I Bonds Mega Thread (I Bond Heads Rejoice!)

[strbrd]

I did a break-even calculation with buying I-bond before May 1 with current 0.4% fixed rate and 6.89% for first six months versus buying in May with a new fixed rate and new variable rate. Subsequent variable rates would be the same between the two scenarios just one month apart. For the new fixed rates below, the table below shows approx how long until May purchase would be better than April purchase. For me, that's way too long to break-even and I'll be buying before May 1st.

If next month's CPI comes in at 5%, then the new variable rate would be ~3.4%. If buying before May 1st, then you would get 6.89% for 6 months and ~3.8% for 6 months, averaging to ~5.35% for 12-months. That works for me. I just haven't decided if I'll buy end of March or end of April once we know exactly what the new variable rate will be.

0.60% 8.8 yrs
0.70% 5.8 yrs
0.80% 4.3 yrs
0.90% 3.3 yrs
1.00% 2.6 yrs

Thank you, very helpful!

[JRR9000]

Harry Sit's articles are a great way to learn about I-Bonds!

Start here:

https://thefinancebuff.com/how-to-buy-i-bonds.html

Archives of his articles about I-Bonds: https://thefinancebuff.com/tag/i-bonds

Actually, one question on this - that Finance Buff article recommends linking a "forever bank" - I use a local credit union, but I may move to another state when I retire in 10-15 years. Do you have any suggestions about that? I'd like to stay with my credit union or a credit union type bank. Is it best in this case to create an online account somewhere and link to that?

It used to be a massive pain to add bank accounts to our Treasury Direct account(s), but in the last few months, it's become very easy to add accounts online. I've added two in the last month alone. So I don't know that the "forever bank" advice is applicable any longer.

Read this thread which began on 12/8/22:

I just added a bank account on treasurydirect.gov!
viewtopic.php?t=391993

Thanks! Sadly, my credit union just confirmed they can't honor anything with US Treasury Direct and I can't link my credit union account. Now need to find another credit union I can use.

That is so disappointing! I hope you can find a credit union or bank you like which will connect with TD.

{Edit} - I just saw your other post (viewtopic.php?p=7169023#p7169023) asking questions about the transfer from your credit union to TD. I hope the credit union rep was thinking you meant cashing in paper bonds and didn't really understand what you were asking. It should be a straightforward thing, with no help from a credit union or bank. Let us know!

Thanks! Everyone in the thread was saying not to worry about it and several people said they think the credit union was just confused. I went ahead and purchased ibonds today so we'll see how it goes, but didn't run into any issues yet.

[evelynmanley]

Actually, one question on this - that Finance Buff article recommends linking a "forever bank" - I use a local credit union, but I may move to another state when I retire in 10-15 years. Do you have any suggestions about that? I'd like to stay with my credit union or a credit union type bank. Is it best in this case to create an online account somewhere and link to that?

It used to be a massive pain to add bank accounts to our Treasury Direct account(s), but in the last few months, it's become very easy to add accounts online. I've added two in the last month alone. So I don't know that the "forever bank" advice is applicable any longer.

Read this thread which began on 12/8/22:

I just added a bank account on treasurydirect.gov!
viewtopic.php?t=391993

Thanks! Sadly, my credit union just confirmed they can't honor anything with US Treasury Direct and I can't link my credit union account. Now need to find another credit union I can use.

That is so disappointing! I hope you can find a credit union or bank you like which will connect with TD.

{Edit} - I just saw your other post (viewtopic.php?p=7169023#p7169023) asking questions about the transfer from your credit union to TD. I hope the credit union rep was thinking you meant cashing in paper bonds and didn't really understand what you were asking. It should be a straightforward thing, with no help from a credit union or bank. Let us know!

Thanks! Everyone in the thread was saying not to worry about it and several people said they think the credit union was just confused. I went ahead and purchased ibonds today so we'll see how it goes, but didn't run into any issues yet.

Awesome!

[alluringreality]

I did a break-even calculation with buying I-bond before May 1 with current 0.4% fixed rate and 6.89% for first six months versus buying in May with a new fixed rate and new variable rate. Subsequent variable rates would be the same between the two scenarios just one month apart.

A May purchase begins paying future inflation 4 months in advance of a March purchase, so time to breakeven may depend on presumptions around future inflation to some extent. I plugged the 2008 rate into my understanding of the following, and it looked fairly similar to your number.
viewtopic.php?p=6942891#p6942891

[ustaad9]

PSA - For those getting I Bonds via tax refunds, looks like you might be getting a single $5k paper bond. At least I did...

I recall some people mentioning this last tax season, so this isn't "new". But was new to me.

When did you file and when did you receive your paper bond?

My federal return was accepted on March 6th. I assume I'll get an April bond before the next reset, but who knows.

I also received a single $5,000 bond (like SnowBog, I heard about it last year but last year I received the variety pack). I filed on 2/24, got my excess refund on 3/8, got the I bond on 3/13. I put it in the mail back to the treasury today, so it should be converted around 4/15.

It's crazy that the IRS doesn't give you the option on your return to provide your conversion-linked account number so it could be directly deposited.

If you provide your treasurydirect account no. to the IRS and if the refund shows up as an electronic bond in your TD account, that would violate their own limit of only $10k in electronic ibond purchases per year per tax ID. That’s why only paper ibonds are issued.

[impatientInv]

I did a break-even calculation with buying I-bond before May 1 with current 0.4% fixed rate and 6.89% for first six months versus buying in May with a new fixed rate and new variable rate. Subsequent variable rates would be the same between the two scenarios just one month apart. For the new fixed rates below, the table below shows approx how long until May purchase would be better than April purchase. For me, that's way too long to break-even and I'll be buying before May 1st.

If next month's CPI comes in at 5%, then the new variable rate would be ~3.4%. If buying before May 1st, then you would get 6.89% for 6 months and ~3.8% for 6 months, averaging to ~5.35% for 12-months. That works for me. I just haven't decided if I'll buy end of March or end of April once we know exactly what the new variable rate will be.

0.60% 8.8 yrs
0.70% 5.8 yrs
0.80% 4.3 yrs
0.90% 3.3 yrs
1.00% 2.6 yrs

Has someone done a comparison of holding iBonds vs Tips funds like SCHP/LTPZ for 5 years, 10 years or longer? I saw this article below. But with charts/data?

https://tipswatch.com/2022/11/20/i-bond ... tage-tips/

[coachd50]

Thanks! Sorry for my confusion.

