div#contentdisclaimer background: #fff;padding: 1.5em;line-height: 1.25em;max-width: 500px;
Advertiser Disclosure
Disclaimer
A savings bond used to be a common gift, though not always a welcome one. Well-meaning relatives gifted savings bonds for your birthday or the holidays. The goal was often to help you pay for college in the future. But for us kids, all we knew was it wasn’t the Pound Puppy or Care Bear we really wanted!
Nowadays 529 plans and other higher-interest earning options have replaced the savings bond. But that doesn’t mean they’ve disappeared. In fact, they may be sitting at the back of your closet right now. But you are cleaning out your closet or your safe deposit box, and now this long-forgotten and unexpected savings bond can help you clean up your finances.
#animation-wrapper max-width: 450px; margin: 0 auto; width: auto; height: 600px; font-family: ProximaNova-Regular, Arial, sans-serif; #animation-wrapper .box background: linear-gradient(#0095D8, #1D4BB6); color: #fff; text-align: center; font-family: ProximaNova-Regular, Arial, sans-serif; height: 130px; padding-top: 10px; .content .box p margin: 0 0; .box .btn-primary color: #fff; background-color: #ff7f00; margin: 10px 0; .chat ul margin: 0; padding: 0; list-style: none; .message-left .message-time display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: left; padding-left: 30px; padding-top: 4px; color: #ccc; font-family: Courier; .message-right .message-time display: block; font-size: 12px; text-align: right; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 4px; color: #ccc; font-family: Courier; .message-left text-align: left; margin-bottom: 6px; .message-left .message-text max-width: 80%; display: inline-block; background: #0095D8; padding: 8px 15px; font-size: 14px; color: #fff; border-radius: 30px; font-weight: 100; line-height: 1.5em; .message-right text-align: right; margin-bottom: 6px; .message-right .message-text line-height: 1.5em; display: inline-block; background: #1D4BB6; padding: 8px 15px; font-size: 14px; color: #fff; border-radius: 30px; line-height: 1.5em; font-weight: 100; text-align: left; .chat background: #fff; margin: 0; border-radius: 0; .chat-container height: 450px; padding: 5px 15px; overflow: hidden; .spinme-right display: inline-block; padding: 15px 20px; font-size: 14px; border-radius: 30px; line-height: 1.25em; font-weight: 100; opacity: .2; .spinme-left display: inline-block; padding: 15px 20px; font-size: 14px; color: #ccc; border-radius: 30px; line-height: 1.25em; font-weight: 100; opacity: .2; .spinner margin: 0; width: 30px; text-align: center; .spinner>div width: 10px; height: 10px; border-radius: 100%; display: inline-block; -webkit-animation: sk-bouncedelay 1.4s infinite ease-in-out both; animation: sk-bouncedelay 1.4s infinite ease-in-out both; background: #000; .spinner .bounce1 -webkit-animation-delay: -.32s; animation-delay: -.32s; .spinner .bounce2 -webkit-animation-delay: -.16s; animation-delay: -.16s; @-webkit-keyframes sk-bouncedelay 0%, 100%, 80% -webkit-transform: scale(0); 40% -webkit-transform: scale(1); @keyframes sk-bouncedelay 0%, 100%, 80% -webkit-transform: scale(0); transform: scale(0); 40% -webkit-transform: scale(1); transform: scale(1); .ad-container padding: 15px 30px; background-color: #fff; max-width: 690px; box-shadow: 1px 1px 4px #888; margin: 20px auto; .ad padding: 10px 6px; max-width: 630px; .ad-title font-size: 20px; color: #07b; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 6px; letter-spacing: -.32px; .ad-link line-height: 18px; padding-left: 26px; position: relative; .ad-link::before content: ‘Ad’; color: #006621; font-size: 10px; width: 21px; line-height: 12px; padding: 2px 0; text-align: center; border: 1px solid #006621; border-radius: 4px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; position: absolute; left: 0; .ad-link a color: #006621; text-decoration: none; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px; .ad-copy color: #000; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; letter-spacing: -.34px; margin-top: 6px; display: inline-block; .ad .breaker font-size: 0; .box .box-desc font-family: ProximaNova-Bold, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: 600; width: 225px; margin: 0 auto; .btn display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 0; font-weight: 400; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; touch-action: manipulation; cursor: pointer; background-image: