Remember when U.S. savings bonds were a popular gift? You could give someone a $50 savings bond, but only pay $25 for it. It would grow over time to eventually reach the face value. Savings bonds have fallen out of favor by most investors because of very low interest rates and their long maturity periods.
Recently, MrConsumer finally decided it was time to cash in some old savings bonds from 1966, 1969, and 1995. He had long since forgotten which savings bonds continued to earn interest and which did not. As it turns out, that was an expensive lesson to learn.
*MOUSE PRINT:
The series “E” bonds from the mid-60s stopped earning interest after 30 years. This means that while the $25 bond pictured above actually was worth just over $123, it hasn’t earned a penny of interest since the mid-90s — some 24 years ago. Duh.
And a $100 series “EE” saving bond from 1995, which still had five more years until it matures, was only worth $111.56 due to a variable interest rate of only 1.02-percent currently.
So take a tip from this experience — check the value of your savings bonds with this handy tool and quickly cash in those that mature and stop earning interest.