in savings bonds....
does anyone have them...
good/bad/other
opinions
please and thankyou
teasingbrunette

tie up your money for years with minimal return......I guess it helps .....??

saving bonds used to be a great way to help the us but that went away a long long time ago i dont know how much you planing on investing but your best option would be a fixed rate cd for a very safe investment better return then a bond or you can always go with a roth ira which you can add 5k a year to and when you pull it out it is not taxed hope i helped

really just looking at options of where to put some money into......a bit of diversity..smile..I must have heard that somewhere....thanks for replying....
teasingbrunette

savings bonds are nice for gifts, and for conservative investors. They are a good way to start in the market, and are a stable investment. Interest earned on savings bonds are tax exempt so getting a return on 3 - 3.5% or so is not bad. You loose liquidity over cash, but savings bonds are relatively easy to turn to cash... for comparison, current CD rates are down around 1.5% for 6 month, and around 2.5 for 36 month. Personally? I would buy savings bonds over CD in this market...

bonds (including savings bonds) are an important part of your 'portfolio mix'. To answer specifically which bonds and how much is completely dependent upon your risk tolerance...

Personally, I find it best to assess my tolerance, and diversify my holdings between stocks, bonds and cash. Frankly, I do not keep much cash (2%) just becuase it's liquid (easy to access). I prefer to be "fully invested" and use my personal savings account for $$ when needed. Overage in savings usually goes to the market... rarely to I back off to a cash position (actually I cannot recall that I ever have)... if not the market, it is used to pay long term debt...

For me? I am younger and have a more aggressive approach, most of my money is in mutual funds and directly in stocks... with bonds comprising only 9-15% of my overall portfolio. Beacause I am more aggressive - I use more stable funds for my "conservative portion" of my portfolio...

What does this all mean? With the downturn post real estate blow up - my portfolio did fluctuate wildly, but it is looking nice right now -- with the more aggressive approach you have to be willing to tolerate such volitility (if you have less tolerance for risk, this approach would keep you awake at night)...

A few things to remember:

1. assess your risk tolerance
2. volatility = opportunity in the market
3. do not trade on emotion, buy low and sell high... (sound simple, but many many people do the opposite)...
4. buy high grade bonds when you do buy them (I stay away from junk)
5. make long term goals, and invest in order to achieve them....

hey..goodguy..thanks for taking the time to write.....I don't anticipate having to liquify any of these investments..anytime soon.....and do not feel the need to be aggressive...the savings bond..had not really heard much of them...and they would make a good gift...so I will most likely get some...
teasingbrunette

They paid for my divorce, for me to move out and get set up in my own place.
It's an easy way to tie it up and forget about=easy to save them until matured.
Cost $25=$50 when matured
$100=$200 when matured.

Can't lose unless the Federal Gov. goes completely under.
You can cash them in after 6 months if you really need to, no penalty.