I think it would serve you well to read up on Series I SAVINGS bonds a bit to understand the nature of the financial instrument before you move forward. I put SAVINGS in all caps to emphasize just one of the features which is that they are non-negotiable instruments.

Thanks. I will check it out some more. I think you are implying that it's important to understand the need to let the ibonds go to maturity (or for at least 5 years). I plan to do that, and have no need to access this money anytime soon, so leaving it for 20+ years was my plan.

Actually- my main point is simply that based on some of the questions and assumptions you have stated in your posts it seems like you really do not understand the financial instruments that you were considering investing your money in. That is generally not a good thing.

I get your point, but I don't see the point in driving this message home in the way you're doing it. We are all learning here. I have a decent understanding of ibonds and since as many have said there is little risk involved, I can't see the harm in trying this with an initial $5,000.

The harm is in following a pattern of behavior, wear one invests in anything without understanding it. You say you have a decent understanding and yet just the other day you seemed to think you were going to get 6.89% for 30 years while asking about duration and saftey.

And there is NO shame at all in those questions. I would just say it may not be the best idea to make a decision when you don’t have all of the information.

You’re absolutely right everyone is here to learn. One big thing to learn is not to invest money in things you don’t fully understand otherwise, you pay the price later on.
For instance , you seemed to be pleased with the idea that you would be earning 6.89%. Are you also aware that there is a very realistic chance that the bond will pay less than 2.5% for multiple 6 month periods and a potential to pay less than 1% ? If that isn’t something that fits your financial plan, well…

[GP813]

I did a break-even calculation with buying I-bond before May 1 with current 0.4% fixed rate and 6.89% for first six months versus buying in May with a new fixed rate and new variable rate. Subsequent variable rates would be the same between the two scenarios just one month apart. For the new fixed rates below, the table below shows approx how long until May purchase would be better than April purchase. For me, that's way too long to break-even and I'll be buying before May 1st.

If next month's CPI comes in at 5%, then the new variable rate would be ~3.4%. If buying before May 1st, then you would get 6.89% for 6 months and ~3.8% for 6 months, averaging to ~5.35% for 12-months. That works for me. I just haven't decided if I'll buy end of March or end of April once we know exactly what the new variable rate will be.

0.60% 8.8 yrs
0.70% 5.8 yrs
0.80% 4.3 yrs
0.90% 3.3 yrs
1.00% 2.6 yrs

Has someone done a comparison of holding iBonds vs Tips funds like SCHP/LTPZ for 5 years, 10 years or longer? I saw this article below. But with charts/data?

https://tipswatch.com/2022/11/20/i-bond ... tage-tips/

viewtopic.php?t=350460

[placeholder]

Like a previous poster said it's bewildering that they must send any paper at all just so you can mail it back to TD. It would be really funny if the person sending these out sits right next to the person receiving them.

They stopped selling paper bonds at banks and the speculation was that they came up with this to clear the old inventory and people used to get odd assortments so my guess would be they have done that but haven't changed the regulations so they have to make new bonds for this and that the more likely thing will be ending the program rather than issuing electronic bonds.

[HueyLD]

Not everyone wants electronic savings bonds.

There are still those who prefer paper I bonds because paper ones allow joint ownership, meaning that one joint owner can redeem the bonds without the consent of the other. This comes in handy when one passes away.

Electronic savings bonds do not allow joint ownership. Rather, they have primary owner WITH secondary owner and the secondary owner is a de facto beneficiary with no rights to the account except when specifically granted by the primary owner. And upon the demise of the primary owner, the secondary owner has to go through required steps to claim the money, just like a beneficiary.

[SnowBog]

I received a 5K I-bond refund (one paper bill) 25 days after filing taxes and about 17 days after I received remainder of my refund at my bank.

All in all, much faster than last year.

Like a previous poster said it's bewildering that they must send any paper at all just so you can mail it back to TD. It would be really funny if the person sending these out sits right next to the person receiving them.

Well - to their credit - its "improving"... Years past, they mailed something like:

• 4 - $1000
• 1 - $500
• 1 - $200
• 6 - $50

All in separate envelopes! I don't want to imagine the cost to print, stuff, and mail all 12 envelopes... At least they seem to finally be done to a single envelope.

[SnowBog]

Not everyone wants electronic savings bonds.

There are still those who prefer paper I bonds because paper ones allow joint ownership, meaning that one joint owner can redeem the bonds without the consent of the other. This comes in handy when one passes away.

Electronic savings bonds do not allow joint ownership. Rather, they have primary owner WITH secondary owner and the secondary owner is a de facto beneficiary with no rights to the account except when specifically granted by the primary owner. And upon the demise of the primary owner, the secondary owner has to go through required steps to claim the money, just like a beneficiary.

I might be splitting hairs - but this isn't entirely true... Or more specifically, if the account owner grants "transaction rights" to spouse, then as I understand it, they work nearly identical to paper bonds. https://thefinancebuff.com/grant-transa ... irect.html

Unfortunately, this needs to be done for each bond individually, so it's easy to forget. In that way, paper bonds are "better" (as they are "or" accounts from creation) - so your post is true - but IMHO only when people don't take the extra step to grant "transact" rights.

I'm less clear on what happens when the first beneficiary dies... My working understandings is the surviving spouse with transaction rights can redeem the bonds without "extra" effort. Arguably they should do the extra work to transfer them to their account, mainly so they can get 1099's and/or change the registration if they want to list someone else (and potentially grant transaction rights). But for example, if they needed the I Bond funds to pay for funeral expenses, they should be able to redeem them quickly without hassle, and then deal with the "official" processes to transfer the bonds later on.

[Darth Xanadu]

Like a previous poster said it's bewildering that they must send any paper at all just so you can mail it back to TD. It would be really funny if the person sending these out sits right next to the person receiving them.

They stopped selling paper bonds at banks and the speculation was that they came up with this to clear the old inventory and people used to get odd assortments so my guess would be they have done that but haven't changed the regulations so they have to make new bonds for this and that the more likely thing will be ending the program rather than issuing electronic bonds.

Interesting perspective, but there is some logic to that.

The administration aspect must be a hassle on all sides of this transaction. Wouldn't the simpler solution be increase the annual limit to $15k and eliminate this goofy tax refund nonsense?

[HueyLD]

The granting of transaction rights stops after primary owner dies, just like a POA.

