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Original poster

Do you hope to win £1 million at NS&I Premium Bonds?

33 replies

Fiona2011231 · 12/03/2014 20:45

Hi everyone,

I have put my money at NS&I for the last 3 years, hoping to win £1 million. Yet there is nothing yet.

I was wondering if this prize is still common in England and that many still hope to win that big prize.

Should i give up my hope and withdraw the money?

OP posts:
SpanishLady · 13/03/2014 08:20

Over the years I've won a few £25s and once £100. Like most things in life the more you have the more you accumulate so my uncle who has thousands invested tends to win something every month ( though never the bigger prizes yet).

Point is though you only need one of your numbers to win and you have £1,000,000

I like it as an alternative investment option - I may never win big but every month I have the chance to without losing my stake money.

I have raided my account twice ( once fir my wedding and once to decorate a room into a nursery for my baby) so it's a way also for me to shore up cash for a rainy day where I can't accidentally (!) spend it on stupid stuff.

I only invest £50 a month mind you.

Do I hope to win the million - yes!

If you go on their website they show you who has won in the past month and how many bonds they held if you want to be heartened as it's not necessarily people with huge investments.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 13/03/2014 08:23

I gave up and withdrew my money. The returns are set so that on average (and that's important 'average') they meet the base rate or slightly above. The trouble with averages is that it includes the very few people who win the top prizes, a moderate amount that win small prizes and a large number including myself that win nothing at all. I opted to put the money somewhere I'd have a better chance of making a reasonable return.

Possiblyorange · 13/03/2014 08:27

Agree, the average return rate is only what you'd get in a savings account (and of course that includes the £1m winners, so actually you're getting less as a %). It's the excitement that keeps people in. You are generally better off, financially speaking, putting your money in a sensible but boring savings account, especially if you're not using your ISA allowance.

callamia · 13/03/2014 08:29

I'm putting £50 a month in too. I save in an ISA too, so I'm not too worried about saving without interest - interest rates for savings are so bloody low anyway, that a small win would pretty much make up for it (nothing yet!). I'm going to persevere though - my in laws get a few small wins per year. I'm ever hopeful.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 13/03/2014 09:54

I was also hopeful but after three years of having a significant amount held in PBs and earning zero... I realised I was losing money hand over fist! I'd rather get a guaranteed percent or two and offset the inflation or... if I'm feeling like taking a risk... going for a stock market investment.

truelymadlysleepy · 13/03/2014 09:57

I got 6% return in 2011, 2% in 2012.

ShadowOfTheDay · 13/03/2014 10:00

We invest £50 a month too... just "spare" money that would otherwise be spent.. we have savings too.

we prefer PB where you get your stake money back to the lottery where you don't...

PigletJohn · 13/03/2014 10:12

the average return is currently 1.3% tax-free When you get a prize it will most likely be £25. The chances of a big win are so small you may as well put them out of your mind. The returns average out the longer you keep them, so in any one year you might get more or less than average.

Think of it more like a tax-free savings account. Instead of getting regular interest, you will get occasional payments. You may as well have your prizes automatically reinvested, as they will not be big enough to change your life. Unlike the awful lottery, you can get your money back if and when you need it. 1.3% tax-free is very likely better than you will get from your bank.

If you want to invest for long term growth, a low-charging ISA in a tracker fund is much more suitable, but you need to start with some cash savings that you can draw on in an emergency, and Premium Bonds are good for that. There is nothing with a lower risk of loss.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 13/03/2014 11:46

1.3% may be an average but, as in my example, it is not guaranteed. Many investors get back nothing at all. It is therefore not like a tax-free savings account. It is the equivalent of a state-sponsored mattress to stuff banknotes in.

Timetoask · 13/03/2014 11:50

I´ve kind of given up on them. I think they are fine for any spare cash you may be wasting on coffees instead, but not for large amounts that will depreciate as time goes by.
Mind you my ISAS lost half their value as well so I really don't know what is the best way to invest money these days.

PigletJohn · 13/03/2014 11:57

you will not lose money on premium bonds because they are a savings not an investment product. However in the current environment, they will not match inflation.

