NS & I

[LouiseEllaSue]

Could anyone share their experience with setting up an account with NS& I premium bonds?

I have £1000 to start up a savings account for my little girl and not sure whether to go for that or would we be better off just setting up a standard ISA Savings account?

I just put £500 for each DS in Premium Bonds (I’ve got about £15,000 in my own PB account). Tbh, I’m not expecting any winnings on just £500 and they’d probably be better off in a high interest savings account, but I like the excitement of the possible win each month!

We have premium bonds accounts for our kids and I like the fact that I can transfer money back out to my own account at any time so it not locked away. They do win £25 or £50 quite regularly which just gets reinvested. I moved the money which we had previously saved for them in regular savings accounts across to their premium bonds because it seems to be more worth it.

Could I be cheeky and ask how much you have in their accounts? Not sure if 1k is going to get many wins?

One has around £4k and the other around £6k. I had been putting in £100 a month but stopped last year when we had a lot of expenses with our house, but I'm hoping to start up again.

I invested £15k and probably won £25 every order month

Every* **other month

Check out the premium bond thread if you want more info on prizes vs stakes ?

Just be aware that NS&I are notoriously difficult to get hold of if you have any problems. they never answer the phone, expect people to contact them via social media. etc

If you are interested, its worth googling problems people have when a holder dies or elderly people have had. I know thats not your situation but its a big picture that if you have an account problem, it is very difficult.

I've had terrible experiences dealing with them so I wouldn't open an account now myself.

My child has 8k and has won £50 in 9 months. I wouldn't recommend it tbh, why not do a high interest savings account or cash isa?

They’re a nightmare to get hold of. Don’t answer the phone. I’ve sent them three letters, they’ve claimed they’ve all been “lost in the post”. I suspect they’re hoping I’ll give up so they can just keep my money

For balance, I should say that I needed to get hold of them this week to reinstate my access via app after a change of phone. They answered promptly and sorted things helpfully and promptly. So not all experiences are bad.

Hi @LouiseEllaSue if it's an account for the longer term have you thought about a junior ISA (JISA) and buying a share tracker? It's not something you'd do for the short term but it's the approach that is most likely to produce the best return for her in the long run.

If you google Meaningful Money and look at some of his podcasts that could help - this looks relevant for example: meaningfulmoney.tv/2013/07/31/mmp021-saving-for-children-podcast/