£500 per month is averaging 6K per year. For Flopsy's partner to be averaging 3K per year is a tad suspicious is it not. It is a little known fact that computers cannot pick numbers randomly. Hence why the Lotto relies on balls from a spinning sphere.

Hi M.P.,

I agree, it does seem unfair that I win more than he does every single month. We had considered selling his bonds and then buying new numbers again. It's so consistant that it seems rigged/unequal.

Im cashing in all my Premium bonds next month. Started off OK, had £20000 in and got £1100 in a year, but havent won anything in the past 3 MONTHS!!!. + NSandI are peeing me off with all their rate cuts to Direct ISAs, RPI certs etc. Last thing i want to do is provide cheap money to the government.

Join the club.
I have £1200 in PBs and I have had them for 5 years now.
Never had a single penny out of it.
I'm giving it until Christmas and if I have had no wins I am cashing them in.

I didn't know computers couldn't pick random numbers. I always thought that they could, I stand corrected then.

As for premium bonds, well I used to hold the max - very poor returns, even whole quarters with not even a £50.

Yet others say that they get £100s each month almost every month.

Go figure - if your luck's in - it's in. If it ain't - it ain't.

"You make your own luck in this world!" - not so sure I believe that, but certainly if you work hard at something you like doing then it's quite possible you'll be "lucky" and make good in the end. However, "random" stuff is not so random, methinks.

(Yahoo! ers talk about random numbers & computers http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...e7PE&show=7 ) "Computers do NOT generate random numbers. They generate psuedo-random numbers. When a computer is told to generate a "random" number, it can only follow a set of instructions that does not change. The computer uses constantly changing variables, such as the time, in order to generate these types of numbers. The only way a computer could come up with a truly random number is if it took the result of an actual physical phenomena, such as rolling dice. The computer would have to somehow input the actualy physical outcome of the event. Modern algorithims for generating random numbers though, are usually intricate enough that they output numbers that seem random, but are not.
If you are truly concerned about your numbers being random, you can visit sites that offer the service I mentioned earlier. One such site is www.random.org . They collect atmospheric noise through radios and transmit the information to the number generators."

Won £150 this month, got £20k's worth.

I'll have £30k's worth for the May draw so it'll be interesting to see what £30k's worth will win me over the next 12 months. I think you need a couple of £500 prizes per year on £30k's worth to make it worth while.

I think Premium bonds are great if you're a higher rate tax payer and fully invested elsewhere.

I believe that ERNIE uses a physical random number generator, not an algorithmic one, so that it is truly random (providing that part of it is working correctly). This link says it uses thermal noise to get true random numbers:
http://www.nsandi.com/pdf/ernie_media_%20guide.pdf
Anyway, providing the internal state was large and unknown, and using a good algorithm, nobody could tell the difference between an algorithmic generator and a real one. A physical generator is better on principal though!

If you buy blocks in certain multiples you can`t go wrong, it appears you have done this without being aware.

Yes, the returns have not been great for me either.

Got £30K worth and have won £600ish in 10 months, not great. but am a 40% tax payer so that's a 'bonus'. But, I do look at this as a safe place to keep the money and thought that I'd have had a decent winner by now.

We shall see.

Good luck to all

Frank

I purchased £10k of Premium Bonds in October 2005. To date I have won approx £1k. I haven't found the returns to be that great but I live in hope that I will get a big win at some stage or some of Flopsy's luck

I'm also quite lazy so I prefer not to move my money around the various 12 month high interest saving schemes, I just can't be bothered with the hassle. I max out my Cash ISA each year and I'll probably max out my premium bonds this year (I would have maxed out the premium bonds last year had I not purchased a car in cash).

I look at it as a safe and hassle free way to put some money aside without the need of opening accounts/filling in paperwork and I get a chance of winning money without losing my stake each month. However, there are a number of other saving opportunites that have greater returns if you have time on your hands.

Shamrock.