The secondary owner has to contact TD in order to transfer or redeem the bonds.

[SnowBog]

The granting of transaction rights stops after primary owner dies, just like a POA.

The secondary owner has to contact TD in order to transfer or redeem the bonds.

And how efficient is the government in "knowing" they've died, preventing the survivor from using their "transaction" rights, and thus forcing them to fill out the paperwork required?

Maybe I'm not giving them enough credit... But again, my working theory is you probably have months (if not years) before they'd "force" the survivor to take action.

[SnowBog]

Wouldn't the simpler solution be increase the annual limit to $15k and eliminate this goofy tax refund nonsense?

We have "goofy" rules like this due to politicians... I feel "simpler" and "politics" don't belong in the same sentence...

If it weren't for that... I'd completely agree!

[HueyLD]

The granting of transaction rights stops after primary owner dies, just like a POA.

The secondary owner has to contact TD in order to transfer or redeem the bonds.

And how efficient is the government in "knowing" they've died, preventing the survivor from using their "transaction" rights, and thus forcing them to fill out the paperwork required?

Maybe I'm not giving them enough credit... But again, my working theory is you probably have months (if not years) before they'd "force" the survivor to take action.

You can choose to do what you want, but I choose to follow the rules. No more argument from me about your preference.

“ Electronic savings bonds
If the person who died has an online TreasuryDirect account, contact us.

We will put a hold on the account and tell you what to do.”

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings- ... -of-owner/

[placeholder]

The administration aspect must be a hassle on all sides of this transaction. Wouldn't the simpler solution be increase the annual limit to $15k and eliminate this goofy tax refund nonsense?

Not if the intent was to do something other than raise the limit and if that was case then the likely change would be to eliminate this option.

[Darth Xanadu]

The administration aspect must be a hassle on all sides of this transaction. Wouldn't the simpler solution be increase the annual limit to $15k and eliminate this goofy tax refund nonsense?

Not if the intent was to do something other than raise the limit and if that was case then the likely change would be to eliminate this option.

But the limit is already $15k. All they've done is obfuscated the way to maximize it and created more work to find your way there.

[placeholder]

But the limit is already $15k. All they've done is obfuscated the way to maximize it and created more work to find your way there.

No because only people with certain circumstances can do the extra purchase so this is similar to people that suggest they remove the income limit for roth ira because some use backdoor roth.

[FriedOkra]

[Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]

Because of the retirement horizons for me and my spouse, I am pretty committed to annual purchases of I-Bonds for us (started last year) with a holding period of at least 10 years.

Recently, I've seen a lot of hemming and hawing about whether to buy them for 2023 in April and at least get the 6.89% rate for six months or whether to wait until May on the hope that the fixed rate portion will rise to around 0.8% from the current 0.4% fixed rate, even if the six-month composite rate drops to around 4%. I've also seen elaborate "gift box" strategies (some stretching out for 10 years), including variations suggesting buying half of the gift boxes in April and the other half in May to "split the difference" and "get the best of both worlds."

All of this feels to me like an exercise in bond market timing. Wouldn't a more truly Boglehead approach be to enjoy the current high yields on VUSXX until April 26 or so, buy the I-Bonds for 2023 on April 26 to secure the 6-month guarantee of 6.89% and the fixed rate of 0.4%, and then make my decisions about 2024 purchases once we get there? I guess I see a paradox between the usual KISS strategy in Bogleheadland and all this contortionism in trying to "beat" the I-Bond market. Thoughts?

[MrJedi]

Savings Bonds are very unique and non-marketable. So I'm not sure market timing applies to them, since they are not subject to open market forces.

[LadyGeek]

I merged FriedOkra's thread into the ongoing discussion.

[conservativeinvestor]

[Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]

Because of the retirement horizons for me and my spouse, I am pretty committed to annual purchases of I-Bonds for us (started last year) with a holding period of at least 10 years.

Recently, I've seen a lot of hemming and hawing about whether to buy them for 2023 in April and at least get the 6.89% rate for six months or whether to wait until May on the hope that the fixed rate portion will rise to around 0.8% from the current 0.4% fixed rate, even if the six-month composite rate drops to around 4%. I've also seen elaborate "gift box" strategies (some stretching out for 10 years), including variations suggesting buying half of the gift boxes in April and the other half in May to "split the difference" and "get the best of both worlds."

All of this feels to me like an exercise in bond market timing. Wouldn't a more truly Boglehead approach be to enjoy the current high yields on VUSXX until April 26 or so, buy the I-Bonds for 2023 on April 26 to secure the 6-month guarantee of 6.89% and the fixed rate of 0.4%, and then make my decisions about 2024 purchases once we get there? I guess I see a paradox between the usual KISS strategy in Bogleheadland and all this contortionism in trying to "beat" the I-Bond market. Thoughts?

I have been buying the max each year on Jan 1 and don't worry too much about trying to optimize a few tenths of a percent but seems like some people enjoy the speculation.

[Mel Lindauer]

Not everyone wants electronic savings bonds.

There are still those who prefer paper I bonds because paper ones allow joint ownership, meaning that one joint owner can redeem the bonds without the consent of the other. This comes in handy when one passes away.

Electronic savings bonds do not allow joint ownership. Rather, they have primary owner WITH secondary owner and the secondary owner is a de facto beneficiary with no rights to the account except when specifically granted by the primary owner. And upon the demise of the primary owner, the secondary owner has to go through required steps to claim the money, just like a beneficiary.

That's true that not everyone wants electronic savings bonds. In addition to the joint ownership mentioned by HueyLD above, paper bonds offer additional benefits:
1. You don't have to deal with TD which is a benefit for some folks.
2. Paper bonds can be redeemed at many local banks and the money is available immediately.
3. If paper bonds are lost, stolen, or even fraudulently redeemed, you will be made whole by Treasury.
4. On the other hand, if your online TD account gets hacked and cleaned out, it's on you. TD will not make you whole. That's a huge red flag for me.
5. While your heirs can find paper bonds, they may not know about TD since TD doesn't send any statements like most financial institutions do for your heirs to find.
6. And, if the paper bonds are jointly owned by your heirs, they don't have to do anything special. They can simply go to the bank and redeem them without any additional paperwork.

Having said all of that, I think most folks know that I'm a huge fan of I Bonds and am happy that so many are comfortable with TD, despite the occasional horror stories we see here about folks getting locked out of their accounts, the TD site being down and long waits phone for Customer Service.