Over any particular time period you may get less or more than the current 1.3% average return. Being tax free makes it simpler. Unlike bait-and-switch bank accounts, they will not tempt you in with a good offer then drop the rate to 0.01% in the hope that you won't notice

Johnogroats · 13/03/2014 12:06

We've had a few 25s...and we have the max invested due to a large redundancy payment. I don't think it is anywhere near 1.3%. It will be spent on a building project later this year...so a few more months before we lose our chance of 1,000,000s!!!

PigletJohn · 13/03/2014 12:11

It's random. That's the point.

If you have the maximum £30k, then you would, on average luck, get about one prize a month, but you will have good years and bad years.

foxdongle · 13/03/2014 12:24

Hi i think of it as the lottery where you get your stake back rather than an investment.
I have won 2 x £25 this month. we have quite a few and our prizes have ranged from £25, £50, £100 and £500. my friend won £25000 on them. we won on another lottery so maybe we've had our luck

NotGoodNotBad · 13/03/2014 12:29

Well I hope to win a million, but it's hardly a "common" prize and never was! If you had the maximum allowable bonds (30k I think) for 3 years, and were guaranteed a million, that would be an amazing return - and would have to be printed as monopoly money, or how else would it be funded?!

Blondeshavemorefun · 15/03/2014 22:44

A million would be nice :) but anythin is a bonus

I generally win £50 most months - tho last month won 5 lots of £25 and this month nothing

It doesn't cost you anything and you could win big

And also can cash in at anytime

Cindy34 · 16/03/2014 00:20

Of course I hope to win it big but I also realise that it is unlikely to happen.

It is useful for a way of splitting money between insitutions. It is far less risky than some other investments I have and the returns reflect that. I have some other investments which give a 6% return but I could lose the lot. I could invest in stocks/shares, I could buy gold bars but I don't want to do that. I like to to take smallish risks, not big ones.

Should I do the lottery instead, maybe but it feels far more of a waste.

Sure if you look at things over a period of time some things may do better, others may do worse.

If you have the money, why not do it. There is always the hope of winning.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 16/03/2014 06:22

The Moneysavingexpert Premium Bond Calculator is worth a look. The maths are really poor.

ShadowOfTheDay · 16/03/2014 07:59

still better than doing the lottery because you will always get your money back.... I don't know anyone who does the premium bonds as an actual investment - just as a "cheap" lottery..

mind you- if I look at the premium bonds over the last 15 years - it has performed up there with the investment ISAs.... (or DOWN there....)

Blondeshavemorefun · 16/03/2014 08:27

When I said it doesn't cost you anything - it obv does - you don't wt free premium Bonds ......

But meant no financial loss to you - unlike lottery. My dp does lottery every week normally £10/20 and rarely wins - had the odd £2.44 win

Told him that's £500/1000 a year he spends and should buy pro
Bonds - least can cash them in if need to

ajandjjmum · 16/03/2014 08:40

DM has just invested the maximum, and she had 3 x £25 last month which was a nice surprise. She put some in for three grandchildren, (nothing like the maximum), and few months go by where one of them doesn't win something, DD has won 5 x £25 since last September. Not a serious investment, but quite good fun if you can afford it.

PigletJohn · 16/03/2014 10:03

As a Savings product, I think the occasional small win has the effect of reassuring you that you were right not to squander all your money on shoes and chocolate. The chance of a big win should be disregarded for all practical purposes, but it might improve your morale.

Everyone needs a bit of savings tucked away in a safe place, and you can't get safer.

PigletJohn · 19/03/2014 15:19

I see from the budget pages that

Cap on Premium Bonds to be lifted from £30,000 to £40,000 in June and £50,000 next year

seems like a big jump. I wonder why?

CogitoErgoSometimes · 19/03/2014 16:14

It's a big jump because the government gets to hold on to lots more cash, pay bugger-all back and plenty of people like the ones on this thread somehow think they're getting a good deal.... Confused

Diagonally · 20/03/2014 06:47

I have had £100 premium bonds since I was christened 43 years ago and never won a thing.

Admittedly this is a tiny investment but I leave them in there as an alternative to playing the lottery.

I like to think I could have won a few small prizes over the years and haven't, so Ernie's saving the big one for me Grin