitors worldwide, and only 1 in the US. The others are based in Europe.
 
My company announced that there will be no bonuses for 2022. We missed the minimum threshold for all 4 of our metrics. Target is 10% of my salary, so it's like an extra monthly paycheck.

Might not be able to do that vacation for Easter to Costa Rica like we were planning. My mom bought a condo there last year so we had a free place to stay and just had to get there. Tickets are $1000+, so taking the family is pricey...
That sucks. My company is not getting a bonus either.
I wonder what percentage of places do bonuses? I've never gotten one.

Z - that does suck. I hope business gets better next year for your place.
Thanks guys. I think it will get better in 2023 if only because they'll set the targets lower. I think we'll be flat on the top line but have better operating margin due to the cost cutting that happened in Q3-2022.

Stock price is down about 60% YTD.
Ours is 50%, but actually had a pretty decent year. We got bought into this new place and they match with company stock, so buying low, right?
 
My company announced that there will be no bonuses for 2022. We missed the minimum threshold for all 4 of our metrics. Target is 10% of my salary, so it's like an extra monthly paycheck.

Might not be able to do that vacation for Easter to Costa Rica like we were planning. My mom bought a condo there last year so we had a free place to stay and just had to get there. Tickets are $1000+, so taking the family is pricey...
Curious what part of Costa Rica she bought a condo? Beautiful country and people there.

Have you ever looked into in the credit cards rewards game? You could very likely shift spending to a new card and take the trip using the signup bonus.

My target is something like 35%. If I got a 0, I'd probably just walk right out.
 
Wow - this looks pretty sweet. Some details:

The restrictions include:

  • A $35,000 lifetime cap on transfers.
  • Rollovers are subject to the annual Roth IRA contribution limit. (The limit is $6,500 in 2023.)
  • The rollover can only be made to the beneficiary’s Roth IRA — not that of the account owner. (In other words, a 529 owned by a parent with the child as beneficiary would need to be rolled into the child’s IRA, not the parent’s.)
  • The 529 account must have been open for at least 15 years. (It seems changing account beneficiaries may restart that 15-year clock, Levine said.)
  • Accountholders can’t roll over contributions, or earnings on those contributions, made in the last five years.
 
My target is something like 35%. If I got a 0, I'd probably just walk right out.
I'm am engineer and don't do any customer facing or sales so this is just for management. I already knew the vast majority of my pay comes in monthly salary. My compensation is "OK". Not great, but not terrible.

The reality is that my company had a really bad year and had to take some really hard decisions, rolling up entire portions of the org structure. They had a "ventures" program that invested in startups and emerging tech for the last 5-10 years and it wasted hundreds of millions and returned very little. Thankfully, I'm much closer to things that actually generate revenue for the company so I didn't really feel at risk if losing my job.
 
Wow - this looks pretty sweet. Some details:

The restrictions include:

  • A $35,000 lifetime cap on transfers.
  • Rollovers are subject to the annual Roth IRA contribution limit. (The limit is $6,500 in 2023.)
  • The rollover can only be made to the beneficiary’s Roth IRA — not that of the account owner. (In other words, a 529 owned by a parent with the child as beneficiary would need to be rolled into the child’s IRA, not the parent’s.)
  • The 529 account must have been open for at least 15 years. (It seems changing account beneficiaries may restart that 15-year clock, Levine said.)
  • Accountholders can’t roll over contributions, or earnings on those contributions, made in the last five years.
I get that it’s far less popular but Do you happen to know if we can transfer coverdell to their IRA? Or do I need to transfer coverdell to 529, then 529 to IRA?
(Transfers from coverdell to 529 are allowed without taxes.)
 
Wow - this looks pretty sweet. Some details:

The restrictions include:

  • A $35,000 lifetime cap on transfers.
  • Rollovers are subject to the annual Roth IRA contribution limit. (The limit is $6,500 in 2023.)
  • The rollover can only be made to the beneficiary’s Roth IRA — not that of the account owner. (In other words, a 529 owned by a parent with the child as beneficiary would need to be rolled into the child’s IRA, not the parent’s.)
  • The 529 account must have been open for at least 15 years. (It seems changing account beneficiaries may restart that 15-year clock, Levine said.)
  • Accountholders can’t roll over contributions, or earnings on those contributions, made in the last five years.
I get that it’s far less popular but Do you happen to know if we can transfer coverdell to their IRA? Or do I need to transfer coverdell to 529, then 529 to IRA?
(Transfers from coverdell to 529 are allowed without taxes.)
I didn't see that one. It may be part of it, don't know.
 
If your employer 401k match can go into a Roth 401K will it be the whole amount or will tax come out of it first? If it is the whole match then you would report it as income at the end of the year?
I believe that the gross match would be added to taxable wages and then shown as an offsetting after tax deduction. The withholding on the match would need to come out of what would otherwise be your normal net check, not the amount of matching contribution deposited.

It would be similar to how the cost of employer provided group life insurance and some other taxable fringe benefits are handled on the W-2.
 
