iBonds / TreasuryDirect

[Dieter]

So, I logged into TreasuryDirect Sunday (5/7) — uses the new login:
* Are sent a one-time passcode (OTP) every time
(can’t register your computer)

* No more using on-screen keyboard

* Password now case sensitive, based on the capitalization used for first login


I didn’t do any changes (I’m looking to “rollover” some iBonds for the higher fixed rate) —

* My older iBonds still on the higher rate

* Gonna wait for three months at the lower rate for iBonds under 5yrs old

[dualstow]

and in those 3 months, the website will have changed again.

I appreciate the updates. I have to login soon. It’s been awhile.

[barrett]

Thanks for posting this Dieter. Reminded me to login to check out the new & enhanced site.

Is it just me or has the site overall gotten even worse recently? There used to be a section that listed the fixed rates of I-Bonds all the way back to inception. It looks like one can only go back to 2018 now. In my case, I have paper printouts with fixed rates that I have written next to each serial number (for all my paper bonds purchased long ago).

Still clunky after all these years.

[Dieter]

And a video on the new iBond rate and when to maybe “roll over” 0.00 fixed rate iBonds to buy into the new 0.90 fixed rate

https://youtu.be/7ooIgdycrfw

[Dieter]

I just sold some 0% fixed rate I-Bonds and bought new ones at 1.3% (Fixed rate at 1.3% through the end of April)

Per one YouTube video I say, the fixed rate likely to be slightly lower May 1

And, figued 1.3% is better than my 0%, even with the 3 month interest penalty for selling before 5 years are up

[barrett]

I just sold some 0% fixed rate I-Bonds and bought new ones at 1.3% (Fixed rate at 1.3% through the end of April)

Per one YouTube video I say, the fixed rate likely to be slightly lower May 1

And, figured 1.3% is better than my 0%, even with the 3 month interest penalty for selling before 5 years are up

Sounds like a good move, especially if you plan to hold the 1.3% bonds for the long term. I've thought about doing the same but I am a bit obsessed with maxing out Roth conversions both this year and next. Just don't want the extra interest income from an I-bond sale to cut into what I can Roth convert and still stay within the 12% bracket. That bracket may or may not be going away after 2025.

Also, the I-bonds that I bought in 2021 and 2022 (primarily for the high variable rate) are my second tier of money to spend from for living expenses, so they'll likely be redeemed in early 2026 anyway.

No great insight here as I am really just writing this out to clarify my own thinking.

We'll know after tomorrow's (4/10) inflation announcement for March what the new variable rate will be from 5/1/24 to 10/31/24.

[barrett]

The new variable rate on I-bonds issued 5/1/24 to 10/31/24 is 2.96%. Article by David Enna is here:

https://tipswatch.com/2024/04/10/march- ... e-at-2-96/

He is also forecasting a fixed rate of 1.2% or 1.3%. So a 4.26% composite rate more or less.

[Dieter]

And the final 1 May 2024 tally:

* 1.3% Fixed rate

* 4.28% composite rate

So, it worked out to buy in April

I'll likely sell more of my 0% fixed rate I-Bond (2.98%) and put into T-Bills / Treasury Money Market for now (~5.3%)

Then put back into I-Bonds a bit later -- some likely around November / some next year, depending on what rates do by then

I just don't like 0% Fixed Rate when I can move to 1.3% over time

[boglerdude]

4.28%. . .considering what they did to M2. . .and ibonds are supposed to be for the little guy. Meanwhile banks harvesting 5% on the cash they got handed in '09. something something social contract

What happens if the Fed stops paying them

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M2SL

[dualstow]

TreasuryDirect to Bond Buyers: Moving Your Money Could Take a Year

Demand surges on Treasury Department’s clunky website for buying government debt, leading to backlog of customer requests
By Imani Moise | updated Oct 9, 2024

People who want to move investments from their accounts on the Treasury Department’s website to their brokerage accounts may have to wait as long as a year.

The website, TreasuryDirect, is dealing with a deluge of customer-service requests. The number of funded accounts on TreasuryDirect grew to more than four million last year, from 656,000 in 2019. Americans rushed to the website in recent years to buy inflation-adjusted savings bonds at yields nearing 10%.

likely paywalled -

https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/t ... e-0c3313bc

[Smith1776]

Damn. If only there was an open, permissionless, and decentralized system that could give final settlement in an hour, anywhere in the world.

[dualstow]

Damn. If only there was an open, permissionless, and decentralized system that could give final settlement in an hour, anywhere in the world.

[yankees60]

iBonds related.

If you have not yet bought your $10,000 limit for 2024, are you buying it this month or next?

[Hal French]

The always excellent TIPS Watch site recommends prospective I-Bond investors purchase by EOM October 2024, due to a noticeably reduced Variable Rate of 1.90 in November and a projected reduced Fixed Rate. Link to story:
https://tipswatch.com/2024/10/10/septem ... e-at-1-90/

[boglerdude]

1.2% predicted vs 1.3 on the fixed, gonna roll the dice and hope for a higher rate cuz this is chump change

Rate should be double to reward small investors. But the Social Contract has been getting torn up so I might dump some iBonds and play the leveraged ETF game