none; border: 1px solid transparent; white-space: nowrap; padding: 6px 12px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.428571429; border-radius: 4px; -webkit-user-select: none; -moz-user-select: none; -ms-user-select: none; user-select: none; font-family: ProximaNova-Semibold, Arial, sans-serif; text-decoration: none; .btn-group-lg>.btn, .btn-lg padding: 10px 16px; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.3333333; border-radius: 6px; #ad-4 font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: #fff; #ad-4 .ad-title color: #2130ab; #animation-wrapper .cta-ec background: #79af3e; color: #fff; width: 155px; height: 41px; font-family: ProximaNova-Semibold, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 10px auto 4px auto; #animation-wrapper .ec-logo display: block; margin: 0 auto; width: 140px; @media (max-width:500px) .ad padding: 20px 18px; max-width: 630px;
-
I just watched a documentary on the dark web, and I will never feel safe using my credit card again!
-
Luckily I don’t have to worry about that. I have ExtraCredit, so I get $1,000,000 ID protection and dark web scans.
-
I need that peace of mind in my life. What else do you get with ExtraCredit?
-
It’s basically everything my credit needs. I get 28 FICO® scores, rent and utility reporting, cash rewards and even a discount to one of the leaders in credit repair.
-
It’s settled; I’m getting ExtraCredit tonight. Totally unrelated, but any suggestions for my new fear of sharks? I watched that documentary too.
-
…we live in Oklahoma.
Get everything you need to master your credit today.
Get started
It’s Still Good
That savings bond is still worth something. That’s the good news. Savings bonds gain value over time by earning interest and keep earning interest for 30 years. They pay interest every six months until they mature. So depending on how long it’s been since you cleaned your closet, you may still be making money as you read this. Now there are some steps you have to take to get money in return.
What Type of Savings Bond
There are several kinds of savings bonds. So you much determine which kind you have in your possession. Savings bonds are a contract between you and the federal government. If it’s an old bond from your childhood it is probably either an EE or an I bond. It will be clearly specified in the title which one you have.
EE bonds are similar to savings accounts. Paper bonds used to be sold at half the face value (you paid $50 for a $100 bond) and the interest continued to increase even after the face value is reached, so your $100 savings bond is probably worth more than $100 now. Paper EE bonds are no longer available and digital EE bonds are purchased at face value.
I bonds are similar to EE bonds. The chief difference is that the interest earned on an I bond is determined by a combination of a fixed rate and an inflation rate. So there is some cost-of-living protection for the bondholder.
Get It Now
Privacy Policy
Find Out What It’s Worth
Before you decide to cash in the savings bond, you’ll probably want to know what it’s worth. The interest rates and even the way interest rates are determined have changed over the years so it matters when you got yours. The best way to determine the current value of your savings bond is to use the Treasury Direct website. Whether you want to cash in the bond or continue to let it mature is then up to you.
There are some penalties for cashing in the savings bond early. If you redeem the bond early, you will lose three months’ worth of interest during the first five years. There are no penalties after five years. The earliest you can cash in the bond is after one year. If the bond is more than 30 years old, it has stopped earning interest and you should cash it in.
While you will have to pay federal taxes on your bonds, you do not have to pay state or local income taxes. There are some exemptions – most notably when bonds issued after 1989 are cashed in to pay qualified higher education expenses at an eligible institution.
Visit the Bank
Most banks should be able to help you cash your paper bonds. If they aren’t, they should be able to direct you to a financial institution that can. You will have to prove your identity to cash in your old bonds. You will have to fill out an tax form either when you redeem the bonds or at the end of the year. Your tax preparer should be able to help you with this part of the process.
More Money-Saving Reads:
Image: iStock