I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Discussion of the Bond portion of the Permanent Portfolio

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dualstow
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by dualstow » Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:15 pm

vnatale wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:53 am
I was helping a friend last night with logins for him and his wife to Treasury Direct to view their iBond purchases.

Each time it was two factor authorization. I assume this will be the same going forward. For how long has it been like that?
I don't remember setting up 2FA with them ever. Was it a regular text?
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by vnatale » Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:22 pm

dualstow wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:15 pm

vnatale wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:53 am

I was helping a friend last night with logins for him and his wife to Treasury Direct to view their iBond purchases.

Each time it was two factor authorization. I assume this will be the same going forward. For how long has it been like that?


I don't remember setting up 2FA with them ever. Was it a regular text?


Thinking about it more .... it was not the traditional two factor. Here is the way it went.

Entered the account number. Then it sent an email to get a code which had to then be entered.

After you successfully did that .... you then entered your password.

So it was somewhat similar to Two Factor except the order seemed to be reversed.

Then they had that password feature wherein you could not just type the characters on your keyboard but, instead, had to point to each character. That was a killer with long passwords!
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by dualstow » Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:30 pm

Well that sounds like two-factor (2FA) to me, unless you're talking about the very first time you set up a password.
I have had some sites make me do 2FA first before I can enter my credentials - Vanguard being one, though not every single time.
(Vinny) Then they had that password feature wherein you could not just type the characters on your keyboard but, instead, had to point to each character.

Right, you have to "type" on a virtual keyboard using your mouse. That should defeat a keylogger, the malware that records every keystroke (and the stuff of nightmares as far as I'm concerned). Pain in the ass, but very secure.

I was on the phone with them last year, and a person told me that the password is not currently case sensitive even though, years ago I set mine up when it was. So I was trying to click for capitals for nothing. They've probably removed the SHIFT and other cases by now. I don't remember.

ADDED: also, I can't find any one-time code emails from Treasury Direct, but I suppose I could have deleted them. Maybe I’m in "trusted browser" mode and the email was a one-off thing.
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by vnatale » Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:43 pm

dualstow wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:30 pm

Well that sounds like two-factor (2FA) to me, unless you're talking about the very first time you set up a password.
I have had some sites make me do 2FA first before I can enter my credentials - Vanguard being one, though not every single time.

(Vinny) Then they had that password feature wherein you could not just type the characters on your keyboard but, instead, had to point to each character.

Right, you have to "type" on a virtual keyboard using your mouse. That should defeat a keylogger, the malware that records every keystroke (and the stuff of nightmares as far as I'm concerned). Pain in the ass, but very secure.

I was on the phone with them last year, and a person told me that the password is not currently case sensitive even though, years ago I set mine up when it was. So I was trying to click for capitals for nothing. They've probably removed the SHIFT and other cases by now. I don't remember.

ADDED: also, I can't find any one-time code emails from Treasury Direct, but I suppose I could have deleted them. Maybe I’m in "trusted browser" mode and the email was a one-off thing.


Correct. when you "type" on that virtual keyboard there is no option for capital letters. Agree it is a pain but more secure. Which goes counter to someone's regular complaint that their web site seems like something out of 1995, website-wise.

How it happened last night. My first goal was to successfully log into both their accounts. Then the second goal was to show my friend how to do it. From two pairs of log-ins I received a total of four emails - two to each of their email addresses.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by Xan » Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:48 pm

"Typing" rather than typing does remove some possible attack vectors. But making passwords case-insensitive is a pretty big negative.
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by vnatale » Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:54 pm

Xan wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:48 pm

"Typing" rather than typing does remove some possible attack vectors. But making passwords case-insensitive is a pretty big negative.


Agree. But in the moment last night I was relieved that I did not have to do that on top of having to do a form of "hunt and peck" to find all the necessary characters to enter.

And, thinking about it further now ... it seems like the only way it could have been done to have upper case letter inputting was to have an even bigger "keyboard" with all the letters showing in upper case in addition to showing them in lower case plus all the symbols and numbers. It would have slowed down inputting even more.

Yes, I know you might ask ... what is more important -- security or time? When I was trying to get so much done with my friends last night as it was getting later and later into the night ... I groaned when I realized the time consuming process it was making me go through to enter the password for each of their accounts. And, having to do each one twice.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by vnatale » Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:57 pm

That friend from last night sent me a follow up email today regarding iBonds. One of them was about the rate changing on them.

I tried to find an up-to-date table or graph of the history of the twice a year rate changes but could not find any. Do any of you know of one?

