We're Dumping I Bonds (and Not Buying Again til October 2024)
In recent years, I Bonds saw a lot of adoption because inflation was high, and interest rates on other investments were pretty low. But in 2023 and 2024, the outlook for I Bonds is mediocre at best. With today's higher interest rates, other investments are looking more attractive.
In this video, we share the guaranteed return you'll get if you buy Series I Savings Bonds in October 2023, and we discuss why it's not very exciting. Then, we explore the option of buying I Bonds from November 2023 through April 2024 - and why October 2024 will be particularly interesting to look at later.
Finally, we talk about why we're redeeming all of the I Bonds we own right now, and what investments we're buying instead.
Where to buy I Bonds: treasurydirect.gov
More info on I Bonds: treasurydirect.gov/savings-bo...
How to invest in index funds (which is a lot easier): www.tripofalifestyle.com/mone...
Best FDIC-insured high-yield savings accounts as an alternative to I Bonds: www.tripofalifestyle.com/mone...
0:00 - Introduction
01:25 - Don't Buy I Bonds in October 2023
02:50 - Why We're Probably Not Buying I Bonds through September 2024
03:54 - Dumping Our I Bonds (and What We're Buying Instead)
#investing #finance #inflation
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We're Lauren and Steven, and we followed some simple financial guidelines that allowed us to quit our full-time jobs forever by age 29. We created Trip Of A Lifestyle to share the knowledge that changed our lives for the better. All of our content is free.
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Пікірлер: 14
We just dropped a summary of our entire experience with I Bonds (with final numbers) on Instagram: instagram.com/p/C1szOj1N7hj/
Will you guys let us know when the best time to buy iBonds will be? Is it also a good thing to max out on them? Why did you guys decided on iBonds over just sticking with the good old stocks?
@TripOfALifestyle
9 ай бұрын
Here's a detailed explanation of why we bought the maximum amount of I Bonds possible in April 2022 (and what conditions to watch for in the future): kzread.info/dash/bejne/nJ-kts6AnbSfl9I.html There is a special window during April and October of every year when it's possible to evaluate I Bonds with 12 months' worth of information instead of the normal 6, and sometimes they're an unusually great deal. We usually post an update video about I Bonds every April and October for this reason, but it looks very unlikely that April 2024 will be exciting for I Bonds, so we may wait to do our next update video until October 2024. We have no idea what conditions will look like at that time.
The current fixed rate ending Oct 23rd 2023 is 0.9%. I decided to buy a little bit over the last six months with a portion of my emergency fund simply to get the fixed rate. I anticipate it will be a good cash alternative.
@TripOfALifestyle
9 ай бұрын
We actually expect the I Bonds fixed rate to increase slightly in November 2023 (potentially to as high as 2%), but we still do not recommend buying I Bonds during 2023 or early 2024.
@JosephDickson
9 ай бұрын
I agree, as an investment I Bonds suck. I consider it a cash alternative, nothing more.
@rebekkasmith6612
9 ай бұрын
@@JosephDickson How is it a cash alternative if you pay penalties for early withdraws?
@JosephDickson
9 ай бұрын
@@rebekkasmith6612 you don't get penalized on the cash you deposited. Just 3 months interest if you withdrawal before 5 years. So at worst it's still better than cash.
@stevenhaller2387
9 ай бұрын
It doesn't make much sense to buy ibond the last week in October for the 4.3% composite rate when we know the Treasury will be raising the fixed rate in November. If the US treasury sets the fixed rate at 2% (being very optimistic) in November your looking at a composite rate of around 5.94% for ibonds.
You're calculating these returns as if you intend to sell them at 12 months. I bonds are designed to be held on to for a long term as a hedge against inflation. They're actually a great purchase right now with the 1.4% fixed rate and 5.3% composite rate. That 1.4% real yield is locked in for 30 years.
@TripOfALifestyle
6 ай бұрын
Our preferred long-term investment vehicle (for money we can afford not to touch for decades) is a broad stock market index fund. While riskier, stocks have dramatically outperformed I Bonds over the long run and have every reason to continue to do so in the future. More info: www.tripofalifestyle.com/money/how-to-invest-in-stocks/ We view I Bonds as a fun, exploitable government program for short-term plays when conditions are favorable. Here are the exact conditions we look for and when: kzread.info/dash/bejne/nJ-kts6AnbSfl9I.html