Is a purchase at a bank the only way to get paper I-bonds? It seems TreasuryDirect only sells the electronic versions.

micecali said:xerty, thanks for the nice update on Oct 14
I don't know which option is better, paper or paperless I-bond
I still have some paper I-bond when we used to purchase with cc. Should I cash them out and buy back at the end of Oct?
thanks!
It probably doesn't make sense to cash them. Even if you purchased them between May and December 2003, their fixed rate is only 0.1% lower than the current one and, by cashing them, you will lose 3 months of interest and the tax deferral. If you purchased them before May 2003, there is no reason to cash them since they have a higher fixed rate than the one currently offered.

the website states that they must receive the funds by the last day of the month. The funds are received by ach. If you put your order at td on the 27th, they try the bank on the 28th and should receive it on the 31st. That is assuming everything works perfectly on both ends. I would give do it at least one or 2 days earlier

xerty said:In this case, the correct formula is:

Annual Pretax Equivalent Rate =~ 5.86%*(6/7)*(1 - Federal Tax)/(1 - Federal Tax - State Tax +(State Tax)*(Federal Tax))

We should thank the state for NOT giving us federal tax deduction.

Edit 10/18/05: Umpteen emails into the fray, I've just been assigned a Reference Number and a lovely CSRep assures me she will walk my enquiry to the Tech section and ask someone to find out what the hangup on my account might be. At last! But I've learned a lot about how TD.gov is managed in the meantime and I'm not comfy at all with how the site is run. I'm looking for a bank that can buy me the i-bonds without the hassle of going into that TD site again. Too many bells and whistles and not nearly as user-friendly as most of my other investment sites are. [end edit]

I'm quite recently unable to access my electronic savings bond acct at TD.gov and not even able to find a human workaround to help me manage scheduled buying of bonds. As I seek help, I've found a site that suggests civilian subcontractors are in charge of TD.gov and I'm not sure how I feel about this. What do you think? Information Technology Group displays this hype on its Home page as it fishes for new biz (and mismanages my own account accessability at TD.gov):
==> Home
==>   services offered
==>   consider ITG
The contact info given and the location in W.Virginia matches some info that I was given to act on when I contacted TreasuryDirect.gov for an explanation of why I cannot access my own savings account now, after years of being able to try to figure out the site whenever I wanted, 24/7. Strange doings. Anyone else having difficulties finding their account and managing things at TreasuryDirect.gov? Or am I the only one using a Macintosh and I.Explorer, which a tech told me on Friday appears to be a common factor here?
dewolfx said: Is a purchase at a bank the only way to get paper I-bonds? It seems TreasuryDirect only sells the electronic versions.

giantmet said:I just got approved for a 4 year home equity loan at 4.1% and $0 closing costs. Going to buy some I bonds where I will keep for at least 15 months so I be assured of 5% APY at that point, then I'll see what the rates are and either cash in with the penalty, or keep it in there. It looks like I should be making at least 1% on this.

The 4.1% is at Randolfs Brooks Federal Credit Union

That strategy would fit in nicely here - Guaranteed arbitrage opportunities .

.

giantmet said:the website states that they must receive the funds by the last day of the month. The funds are received by ach. If you put your order at td on the 27th, they try the bank on the 28th and should receive it on the 31st. That is assuming everything works perfectly on both ends. I would give do it at least one or 2 days earlier

If you buy paper I-bonds at a bank, how late do you think I can go? If the bank uses US mail for the purchase, that might add several days...

siliconbeaver said:60k total per an SSN.
30k paper i-bonds.
30k electronic i-bonds.
Electronic bonds are easier, and you can do partial redemptions too if you really wanted to. I will probably be looking at more than $30K, so I asked my bank about paper ones. They said 3-4 weeks(!), but they really suck too aside from free checking . I'll drop by my local Citibank branch and check them - they had good service regarding cashing bonds in the past. Hopefully their purchasing dept will be as competant.

If you find a bank willing to sell you bonds on relatively short notice, please post it here. Thanks!

siliconbeaver said:Are guy believing the next month the fixed rate of i-bonds is down?

Treasury has lowered it in the past when the total rate would otherwise look too attractive. Yes, I expect the new fixed rate to be 0.5% or less.