Whatever works for others is fine with me. I just prefer paper.

[cshell2]

Not everyone wants electronic savings bonds.

There are still those who prefer paper I bonds because paper ones allow joint ownership, meaning that one joint owner can redeem the bonds without the consent of the other. This comes in handy when one passes away.

Electronic savings bonds do not allow joint ownership. Rather, they have primary owner WITH secondary owner and the secondary owner is a de facto beneficiary with no rights to the account except when specifically granted by the primary owner. And upon the demise of the primary owner, the secondary owner has to go through required steps to claim the money, just like a beneficiary.

That's true that not everyone wants electronic savings bonds. In addition to the joint ownership mentioned by HueyLD above, paper bonds offer additional benefits:
1. You don't have to deal with TD which is a benefit for some folks.
2. Paper bonds can be redeemed at many local banks and the money is available immediately.
3. If paper bonds are lost, stolen, or even fraudulently redeemed, you will be made whole by Treasury.
4. On the other hand, if your online TD account gets hacked and cleaned out, it's on you. TD will not make you whole. That's a huge red flag for me.
5. While your heirs can find paper bonds, they may not know about TD since TD doesn't send any statements like most financial institutions do for your heirs to find.
6. And, if the paper bonds are jointly owned by your heirs, they don't have to do anything special. They can simply go to the bank and redeem them without any additional paperwork.

Having said all of that, I think most folks know that I'm a huge fan of I Bonds and am happy that so many are comfortable with TD, despite the occasional horror stories we see here about folks getting locked out of their accounts, the TD site being down and long waits phone for Customer Service.

Whatever works for others is fine with me. I just prefer paper.

I prefer paper as well. I'm by no means a luddite, but when it comes to bonds I just really like having a physical bond for the reasons you mentioned and haven't sent any of mine in to be converted. It just feels more secure to me. I keep a list of all the issue dates and serial numbers in several locations, so even if they were lost or destroyed it would be easy to replace them. The kids know where they are so if I get hit by a bus tomorrow it's one less online account to deal with.

[GaryA505]

I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who bought I Bonds last year but has sort of lost enthusiasm for them. It seems like it is going to result in a more complicated portfolio and the resulting more complicated management, especially as I get older and/or my wife has to take over the finances.

[SnowBog]

I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who bought I Bonds last year but has sort of lost enthusiasm for them. It seems like it is going to result in a more complicated portfolio and the resulting more complicated management, especially as I get older and/or my wife has to take over the finances.

IMHO most people who bought last year - especially those "lured in" by the high interest rates back then - where probably chasing yield...

And as rates go down, they'll see other - simpler - things with better yield, and thus decide to move on.

So no, you aren't alone...

I was buying I Bonds before their rates skyrocketed, as they (along with EE Bonds) fit nicely into our overall plans. Candidly, I don't care what the I Bonds rate is (OK, I'd prefer a high fixed rate). I buy them mostly for "what they are" and "how they work", collective they are arguably one of the best stores of value. The $10k I Bond I bought this year will effectively buy the same inflation adjusted about of goods into the future (or until maturity in 30 years, with slight tweaks to taxes and fixed rate) - regardless of market or inflation conditions. Nothing else can do this. Combined with EE Bonds, they will provide a "guaranteed income" (aka DIY Annuity) between the time we retire and our delayed social security & pensions. So we are in for the long haul - regardless of rates...

[Richard1580]

I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who bought I Bonds last year but has sort of lost enthusiasm for them. It seems like it is going to result in a more complicated portfolio and the resulting more complicated management, especially as I get older and/or my wife has to take over the finances.

Yes and no. Two years ago when I first started buying them I was looking for someplace to park cash that would keep up with inflation. I had looked at TIPS but was put off by their negative yield (at the time). Now, I am building a rolling 5-year TIPS ladder with a positive yield. The ~$100K we have in I-Bonds will serve as our emergency fund - I have no plans of getting rid of them, although I may look at selling some in a couple of years and replacing them with others if the coupon gets up to 1-2%. It remains a work in progress.

[harvestbook]

I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who bought I Bonds last year but has sort of lost enthusiasm for them. It seems like it is going to result in a more complicated portfolio and the resulting more complicated management, especially as I get older and/or my wife has to take over the finances.

I first learned about them because of the appealing high rate. Then I saw they were more or less stable when everything else tanked and realized they would be something I'd like for the long haul. I'll keep what I have and buy more once all tax-deferred is full.

[nps]

That's true that not everyone wants electronic savings bonds. In addition to the joint ownership mentioned by HueyLD above, paper bonds offer additional benefits:
1. You don't have to deal with TD which is a benefit for some folks.
2. Paper bonds can be redeemed at many local banks and the money is available immediately.
3. If paper bonds are lost, stolen, or even fraudulently redeemed, you will be made whole by Treasury.
4. On the other hand, if your online TD account gets hacked and cleaned out, it's on you. TD will not make you whole. That's a huge red flag for me.
5. While your heirs can find paper bonds, they may not know about TD since TD doesn't send any statements like most financial institutions do for your heirs to find.
6. And, if the paper bonds are jointly owned by your heirs, they don't have to do anything special. They can simply go to the bank and redeem them without any additional paperwork.

Preferences don't really matter much if you want to buy a lot of I-bonds these days. You can either do a convoluted tax payment scheme to get at most a $5000 paper bond, or you can accept that you have to buy electronic (or both - but limits on electronic bonds are much higher especially for a couple, under a trust, and/or with a gift).

I never understood the logic on #5, just print out your TD bond info and stick that paper wherever your heirs would have otherwise found your paper bonds.

[LittleMaggieMae]

5. While your heirs can find paper bonds, they may not know about TD since TD doesn't send any statements like most financial institutions do for your heirs to find.

FWIW: Treasury Direct will send emails to the email address you set up with your account -when a bond matures for example. Or when a T-Bill rolls over into a new one.

[impatientInv]

I did a break-even calculation with buying I-bond before May 1 with current 0.4% fixed rate and 6.89% for first six months versus buying in May with a new fixed rate and new variable rate. Subsequent variable rates would be the same between the two scenarios just one month apart. For the new fixed rates below, the table below shows approx how long until May purchase would be better than April purchase. For me, that's way too long to break-even and I'll be buying before May 1st.

