Series I Savings Bonds Now Paying 3.36%
Tip It!This is just a quick note to say the new Series I U.S. Savings Bond interest rates have been released. I haven’t written much (anything?) about savings bonds in the past, but I’m planning on changing that in the near future.
In the mean time, I’ll just say this… The interest rate on Series I bonds is made up of a fixed rate component and an inflation component. Rates are updated twice a year, in May and November.
The latest update saw the fixed component increase from 0.10% to 0.3% and the inflation component went from 0% to 3.06%. In other words, they’re now offering a total return 3.36%, which compares favorably with prevailing CD rates.
For a bit of background, Series I bonds can be cashed in after a minimum of 1 year. If you break them between 1-5 years, there is a penalty of three months of interest. After five years, there is no penalty. More info here.
Source: TreasuryDirect and Bargaineering
Published on November 4th, 2009 - 7 Comments
Filed under: Saving & Investing
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» Buying Series I Savings Bonds» Series I Savings Bonds Rates – May 2011
» Series I Savings Bond Rates – November 2010
» Converting Paper Savings Bonds to Electronic Form With SmartExchange
» Savings Bond Purchase Limit Increased to $10k in 2012
» What are Series I Savings Bonds?
» Paper Savings Bonds Going Away?
» Treasury Confirms May 2011 Series I Savings Bond Rate
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
7 Responses to “Series I Savings Bonds Now Paying 3.36%”
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Receive 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $500 in your first three months of card membership. Redeem bonus points for gift cards valued at $100. This is a charge card with no pre-set spending limit.
Earn 25,000 Membership Rewards(R) bonus points when you spend $1,000 in your first three months of Card membership.
Enjoy a 0% introductory rate for 18 months on Balance Transfers and 6 months on Purchases. Earn up to 5% cash back in categories that change.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
How to save money on insurance
- Double-Check Your Ally CDs
- Stocks are Not Bonds, CDs, or Savings Accounts
- The Best Values in Colleges - 2012 Edition
- Five Myths About Renter's Insurance
- Own Your Investments, Rent Your Fun
- Citibank to Issue Credit Cards in China
- Heartstrings and Pursestrings
- Saving Money at the Grocery Store: Store Brand Pricing on the Rise
- Missing Tax Paperwork?
- Is Your Investment Allocation Right?
November 4th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Yeah you should totally write more about them. I bought some back when the fixed rate was higher. Didn’t do well the last 6 months but they’re doing well overall.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Let’s not forget, the interest earned on US bonds, when received, is not taxed by the States. That adds to the rate of return.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Patty: Yep, that makes the deal even more attractive.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:23 am
@Nickel – We love the I Bonds…perhaps the best built financial instrument for emergency funds and cash reserves. The only thing that stinks is you can only buy $5,000/year per social security number.
By the way, barring a significant interest rate hike in the next couple of months on savings/money market accounts, I Bonds (even after yielding ZERO for half of the year) will outpace the overwhelming majority of bank or mutual fund based money market and savings accounts.
The way I see it, I Bonds are a nearly perfect vehicle for cash reserves. As an added bonus, there is no need to chase rates at banks because the rate will always keep up with inflation.
Also, the real return (net of inflation) on these bonds has been terrific this year.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Michael: It’s actually $5k electronic and $5k paper each year (per SSN), so $10k. Still not great, but better.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Sheeeeeeeeeeit! I forgot about the paper.
January 21st, 2010 at 2:44 am
o.k. so they are at 3.36%..now is that 3.36% every 6 months or 3.36% over 30 yrs ?