Premium Bonds The Best Saving Practice for the British Citizen
There are many ways to save your money. Some people do not trust banks or the government to keep their money and keep it stored in a safe at home or even in a jar in the kitchen cabinet. The money just sits there with no interest and no chance of earning anything but a layer of dust. This is a sad way to save for a rainy day. The money could be in a savings account earning interest or it could be invested in the stock market where the money could earn a lot or maybe be lost if the market fluctuates negative. The smartest thing for the British investor to do with their money is to buy premium bonds.
With premium bonds the investor can save up to fifty thousand pounds. The investor buys premium bonds from their local post office or they can purchase them online from the National Savings and Investments agency. They will be issued a physical paper bond that has an distinct, individual number that identifies that particular one pound bond. The owner is also registered as the owner and no person can cash in the bond or collect a cash prize except the person registered to that bond. If that person dies, the bond numbers die with them. They can leave their premium bonds to their surviving spouse, but that spouse cannot cash them in or collect prizes those bond numbers have won. The spouse can turn the bonds in for new bonds with new numbers.
Each month the premium bond numbers will be apart of a national lottery. Their numbers may be picked to win up to two million pound prizes or one of the one and half million lesser cash prizes. The investor has about a 27,000 to 1 chance to win one of the prizes. If they win they will receive their prize in about a week after filling out a claim application. The premium bond may be kept in the system and the bond may win more than once. If your bonds do win a prize, even the fifty pound minimum prize, it will be more than the interest than you earn in a savings account or playing the stock market. The bond never loses value and can be cashed in at anytime for use or reinvestment. It is a fun way to save and your money will earn more than sitting in a jar or in the back of a safe.
What are the premium bond prizes? Recently, the total prize amount for premium bonds was £96,395,075. The prizes are bundled into higher value (£5,000 to £1-million), medium value (£500 and £1,000) and lower value prizes (£25, £50 and £100). There are around 3.3 million prizes in total every month.