If next month's CPI comes in at 5%, then the new variable rate would be ~3.4%. If buying before May 1st, then you would get 6.89% for 6 months and ~3.8% for 6 months, averaging to ~5.35% for 12-months. That works for me. I just haven't decided if I'll buy end of March or end of April once we know exactly what the new variable rate will be.

0.60% 8.8 yrs
0.70% 5.8 yrs
0.80% 4.3 yrs
0.90% 3.3 yrs
1.00% 2.6 yrs

Has someone done a comparison of holding iBonds vs Tips funds like SCHP/LTPZ for 5 years, 10 years or longer? I saw this article below. But with charts/data?

https://tipswatch.com/2022/11/20/i-bond ... tage-tips/

viewtopic.php?t=350460

I compared the growth of $10,000 if someone bought $10,000 dollars in January every year since 1999 to January 2021.

If my Excel is correct, $10,000 of I Bonds purchased every January since 1999 would accumulate to $364,060.00 in January of 2021. The chart below compares to other investment choices.

Code: Select all

| Ticker | Fund                                    | Fund Final Balance | I Bond Final Balance | Variance (Fund vs I Bond) |
|--------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------|----------------------|---------------------------|
|        | I Bonds                                 | $364,060.00        | $364,060.00          | $0.00 (0.0%)              |
| CASHX  | Cash                                    | $261,607.00        | $364,060.00          | -$102,453.00 (-28.1%)     |
| VFISX  | Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Inv        | $301,899.00        | $364,060.00          | -$62,161.00 (-17.1%)      |
| VSGBX  | Vanguard Short-Term Federal Inv         | $313,716.00        | $364,060.00          | -$50,344.00 (-13.8%)      |
| VFITX  | Vanguard Interm-Term Treasury Inv       | $375,367.00        | $364,060.00          | $11,307.00 (3.1%)         |
| VBMFX  | Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Inv    | $380,253.00        | $364,060.00          | $16,193.00 (4.4%)         |
| VIPSX  | Vanguard Inflation-Protected Secs Inv** | $362,595.00        | $330,936.00          | $31,659.00 (9.6%)         |
| VUSTX  | Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Inv         | $522,147.00        | $364,060.00          | $158,087.00 (43.4%)       |

As I Bonds seem to have perform better than T-Bills historically, should be an good place to keep emergency funds.

[Mel Lindauer]

That's true that not everyone wants electronic savings bonds. In addition to the joint ownership mentioned by HueyLD above, paper bonds offer additional benefits:
1. You don't have to deal with TD which is a benefit for some folks.
2. Paper bonds can be redeemed at many local banks and the money is available immediately.
3. If paper bonds are lost, stolen, or even fraudulently redeemed, you will be made whole by Treasury.
4. On the other hand, if your online TD account gets hacked and cleaned out, it's on you. TD will not make you whole. That's a huge red flag for me.
5. While your heirs can find paper bonds, they may not know about TD since TD doesn't send any statements like most financial institutions do for your heirs to find.
6. And, if the paper bonds are jointly owned by your heirs, they don't have to do anything special. They can simply go to the bank and redeem them without any additional paperwork.

Preferences don't really matter much if you want to buy a lot of I-bonds these days. You can either do a convoluted tax payment scheme to get at most a $5000 paper bond, or you can accept that you have to buy electronic (or both - but limits on electronic bonds are much higher especially for a couple, under a trust, and/or with a gift).

I never understood the logic on #5, just print out your TD bond info and stick that paper wherever your heirs would have otherwise found your paper bonds.

What one can do and what one does can be two different things. And even when they know about the account, having to deal with TD when an owner dies can be overwhelming for the remaining spouse or heirs.

And I also wanted to address the choice of keeping the paper I Bonds folks get with their tax returns or sending them to TD for conversion to electronic bonds. Most of the posts complain that they have to mail them in (as if they didn't have the choice to keep them) and complain about how long it takes to show up in their account. Others ask why the IRS doesn't simply add the return figure to their TD account, rather than issue paper bonds, as if electronic is the only option and the paper bonds are simply a troublesome intermediate step, rather than making them the final step for the safety and flexibility they offer.

If I had the choice, I'd definitely keep the paper I Bonds that I got rather than send them to TD to convert to electronic. It's like having a ready check that you can cash at any time after one year.

Again, to each his/her own.

[nps]

What one can do and what one does can be two different things. And eve when they know about the account, having to deal with TD when an owner dies can be overwhelming for the remaining spouse or heirs.

And I also wanted to address the choice of keeping the paper I Bonds folks get with their tax returns or sending them to TD for conversion to electronic bonds. Most of the posts complain that they have to mail them in (as if they didn't have the choice to keep them) and complain about how long it takes to show up in their account. Others ask why the IRS doesn't simply add the return figure to their TD account, rather than issue paper bonds, as if electronic is the only option and the paper bonds are simply a troublesome intermediate step, rather than making them the final step for the safety and flexibility they offer.

If I had the choice, I'd definitely keep the paper I Bonds that I got rather than send them to TD to convert to electronic. It's like having a ready check that you can cash at any time after one year.

Again, to each his/her own.

Unfortunately you don't have a choice, unless you desire to purchase $5000 or less per year.

[dcabler]

Not everyone wants electronic savings bonds.

There are still those who prefer paper I bonds because paper ones allow joint ownership, meaning that one joint owner can redeem the bonds without the consent of the other. This comes in handy when one passes away.

Electronic savings bonds do not allow joint ownership. Rather, they have primary owner WITH secondary owner and the secondary owner is a de facto beneficiary with no rights to the account except when specifically granted by the primary owner. And upon the demise of the primary owner, the secondary owner has to go through required steps to claim the money, just like a beneficiary.

That's true that not everyone wants electronic savings bonds. In addition to the joint ownership mentioned by HueyLD above, paper bonds offer additional benefits:
1. You don't have to deal with TD which is a benefit for some folks.
2. Paper bonds can be redeemed at many local banks and the money is available immediately.
3. If paper bonds are lost, stolen, or even fraudulently redeemed, you will be made whole by Treasury.
4. On the other hand, if your online TD account gets hacked and cleaned out, it's on you. TD will not make you whole. That's a huge red flag for me.
5. While your heirs can find paper bonds, they may not know about TD since TD doesn't send any statements like most financial institutions do for your heirs to find.
6. And, if the paper bonds are jointly owned by your heirs, they don't have to do anything special. They can simply go to the bank and redeem them without any additional paperwork.

