Premium Bonds ?

[Darren101]

Better than nothing. Just £25 

[Harry Monk]

£150 chuffed with that

[Squire Haggard]

Zilch 3 months in a row. I've now sold most of my max holding but its still pretty crap.

[GreyDave]

  100 and a 25 quid best yet Chinese girls line up GD has Cash  ---------2000 invested

[Andywb]

£100 from 5k

[Darren101]

Those are good wins for such small holdings

[DeadFox]

Those are good wins for such small holdings

Statistically very unlikely, very odd

[GreyDave]

2k brought last year well 20 months ago but held some before  too

I had a few hundred in diffrent batches and after looking on here and another investment site it surgested selling and re buying OK i lost one month on the few hundred I had . I was well pleased with the 100 and a 25 quid but to be fair its not paid as much as if it had been in an ISA savings account but more fun to dream of if i did win big I wish I had more to invest in them seems some do better with more but if you look at the winners list and number held there are some big wins with small holdings.   

[Jonestown]

July - £50, bringing the total for the last six draws to £200, not enough for a couple of decent rub n tugs

[RandomGuy99]

£300 for me.

[Harry Monk]

Zilch 

[DeadFox]

Zilch 

Same, not good

[RandomGuy99]

Same, not good

The odds of winning improved this month. I've every month bar one.

[Darren101]

The odds of winning improved this month. I've every month bar one.

Your wins also seem to be consistently bigger than mine, when I do win something.  What’s your secret?   

Zilch for me this month 🙁

[RandomGuy99]

Your wins also seem to be consistently bigger than mine, when I do win something.  What’s your secret?   

Zilch for me this month 🙁

Holding £50,000 of them.

[Harry Monk]

50K clearly gives you max chance but no guarantee.

I reduced mine to circa 30 K and it seems to be reflected in my reduced wins

[robsmith149]

£125 this month on a reduced holding of £28k, weirdly that is the same as  I won off the last 3 months in total with £50k in there.

[Darren101]

My holding is £30K currently. I won £1K a while back then another £500 month after that time with similar holding. Very random but will try top it up more. Luck plays a big part but more entries won't hurt.

[GreyDave]

  Nout this month but I blew last months win on a few Chinese Have ins  only got 2100 so I can not moan too much as statistcs show lads with bigger holdings get more prizes, same applies to cocks at swingers events apparently 

[sonic999]

Workmate put 50 grand into bonds last week already won £150, Probably won'td win anything ever again! Iv'e had some since I was born 1963 as far as I know not a penny to scratch my arse with, Although changed address about six times so might have a winnings in the kitty.

[RandomGuy99]

Workmate put 50 grand into bonds last week already won £150, Probably won'td win anything ever again! Iv'e had some since I was born 1963 as far as I know not a penny to scratch my arse with, Although changed address about six times so might have a winnings in the kitty.

With £50K you pretty much win every month and often multiple prizes a month. I think the most prizes I've won in a month has been 7.

You can lookup lost bonds using your holder number and they'll pay out any old prizes to you.

You can also check for missed prizes on this External Link/Members Only

[Harry Monk]

Workmate put 50 grand into bonds last week already won £150, Probably won'td win anything ever again! Iv'e had some since I was born 1963 as far as I know not a penny to scratch my arse with, Although changed address about six times so might have a winnings in the kitty.

Don't think you can buy one week and win on the next draw. My understanding is you buy the bonds are are entered into the next months draw 

[Andywb]

Bonds have to held for a calender month (starting 1st of the month). So bonds bought today would not be entered until the Sept draw. The most efficient date to buy is the last day of the month so you only have to wait thru the month which starts the next day.

[DeadFox]

With £50K you pretty much win every month and often multiple prizes a month. I think the most prizes I've won in a month has been 7.

You can lookup lost bonds using your holder number and they'll pay out any old prizes to you.

You can also check for missed prizes on this External Link/Members Only

Not at all, I've had several blanks over the 3 years and some months it's just £25. The odds of winning nothing are roughly 12%. If someone is consistantly winning large sums with a small holding, they must be quite lucky

[RandomGuy99]

Not at all, I've had several blanks over the 3 years and some months it's just £25. The odds of winning nothing are roughly 12%. If someone is consistantly winning large sums with a small holding, they must be quite lucky

So the odds of winning at least one prize a month if you have £50,000 is 89% which is pretty good. I often win multiple prizes a month. There are some months when I win nothing but it balances out.

[Darren101]

With my 30Kish holding, I've had long winning streaks that have lasted over a year so not many missed months until recently. A number of ppl with 50K have reported more duff months than me.  Only thing different is I'm able to keep topping up regularly as I've not max it out like the 50K holders.  maybe I've got above average luck.

[raging_bull]

It's shite returns really. I've had it maxed out at £50k for years now and I win most months, but often minimum £25. I only use it as an emergency fund. If you want proper returns then get a S&S ISA and invest in an index fund like FTSE global all cap

[Darren101]

Indeed. I do also have S&S ISA and other cash but it's the thrill of the chance of winning £1M and other prizes. Near the end of the tax year, I pull money out of Premium bonds to put into ISAs as usually have a chunk of allowance left.

[PilotMan]

It's shite returns really. I've had it maxed out at £50k for years now and I win most months, but often minimum £25. I only use it as an emergency fund. If you want proper returns then get a S&S ISA and invest in an index fund like FTSE global all cap

If you're already maxed out on your ISA allowance are there any other tax efficient alternatives?

[raging_bull]

If you're already maxed out on your ISA allowance are there any other tax efficient alternatives?

I guess if you’re married you can get your spouse to open one (if they haven’t already). Next best thing is pension or LISA (if you meet the criteria). Failing that, premium bonds is probably the only option left I’m aware of.

[Malvolio]

If you're already maxed out on your ISA allowance are there any other tax efficient alternatives?

First £500 of dividends is tax-free, so you could buy shares in a consistent dividend-paying stock like Shell.  There's also a savings allowance of £1,000 for basic-rate taxpayers and £500 for higher-rate taxpayers.

Doesn't get you very far though...