Elle wrote:

- quote -

I downloaded this spreadsheet thing that tells you what the current
value and all is.

- quote -

I'll probably just hang on to them then, at least until they begin to
mature.




Brian

Elle wrote:

- quote -

The earliest bonds were purchased in 1981. They are either $50 or $100
EE bonds.



Brian

"Elle" <honda.lioness[at]nospam.earthlink.net> wrote
- quote -

Oops, the minimum likely expired. It's a tad complicated.
See the site above and sites like
http://www.savings-bond-advisor.com/...nterest-rates/ .
They suggest your EE bonds are paying closer to 4% now.

Whether to cash in or not is maybe a case of "five will get
you ten." Consider that no state tax is due on the interest
of EE bonds. (Federal tax will still be owed, though.)

I'd say the EE bonds are close enough to mimicking the bonds
used in allocation planning. One of the most famous
allocation studies (Trinity U.) used investment grade, long
term corporate bonds, which should pay better interest than
any Treasury. I'd stick with bonds having no more than
about a five year maturity, since these historically
"optimize" return and are short enough to offer some
flexibility. Going out beyond five years does not result in
much higher interest rates.

What is the issue date on the bonds coming due?

Some of your bonds may be paying a minimum of 7.5% right
now. See
http://treasurydirect.gov/indiv/rese...fore051995.htm

No high grade (= low risk) bond fund right now is paying
7.5%... hence any EE bond you have paying this rate should
be held to maturity.

The home page of the site above has links to other helpful
info on this.


"Default User" <defaultuserbr[at]yahoo.com> wrote
- quote -

When I first started working at my job, I got signed up for payroll
deduction into EE bonds. I stopped that after some years. The earliest
ones will start maturing in 2011.

Right now, these bonds would represent a small portion of my overall
bond exposure, about 2.5% of what I have projected for bonds.

Should I keep these or cash in now?



Brian

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