Having said all of that, I think most folks know that I'm a huge fan of I Bonds and am happy that so many are comfortable with TD, despite the occasional horror stories we see here about folks getting locked out of their accounts, the TD site being down and long waits phone for Customer Service.

Whatever works for others is fine with me. I just prefer paper.

I recall your thread from a very long time ago regarding #4 and the discussions you had with people at TD. But have you (or anybody else) revisited that? Does anybody actually KNOW of a case where this actually happened? Even in your original thread back in the day, this seemed awfully unlikely to me.

Cheers

[Tom_T]

I recall your thread from a very long time ago regarding #4 and the discussions you had with people at TD. But have you (or anybody else) revisited that? Does anybody actually KNOW of a case where this actually happened? Even in your original thread back in the day, this seemed awfully unlikely to me.

We had this very discussion last summer. Nobody knew of any actual instances of this. People seemed more concerned about (a) getting locked out, or (b) family members inappropriately accessing the site.

viewtopic.php?t=383394

[dcabler]

I recall your thread from a very long time ago regarding #4 and the discussions you had with people at TD. But have you (or anybody else) revisited that? Does anybody actually KNOW of a case where this actually happened? Even in your original thread back in the day, this seemed awfully unlikely to me.

We had this very discussion last summer. Nobody knew of any actual instances of this. People seemed more concerned about (a) getting locked out, or (b) family members inappropriately accessing the site.

viewtopic.php?t=383394

Yes I'm aware of that thread - and the ones before it all the way back to around 2011 when Mel brought it up. And agree, the biggest issue is getting locked out ourselves or our heirs not having easy access, etc. etc... Also aware that getting money out by somebody who happened to hack into your account without your knowledge would still be pretty difficult (see comments in those threads about what it takes to add another bank account, for example or perhaps the hacker needing to also be able to hack your bank account as well)

And a google search hasn't actually turned up any actual stories either.

I still see this is an extremely low likelihood event and am not going to lose a wink of sleep over it.

Cheers

[Mel Lindauer]

^^^ While it's probably highly unlikely, that really doesn't matter at all if you happen to be the first and become the poster boy for how it was done. You can't go crying to TD, since you were warned.

[coachd50]

As I Bonds seem to have perform better than T-Bills historically, should be an good place to keep emergency funds.

Keep in mind that nearly 25% of those purchases referenced saw at least 100 basis point differential than current rates, with the first 3 years having a fixed rate of over 3%. When talking about I bond purchases in 2023, referring to the performance of bonds that have compounded at over 5% annually probably isn't an apples to oranges comparison.

[dcabler]

^^^ While it's probably highly unlikely, that really doesn't matter at all if you happen to be the first and become the poster boy for how it was done. You can't go crying to TD, since you were warned.

Somebody's always going to be the first at something. I might get in a car accident. You as well. (heaven forbid on both counts) but I can think a lot of risks I'm taking elsewhere with higher probability than this with significantly more impact. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if this might be the case for you as well. As for me, I'll continue to not lose sleep over this.

Cheers (really, cheers!)

[Mel Lindauer]

^^^ While it's probably highly unlikely, that really doesn't matter at all if you happen to be the first and become the poster boy for how it was done. You can't go crying to TD, since you were warned.

Somebody's always going to be the first at something. I might get in a car accident. You as well. (heaven forbid on both counts) but I can think a lot of risks I'm taking elsewhere with higher probability than this with significantly more impact. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if this might be the case for you as well. As for me, I'll continue to not lose sleep over this.

Cheers (really, cheers!)

Let's hope that neither you nor anyone else has to be the first. That's simply a risk I'm not willing to take since I already have more than my fair share of high fixed rate I Bonds.

[nps]

That's simply a risk I'm not willing to take since I already have more than my fair share of high fixed rate I Bonds.

That's great that you have no need to buy I bonds going forward! You have clearly done well and amassed what you need in paper bonds.

However the people that are trying to evaluate the risk of buying electronic bonds now are not similarly situated. It is not possible for them to buy large amounts of paper bonds. This is a thread about buying I bonds, perhaps there should be a separate one to reminisce about the good old days of I bonds when the fixed rates were high, you could buy $30k worth on your credit card, and those large amounts would be delivered to you in paper form. None of those things apply today.

As for the risk, "you've been warned" therefore "you can't go crying to TD" is simply not an accurate description of one's options in remediating an account breach. Using it as an argument to prefer paper bonds is also not relevant to most people deciding whether to buy bonds today. Once again, the ability to decide between paper and electronic has long since passed for anything but minimal amounts.

[dcabler]

^^^ While it's probably highly unlikely, that really doesn't matter at all if you happen to be the first and become the poster boy for how it was done. You can't go crying to TD, since you were warned.

Somebody's always going to be the first at something. I might get in a car accident. You as well. (heaven forbid on both counts) but I can think a lot of risks I'm taking elsewhere with higher probability than this with significantly more impact. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if this might be the case for you as well. As for me, I'll continue to not lose sleep over this.

Cheers (really, cheers!)

Let's hope that neither you nor anyone else has to be the first. That's simply a risk I'm not willing to take since I already have more than my fair share of high fixed rate I Bonds.

Completely understandable, since there's no reason for you to take any risk at all at this point, no matter how miniscule.

Cheers.

[coachd50]

That's simply a risk I'm not willing to take since I already have more than my fair share of high fixed rate I Bonds.

That's great that you have no need to buy I bonds going forward! You have clearly done well and amassed what you need in paper bonds.

However the people that are trying to evaluate the risk of buying electronic bonds now are not similarly situated. It is not possible for them to buy large amounts of paper bonds. This is a thread about buying I bonds, perhaps there should be a separate one to reminisce about the good old days of I bonds when the fixed rates were high, you could buy $30k worth on your credit card, and those large amounts would be delivered to you in paper form. None of those things apply today.

As for the risk, "you've been warned" therefore "you can't go crying to TD" is simply not an accurate description of one's options in remediating an account breach. Using it as an argument to prefer paper bonds is also not relevant to most people deciding whether to buy bonds today. Once again, the ability to decide between paper and electronic has long since passed for anything but minimal amounts.

I agree wholeheartedly. I think some posters, particularly newer or lesser experienced have been done a disservice the last few months when asking questions and looking for opinions and strategies about purchasing Series I Savings Bonds in 2023- with low fixed rates and a seemingly cooling inflationary environment by posts conflating the issue talking about the benefits of 3% fixed bonds bought 25 years ago that also yielded credit card bonuses.