I did find these two excellent articles to pass on to him:

I Bonds Rates Increase To 7.12%
https://themoneyninja.com/i-bonds-rates ... 20about%21

Series I Savings Bonds Rates (Updated December 2021)
https://robberger.com/i-bond-rates/
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by ppnewbie » Wed Mar 09, 2022 4:05 pm

Good site:

https://tipswatch.com/

And the front page article is something I have been hoping for. Will be very happy if there is enough pressure to increase the IBond purchase limit.

Or they can just go to treasurydirect.gov and look at the rate.

https://treasurydirect.gov/indiv/produc ... glance.htm

"Current rate: 7.12% for bonds issued November 2021 - April 2022"
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by vnatale » Wed Mar 09, 2022 5:47 pm

ppnewbie wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 4:05 pm

Good site:

https://tipswatch.com/

And the front page article is something I have been hoping for. Will be very happy if there is enough pressure to increase the IBond purchase limit.

Or they can just go to treasurydirect.gov and look at the rate.

https://treasurydirect.gov/indiv/produc ... glance.htm

"Current rate: 7.12% for bonds issued November 2021 - April 2022"


Good article. Passing it on to him.

But his question was more of how much the rate can vary each time it changes.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by ppnewbie » Wed Mar 09, 2022 6:35 pm

vnatale wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 5:47 pm
ppnewbie wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 4:05 pm
Good site:

https://tipswatch.com/

And the front page article is something I have been hoping for. Will be very happy if there is enough pressure to increase the IBond purchase limit.

Or they can just go to treasurydirect.gov and look at the rate.

https://treasurydirect.gov/indiv/produc ... glance.htm

"Current rate: 7.12% for bonds issued November 2021 - April 2022"
Good article. Passing it on to him.

But his question was more of how much the rate can vary each time it changes.
But his question was more of how much the rate can vary each time it changes. - Yup thanks. I realized that's what you meant after I reread your message. Sorry for the confusion. It would be great if we can funnel more cash into iBonds!
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by dualstow » Thu Mar 10, 2022 6:25 am

Vinny wrote: Correct. when you "type" on that virtual keyboard there is no option for capital letters. Agree it is a pain but more secure. Which goes counter to someone's regular complaint that their web site seems like something out of 1995, website-wise.

Yeah, that’s me O0
Xan wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:48 pm
"Typing" rather than typing does remove some possible attack vectors. But making passwords case-insensitive is a pretty big negative.
It does suck, but isn’t the length the crucial thing? I remember reading something about how the guy who wrote the now ubiquitous guidelines on a good password didn’t really know what he was talking about and now had regret with regard to using special characters, etc.
https://xkcd.com/936/
I finally started using a password generator/keeper this year and i love it. I should probably lengthen the treasury direct one to make up for the loss of CAPS if i can do it without getting locked out again.
vnatale wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 3:54 pm
And, thinking about it further now ... it seems like the only way it could have been done to have upper case letter inputting was to have an even bigger "keyboard" with all the letters showing in upper case in addition to showing them in lower case plus all the symbols and numbers. It would have slowed down inputting even more.

It wouldn’t be too bad. Just need a SHIFT key.

Official page says minimum of 8 chars. I wonder what the maximum is:
https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/he ... ngrats.htm
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Re: I Bonds for Permanent Portfolio

Post by jhogue » Fri Mar 11, 2022 7:54 am

ppnewbie wrote:
Wed Mar 09, 2022 4:05 pm
Good site:

https://tipswatch.com/

And the front page article is something I have been hoping for. Will be very happy if there is enough pressure to increase the IBond purchase limit.

Or they can just go to treasurydirect.gov and look at the rate.

https://treasurydirect.gov/indiv/produc ... glance.htm

"Current rate: 7.12% for bonds issued November 2021 - April 2022"
tipswatch is a great source of information on inflation and I-bonds.

1. The February measure of inflation (CPI-U) indicates inflation at an annualized rate of 7.9%.

2. The above suggests that the I-bond yield, now at 7.12%, could rise when it is reset on 1 May.

3. Sorry to be the one who throws cold water on the idea, but I don't see Congressional support for lifting the cap on I-bonds to $100,000. If you want a big pile of I-bonds, you need a long term strategy.
“Groucho Marx wrote:
A stock trader asked him, "Groucho, where do you put all your money?" Groucho was said to have replied, "In Treasury bonds", and the trader said, "You can't make much money on those." Groucho said, "You can if you have enough of them!"
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