If your employer 401k match can go into a Roth 401K will it be the whole amount or will tax come out of it first? If it is the whole match then you would report it as income at the end of the year?
I believe that the gross match would be added to taxable wages and then shown as an offsetting after tax deduction. The withholding on the match would need to come out of what would otherwise be your normal net check, not the amount of matching contribution deposited.

It would be similar to how the cost of employer provided group life insurance and some other taxable fringe benefits are handled on the W-2.
Makes sense. So the effect would be the same as your employer giving you a bonus, except that it goes into your 401k and doesn’t count against your contributions. Right?
 
Alright, New Year, New Budget. Kind of. I got let go from my job in mid-December but per my contract, I got 6 months of severance (to go along with the 6-month industry non-compete). Thankfully I also get the bonus that we are on target to receive which will drop into my account sometime in mid-March. While I still have money coming in and the possibility of double-dipping if I decide to find something inside that 6-month window, I need to get a better grip on the money coming in and the money going out.

Setting up a true budget hasn't really been a priority so I lost track of what the options are out there. I used to use Mint.com many years ago but stopped updating that. I did a quick search of this topic and noticed a few mentions of other tools but the posts were from 2017, 2018....

Other than a manual budget spreadsheet, which I may just start with, what other good tools are out there that don't include regular harassment by people calling or having your data getting sold to incessant marketing companies?

Nevermind. Just went back a page and saw that Mint.com and Personal Capital are still sitting at the top of the heap. Guess I'll give Mint.com another go and see if I'm happy with it.
 
This is the first year in five that I haven’t maxed my wife’s Roth IRA in January Along with mine by March. Kinda sucks but we’re really looking forward to our new bathroom. Most likely I’ll cash in some I bonds, which was the plan all along.
But with the margin loan on M1+ being slightly lower than the I bonds rate, I’ll probably at least start off with the loan and work it down before cashing out the bonds. Another advantage is the funds arrive a lot quicker with the loan.
 
Any reason not to still buy i-bonds right now for this year? No reason to think the rate will go up during the next reset, right?
 
Any reason not to still buy i-bonds right now for this year? No reason to think the rate will go up during the next reset, right?
The rate of inflation appears to be decelerating, but that could easily change. The question is if the permanent part of the rate will change/go up.
Exactly. You’ll get the next rate anyway, just in July if you buy now instead of May. But you only get the fixed rate of the time you buy. It’s unlikely to be much more than it is now. IMO
If our first quarter budget allowed for it I’d start buying now.
 
Any reason not to still buy i-bonds right now for this year? No reason to think the rate will go up during the next reset, right?
What’s the harm in waiting until closer to the next rate calculation? I purchased in October, locking in the 9.62 rate but also knowing what the following rate would be. Why not do thru same closer to March?
 
Any reason not to still buy i-bonds right now for this year? No reason to think the rate will go up during the next reset, right?
What’s the harm in waiting until closer to the next rate calculation? I purchased in October, locking in the 9.62 rate but also knowing what the following rate would be. Why not do thru same closer to March?
Giving up 4 months of interest? You can get a normal Treasury somewhere in the 4.7 range for 1 year today.
 
Any reason not to still buy i-bonds right now for this year? No reason to think the rate will go up during the next reset, right?
What’s the harm in waiting until closer to the next rate calculation? I purchased in October, locking in the 9.62 rate but also knowing what the following rate would be. Why not do thru same closer to March?
Giving up 4 months of interest? You can get a normal Treasury somewhere in the 4.7 range for 1 year today.
Maybe I’m misunderstanding how these ibonds work. You get todays rate for the first 6 months and then get whatever the next rate will be for the next 6 months, right? So buying now vs buying in March really makes no difference in your interest, it’s just the timing of those interest payments. The difference is if you delay, you’ll have a better idea of what the 2nd 6 months of interest will be.
 
Any reason not to still buy i-bonds right now for this year? No reason to think the rate will go up during the next reset, right?
What’s the harm in waiting until closer to the next rate calculation? I purchased in October, locking in the 9.62 rate but also knowing what the following rate would be. Why not do thru same closer to March?
Giving up 4 months of interest? You can get a normal Treasury somewhere in the 4.7 range for 1 year today.
Maybe I’m misunderstanding how these ibonds work. You get todays rate for the first 6 months and then get whatever the next rate will be for the next 6 months, right? So buying now vs buying in March really makes no difference in your interest, it’s just the timing of those interest payments. The difference is if you delay, you’ll have a better idea of what the 2nd 6 months of interest will be.
you’ll still get the same total amount but instead of being able to withdraw next February (or feb 2028 without losing interest) you’ll wait another couple months for access to those funds.

Funding your IRAs now and waiting to buy I bonds makes sense imo, but just keeping cash doesn’t. :2cents:
 
Right, so it’s just a timing thing. Same total amount in the end. But if I bond rates plummet, maybe you won’t want to do that in March. That’s was my point, though the odds of that are very low.
 