I think those looking for info, opinions, and strategies ( myself included) would be so much better served if the knowledge and wisdom of those well versed in I bonds would focus on the current situation and give opinions on that even if they aren't personally themselves in the same situation.

I absolutely think that concerns over TD would be important to factor into the current situation, and I appreciate Mel's candor on that topic.

[Mel Lindauer]

That's simply a risk I'm not willing to take since I already have more than my fair share of high fixed rate I Bonds.

That's great that you have no need to buy I bonds going forward! You have clearly done well and amassed what you need in paper bonds.

However the people that are trying to evaluate the risk of buying electronic bonds now are not similarly situated. It is not possible for them to buy large amounts of paper bonds. This is a thread about buying I bonds, perhaps there should be a separate one to reminisce about the good old days of I bonds when the fixed rates were high, you could buy $30k worth on your credit card, and those large amounts would be delivered to you in paper form. None of those things apply today.

As for the risk, "you've been warned" therefore "you can't go crying to TD" is simply not an accurate description of one's options in remediating an account breach. Using it as an argument to prefer paper bonds is also not relevant to most people deciding whether to buy bonds today. Once again, the ability to decide between paper and electronic has long since passed for anything but minimal amounts.

I agree wholeheartedly. I think some posters, particularly newer or lesser experienced have been done a disservice the last few months when asking questions and looking for opinions and strategies about purchasing Series I Savings Bonds in 2023- with low fixed rates and a seemingly cooling inflationary environment by posts conflating the issue talking about the benefits of 3% fixed bonds bought 25 years ago that also yielded credit card bonuses.

I think those looking for info, opinions, and strategies ( myself included) would be so much better served if the knowledge and wisdom of those well versed in I bonds would focus on the current situation and give opinions on that even if they aren't personally themselves in the same situation.

I absolutely think that concerns over TD would be important to factor into the current situation, and I appreciate Mel's candor on that topic.

Several points:
1. I was a lone voice in the wilderness in support of I Bonds when they first came out. I still am a proponent of them, as my posts have proven over the years.
2. However, having said that, I personally am not a fan of TD for a number of reasons, but I don't try to discourage those who find the website and TD functional.
3. I just want those who use TD to be aware of the risk (granted very low) associated with TD when it comes to having their account cleaned out by a hacker since I never see that discussed.
4. I wonder why, when folks get paper I Bonds from their tax returns, many (most) seem to feel the need to immediately send them off to TD to be added to their electronic bonds. I think that holding on to those paper I Bonds offers a lot of security and flexibility for when money is needed immediately in an emergency and TD is down for maintenance or other reasons, or they are locked out for some silly reason, such as hitting the backspace key.

In the end, I simply present my opinions and let folks decide for themselves. I'm not on a mission against TD; I just personally don't feel comfortable with it for both me and my heirs.

To each his/her own. Whatever works for you.

[coachd50]

That's simply a risk I'm not willing to take since I already have more than my fair share of high fixed rate I Bonds.

That's great that you have no need to buy I bonds going forward! You have clearly done well and amassed what you need in paper bonds.

However the people that are trying to evaluate the risk of buying electronic bonds now are not similarly situated. It is not possible for them to buy large amounts of paper bonds. This is a thread about buying I bonds, perhaps there should be a separate one to reminisce about the good old days of I bonds when the fixed rates were high, you could buy $30k worth on your credit card, and those large amounts would be delivered to you in paper form. None of those things apply today.

As for the risk, "you've been warned" therefore "you can't go crying to TD" is simply not an accurate description of one's options in remediating an account breach. Using it as an argument to prefer paper bonds is also not relevant to most people deciding whether to buy bonds today. Once again, the ability to decide between paper and electronic has long since passed for anything but minimal amounts.

I agree wholeheartedly. I think some posters, particularly newer or lesser experienced have been done a disservice the last few months when asking questions and looking for opinions and strategies about purchasing Series I Savings Bonds in 2023- with low fixed rates and a seemingly cooling inflationary environment by posts conflating the issue talking about the benefits of 3% fixed bonds bought 25 years ago that also yielded credit card bonuses.

I think those looking for info, opinions, and strategies ( myself included) would be so much better served if the knowledge and wisdom of those well versed in I bonds would focus on the current situation and give opinions on that even if they aren't personally themselves in the same situation.

I absolutely think that concerns over TD would be important to factor into the current situation, and I appreciate Mel's candor on that topic.

Several points:
1. I was a lone voice in the wilderness in support of I Bonds when they first came out. I still am a proponent of them, as my posts have proven over the years.

Yes, but respectfully I think that has led to a bit of a bias from you in many of these "I bonds/should I buy/No brainer" etc. type threads. From my perspective as a reader of your posts, many of your replies seem to not reflect the perspective of someone looking to buy in 2023- but rather viewing the purchase as if it were 1999.

2. However, having said that, I personally am not a fan of TD for a number of reasons, but I don't try to discourage those who find the website and TD functional.
3. I just want those who use TD to be aware of the risk (granted very low) associated with TD when it comes to having their account cleaned out by a hacker since I never see that discussed.
4. I wonder why, when folks get paper I Bonds from their tax returns, many (most) seem to feel the need to immediately send them off to TD to be added to their electronic bonds. I think that holding on to those paper I Bonds offers a lot of security and flexibility for when money is needed immediately in an emergency and TD is down for maintenance or other reasons, or they are locked out for some silly reason, such as hitting the backspace key.

In the end, I simply present my opinions and let folks decide for themselves. I'm not on a mission against TD; I just personally don't feel comfortable with it for both me and my heirs.

To each his/her own. Whatever works for you.

I do appreciate the opinions on the logistical realities and potential roadblocks of using TD.

[SnowBog]

To each his/her own. Whatever works for you.

Couldn't agree more!

And thanks for everything you've done, especially helping turn so many of us on to I Bonds!

4. I wonder why, when folks get paper I Bonds from their tax returns, many (most) seem to feel the need to immediately send them off to TD to be added to their electronic bonds. I think that holding on to those paper I Bonds offers a lot of security and flexibility for when money is needed immediately in an emergency and TD is down for maintenance or other reasons, or they are locked out for some silly reason, such as hitting the backspace key.

In a word, simplicity. But I'll come back to that...

