Newborns and US bonds?

[uh0h50]

Well time flies and I'm going to be an uncle sometime next month. My sister and her s.o. are expecting a baby girl. I will be attending the shower (I know, I know but it's coed). As far as gifts go, I'm still undecided. Do people still buy US bonds for newborns? I don't know much about them. Is the economy so bad that something like that isn't worth buying? (don't even know if they actually do have an effect haha). How much do they cost? Where do I buy them? Should I even purchase? Do they grow much over a long period of time? I ask these questions here because I know svtp is full of ballers. So ballers, what say you?

 

[bluestang41505]

Money is money right, even if the rates are very low. First, check what type of bond you want to get. 2nd, get the best yield/interest rate you can find. 3rd, figure out the holding period of the bond you want, 1 year to 30 years, in diffrent incraments.

bonds have a face value, like a thousand dollar treasury bond you buy for a thousand dollars, which then you get a little ticket that says you will get this much % interest a year or annual yield.

Also bonds are like stocks, so the more interest you can get the more likely the company will not be able to pay you the interest or principal eventually, or they can even call the bond in early. That why us bonds yields are so low.

hope i helped.

 

[SonicDTR]

No, buy her a box of ammo if you really want.

My niece turns 2 in a month or so. For her first bday I bought her some cool books n shit, but the main expense was me taking 5days off and flying 1200 miles(one way) to be there for her first bday.

If you really want to start an investment for her, then i'd say start a normal savings account...I wouldn't put anything in bond or similar thing that you cant collect for XX years.

 

[fiveohhhstang]

My grandma was going to get savings bonds for my boys for their first birthday this month but decided to open high interest savings accounts for them instead. I like it because I can add money to their accounts whenever I want to and don't have any papers to keep track of.

My grandma bought me savings bonds for every birthday growing up and I have no idea where they are or how much they were for. I believe my mother may have them.

 

[Uncle Meat]

My grandma was going to get savings bonds for my boys for their first birthday this month but decided to open high interest savings accounts for them instead.

Talk about an oxymoron in these economical times... I don't believe there is such a thing anymore...

U.M.

 

[bit]

I did this for my nephew. It’s not an easy thing to do. There are no longer paper bonds. You will need to go to TreasuryDirect and setup an account with the kids SSN and address. In addition to the password you create you will receive a pin generating card. Basically it a chart of numbers and ever time you log in they ask you for different number off the card.

 

[CobraBob]

Best is to discuss what you want to do with your financial adviser. My wife set up accounts for our two grand-kids and deposits into them for birthdays, Christmas and special occasions. Better than spending the money on toys and clothes when their parents can easily do that. This way the account is building over time vs. holding on to a certificate that could be misplaced. JMO.

 

[pho_phizzat]

my family gets my son savings bonds every year, like a 50 or 100 dollar one on his bday and christmas.

 

[HYBRED]

My grandma bought me savings bonds for every birthday growing up and I have no idea where they are or how much they were for. I believe my mother may have them.

Will's grandmother bought bonds for him and his brother for years; when she died, he got the bonds and when he went in to cash them in, they were worth up to twice their face value. It was a nice surprise for a college kid!

 

[Tractorman]

For my God son, I just went to my local bank, said I would like to buy some bonds, and then I bought them in his name. Just need to have his or her SSN on the paper work.

My parents had bought bonds for me up until I was 5 or 6 and I never knew. This spring they gave them to me, and I used them for my down payment on my house. Pretty cool, considering I didn't really know.

 

[fiveohhhstang]

Talk about an oxymoron in these economical times... I don't believe there is such a thing anymore...

U.M.

This is the program the bank has: Great Falls Teachers Federal Credit Union: Savings Accounts

 

[uh0h50]

Awesome replies ladies and gents. I think the paper bonds are still available until Jan of '11. I'll look into it some more this evening. Keep the replies coming though.

 

[STAMPEDE3]

I opened savings accounts for all mine also.

Every year for birthday, Christmas, Easter, Etc... I would put $15-50 in it besides their normal gift to open.

When they Graduate HS I hand it over to them for their graduation gift.

It is normall between $1200-2500 so it is a nice help to start out life/college.

 

[Uncle Meat]

This is the program the bank has: Great Falls Teachers Federal Credit Union: Savings Accounts

Wow that's awesome! :rockon:

10% APY is nothing to shake a stick at. Sure wish something like this was available for my kid when he was born.

U.M.

 

[fiveohhhstang]

Wow that's awesome! :rockon:

10% APY is nothing to shake a stick at. Sure wish something like this was available for my kid when he was born.

U.M.

I thought it was a great opportunity to save money for them. We had planned on opening a savings account for them anyway, so this was perfect.

 

[ON D BIT]

This is the program the bank has: Great Falls Teachers Federal Credit Union: Savings Accounts

So its 10% interest rate with a max deposit of $1k untill the child turns 18? How many times may you make a deposit? Once a day, a month, or a year? They can offer a high interest rate because they are able to keep the principle balance low. No way would they offer 10% interest on a $100k+ savings account.....

 

[fiveohhhstang]

So its 10% interest rate with a max deposit of $1k untill the child turns 18? How many times may you make a deposit? Once a day, a month, or a year? They can offer a high interest rate because they are able to keep the principle balance low. No way would they offer 10% interest on a $100k+ savings account.....

It's still a much better interest rate than a normal savings account. :read:

You can make deposits as often as you like, up to 1k. I think it's great, and I'm glad the boys have them.

 

[ON D BIT]

It's still a much better interest rate than a normal savings account. :read:

You can make deposits as often as you like, up to 1k. I think it's great, and I'm glad the boys have them.

Thats sweet! 1k a month for 15 years at 10% interest would be a hell of a lot of money! Are savings accounts tax free?

Thats 180k invested with 238k interest earned for a total of 418k!!!:rockon:
At 100 a month for 15 years it would look like this...
18k invested with 23.8k interest and a total of 41.8k!:beer:
The full 18 years would be 60.55k total with 100 a month!