Right, so it’s just a timing thing. Same total amount in the end. But if I bond rates plummet, maybe you won’t want to do that in March. That’s was my point, though the odds of that are very low.
Yeah, I’d be willing to bet the rate at that point is still higher than my highest yielding savings account. (4.5%). By “bet” I mean by buying I bonds.
 
Right, so it’s just a timing thing. Same total amount in the end. But if I bond rates plummet, maybe you won’t want to do that in March. That’s was my point, though the odds of that are very low.
Yeah, I’d be willing to bet the rate at that point is still higher than my highest yielding savings account. (4.5%). By “bet” I mean by buying I bonds.
So, we keep our ibonds until that happens? I bought mine back before the guaranteed . 4%.
 
Right, so it’s just a timing thing. Same total amount in the end. But if I bond rates plummet, maybe you won’t want to do that in March. That’s was my point, though the odds of that are very low.
Yeah, I’d be willing to bet the rate at that point is still higher than my highest yielding savings account. (4.5%). By “bet” I mean by buying I bonds.
So, we keep our ibonds until that happens? I bought mine back before the guaranteed . 4%.
Honestly it’s a tough choice. I won’t sell ours unless we use the money and wouldn’t reasonably be able to pay cash for the thing, or the 5 years is over. Even then, I like the idea of having an inflation protection in retirement. So maybe never sell.
 
Right, so it’s just a timing thing. Same total amount in the end. But if I bond rates plummet, maybe you won’t want to do that in March. That’s was my point, though the odds of that are very low.
Yeah, I’d be willing to bet the rate at that point is still higher than my highest yielding savings account. (4.5%). By “bet” I mean by buying I bonds.
So, we keep our ibonds until that happens? I bought mine back before the guaranteed . 4%.
Honestly it’s a tough choice. I won’t sell ours unless we use the money and wouldn’t reasonably be able to pay cash for the thing, or the 5 years is over. Even then, I like the idea of having an inflation protection in retirement. So maybe never sell.
Yeah, I'm looking at a $10k a/c and furnace bill, and was thinking of liquidating for that.

Being federal, my pension has inflation protection built in (sort of).
 
Last edited:
Right, so it’s just a timing thing. Same total amount in the end. But if I bond rates plummet, maybe you won’t want to do that in March. That’s was my point, though the odds of that are very low.
Yeah, I’d be willing to bet the rate at that point is still higher than my highest yielding savings account. (4.5%). By “bet” I mean by buying I bonds.
So, we keep our ibonds until that happens? I bought mine back before the guaranteed . 4%.
Honestly it’s a tough choice. I won’t sell ours unless we use the money and wouldn’t reasonably be able to pay cash for the thing, or the 5 years is over. Even then, I like the idea of having an inflation protection in retirement. So maybe never sell.
Yeah, I'm looking at a $10k a/c and furnace bill, and was thinking of liquidating for that.

Being federal, my pension has inflation protection built in (sort of).
Same - military pension with health insurance and federal civilian. Still, a little more inflation protection isn’t a bad thing with an otherwise aggressive portfolio.
 
Right, so it’s just a timing thing. Same total amount in the end. But if I bond rates plummet, maybe you won’t want to do that in March. That’s was my point, though the odds of that are very low.
Yeah, I’d be willing to bet the rate at that point is still higher than my highest yielding savings account. (4.5%). By “bet” I mean by buying I bonds.
So, we keep our ibonds until that happens? I bought mine back before the guaranteed . 4%.
Honestly it’s a tough choice. I won’t sell ours unless we use the money and wouldn’t reasonably be able to pay cash for the thing, or the 5 years is over. Even then, I like the idea of having an inflation protection in retirement. So maybe never sell.
Yeah, I'm looking at a $10k a/c and furnace bill, and was thinking of liquidating for that.

Being federal, my pension has inflation protection built in (sort of).
Same - military pension with health insurance and federal civilian. Still, a little more inflation protection isn’t a bad thing with an otherwise aggressive portfolio.
How close are you to retirement? I've got ~20 years.
 
Any reason not to still buy i-bonds right now for this year? No reason to think the rate will go up during the next reset, right?
What’s the harm in waiting until closer to the next rate calculation? I purchased in October, locking in the 9.62 rate but also knowing what the following rate would be. Why not do thru same closer to March?
Giving up 4 months of interest? You can get a normal Treasury somewhere in the 4.7 range for 1 year today.
Maybe I’m misunderstanding how these ibonds work. You get todays rate for the first 6 months and then get whatever the next rate will be for the next 6 months, right? So buying now vs buying in March really makes no difference in your interest, it’s just the timing of those interest payments. The difference is if you delay, you’ll have a better idea of what the 2nd 6 months of interest will be.

There are two interest rates. There's the inflation rate that changes every 6 months. But, there's also a base fixed rate on the bond that is set at time of purchase and lasts the life of the bond. The fixed rate has been 0% for a long time, but, was set at 0.4% for all new purchases in November.

If you wait until the new calc you'll also learn whether it makes sense to wait for a better fixed rate.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top