For many of us $5k isn't adequate. In our case, we are buying $45k of I Bonds annually (including trusts). Which means we must use TD. That's non-negotiable - or we can't buy enough I Bonds to meet our needs.

Yes, TD has a different risk profile than how paper bonds were treated. But again, that's non-negotiable if we want more than $5k...

If we keep paper bonds (which currently I do), that means we have two things to manage. For our paper bonds, I need to store them, and I need to hope my spouse (or heirs) don't forget about them and throw them out someday. And unless people have built a spreadsheet to track them and their adjusted current value, those paper bonds aren't as intuitive to know how much they are worth. Sure, you can look them up online - if you know where to go - but that's more work.

And not as many banks accept savings bonds anymore. And not everyone maintains a relationship with banks that do. So to my mind, it's equally likely that someone might spend many hours driving/calling around trying to find a place to cash their savings bonds as it is they might have technical issues the weekend they are trying to cash bonds. In both cases - I suspect most people can wait the few days needed - should such situations arrive.

Lastly, for those that have grown up with internet, and perhaps even mobile devices, available most of their lives, they value the convenience of an "online" account. Within seconds, they can check their balances, even sell bonds whenever they want - like 3 AM Saturday morning.

You combine those things together, and keeping all savings bonds at TD provides simplicity.

So, to those who want to hold paper...
And to those who want to convert them to electronic...

[Mel Lindauer]

To each his/her own. Whatever works for you.

Couldn't agree more!

And thanks for everything you've done, especially helping turn so many of us on to I Bonds!

4. I wonder why, when folks get paper I Bonds from their tax returns, many (most) seem to feel the need to immediately send them off to TD to be added to their electronic bonds. I think that holding on to those paper I Bonds offers a lot of security and flexibility for when money is needed immediately in an emergency and TD is down for maintenance or other reasons, or they are locked out for some silly reason, such as hitting the backspace key.

In a word, simplicity. But I'll come back to that...

For many of us $5k isn't adequate. In our case, we are buying $45k of I Bonds annually (including trusts). Which means we must use TD. That's non-negotiable - or we can't buy enough I Bonds to meet our needs.

Yes, TD has a different risk profile than how paper bonds were treated. But again, that's non-negotiable if we want more than $5k...

If we keep paper bonds (which currently I do), that means we have two things to manage. For our paper bonds, I need to store them, and I need to hope my spouse (or heirs) don't forget about them and throw them out someday. And unless people have built a spreadsheet to track them and their adjusted current value, those paper bonds aren't as intuitive to know how much they are worth. Sure, you can look them up online - if you know where to go - but that's more work.

And not as many banks accept savings bonds anymore. And not everyone maintains a relationship with banks that do. So to my mind, it's equally likely that someone might spend many hours driving/calling around trying to find a place to cash their savings bonds as it is they might have technical issues the weekend they are trying to cash bonds. In both cases - I suspect most people can wait the few days needed - should such situations arrive.

Lastly, for those that have grown up with internet, and perhaps even mobile devices, available most of their lives, they value the convenience of an "online" account. Within seconds, they can check their balances, even sell bonds whenever they want - like 3 AM Saturday morning.

You combine those things together, and keeping all savings bonds at TD provides simplicity.

So, to those who want to hold paper...
And to those who want to convert them to electronic...

All valid points. In this case, though, I like the flexibility of some paper I Bonds vs simplicity, just in case, but that's a personal choice.

As I said previously, and continue to say: "Whatever works for YOU."

[dcabler]

That's simply a risk I'm not willing to take since I already have more than my fair share of high fixed rate I Bonds.

That's great that you have no need to buy I bonds going forward! You have clearly done well and amassed what you need in paper bonds.

However the people that are trying to evaluate the risk of buying electronic bonds now are not similarly situated. It is not possible for them to buy large amounts of paper bonds. This is a thread about buying I bonds, perhaps there should be a separate one to reminisce about the good old days of I bonds when the fixed rates were high, you could buy $30k worth on your credit card, and those large amounts would be delivered to you in paper form. None of those things apply today.

As for the risk, "you've been warned" therefore "you can't go crying to TD" is simply not an accurate description of one's options in remediating an account breach. Using it as an argument to prefer paper bonds is also not relevant to most people deciding whether to buy bonds today. Once again, the ability to decide between paper and electronic has long since passed for anything but minimal amounts.

I agree wholeheartedly. I think some posters, particularly newer or lesser experienced have been done a disservice the last few months when asking questions and looking for opinions and strategies about purchasing Series I Savings Bonds in 2023- with low fixed rates and a seemingly cooling inflationary environment by posts conflating the issue talking about the benefits of 3% fixed bonds bought 25 years ago that also yielded credit card bonuses.

I think those looking for info, opinions, and strategies ( myself included) would be so much better served if the knowledge and wisdom of those well versed in I bonds would focus on the current situation and give opinions on that even if they aren't personally themselves in the same situation.

I absolutely think that concerns over TD would be important to factor into the current situation, and I appreciate Mel's candor on that topic.

Several points:
1. I was a lone voice in the wilderness in support of I Bonds when they first came out. I still am a proponent of them, as my posts have proven over the years.
2. However, having said that, I personally am not a fan of TD for a number of reasons, but I don't try to discourage those who find the website and TD functional.
3. I just want those who use TD to be aware of the risk (granted very low) associated with TD when it comes to having their account cleaned out by a hacker since I never see that discussed.
4. I wonder why, when folks get paper I Bonds from their tax returns, many (most) seem to feel the need to immediately send them off to TD to be added to their electronic bonds. I think that holding on to those paper I Bonds offers a lot of security and flexibility for when money is needed immediately in an emergency and TD is down for maintenance or other reasons, or they are locked out for some silly reason, such as hitting the backspace key.

In the end, I simply present my opinions and let folks decide for themselves. I'm not on a mission against TD; I just personally don't feel comfortable with it for both me and my heirs.

To each his/her own. Whatever works for you.

For #4, I see that as primarily an advantage for somebody who uses I-bonds as part of their emergency fund. I could easily see having a few of the $5K bonds which were purchased via a tax refund in paper form if that's why I held I-bonds.

Currently I own duration matched TIPS to provide me inflation adjusted income till the end of my 89th year and I have I bonds for the rest of the way for that part of my portfolio. Here, simplicity rules.

I only wish I were a BH'er back when you were the lone voice crying in the wilderness!!!!

Cheers.