2 X £50 in June draw for me.

£300 for me and Mrs M. We've won £800 in the last 3 months, which equates to an annual return of 8.9% in a bank account.

Congratulations on your wins.

Not strictly true. It's difficult and complex to design something which can generate random numbers (after all ERNIE does this task for premium bonds), but I suspect the reason why the lottery uses spinning balls is more to do with the visual aspect for TV coverage plus the 'bingo' aspect of such a device - the lottery is overwhelmingly played by C2's D's and E's, and bingo-machines would appeal to such an audience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_number_generation

Hmmm interesting, it's looking like it's maybe premium bonds or a Kaupthing account for my small amount of savings. I like the idea of premium bonds for the chance of a big win, but looking at the calculator on MSE the returns don't look that great.

happy, what you said is very interesting. The only career-benefits family I've ever known can afford £50+ per month on the National Lottery and their kids are raised by television sets.
BTW We don't buy lottery tickets and we don't own a TV.

I have the max in Ernies, and Mr Bear has not far off max. Returns have been highly variable. We had a few reasonably good yrs (Mr Bear always does better than me) followed by a couple of pretty rubbish ones.

I think someone said that it's better to insist on blocks of £10K. Not so sure myself, though I used to think it was better. For first couple of yrs had all my winnings in bonds (odd 50s and 100s.) Then thought it better to trade in all the bits and pieces for blocks and make it up to max.

Since then I've done worse!

I'm still keeping them, though, since if I traded them in one of my numbers would instantly win a big one for somebody else

Mr Bear bought £10 worth back in the 60s and pretty soon won £25 (when you could have a week in Spain for that) so he's always had faith in Ernie.

BTW another reason I loathe Gordon is that he's lowered the Ernie interest rates (and therefore prize fund) more than once, apparently because, 'too many higher-rate taxpayers are winning.'

With the govt. coffers so depleted you'd think he might like to raise them, so that more people would invest. But I fear the thought of anyone winning tax-free dosh makes Gordon feel seriously ill.

The prize fund has been lowered bcause the BoE interest rate has been lowered. He could always raise the max holding. Does anyone know when this was last raised?

It was upped from £20,000 to £30,000 in (I think) Feb. 2002, or possibly 2001.

Sorry, it was May 2003.

But I bet he won't do that, either, because particularly at the moment only the better-heeled would chuck another eg £10K in, and therefore win more of the tax-free dosh that according to Gordon they don't deserve.

nice one.

i've had a few wins since i panicked in july '07 and split my money around a bit, just before the northern rock debacle.

the best one was a £1,000

<fast show mode>which was nice</fast show mode>

I've won £550 January - June this year inclusive on 30K bonds

I got disappointing winnings when I tested £10k of bonds a couple of years ago, and ended up cashing most of them in and reducing the mortgage instead.

Since completing the sale, and going up to £30k, winnings of around £600 over the 10 draws @ 30k. 2 of those draws gave no winnings.

I'm reducing my holdings. I'll keep some so I can get excited I might win the big one but a serious holding is a wealth trap - the returns are too poor and for me and my friends have not come close to the claimed average return rates. Better to have index linked certs if you are a higher rate taxpayer and want a good return and low risk, although I can see (have seen) a currency risk holding GBP (but then OK if this is a STR fund for a UK property).

Lower prizes for August are online, I have £200. Anyone else checked?

We also got £200.

Well done. BTW Please, what do the symbols to the left of a profile mean? Next to them it reads "no information". Does anyone know?

£250 for me and only £50 for my other-half.

£200 for me. OH doesn't have any because, he says, he wouldn't win if he did have any! I've offered to buy them with my winnings but he refused.

£100 in september!
First time I've ever won anything from my PBs!
Said I was giving them 'til xmas then cashing them in.
Looks like I'm keeping them then....

Well done, absolute zero. £50. for me this month, though £200. last month. Good luck for October.

Thanks for that.
You too.

I have had a £50 return on a £10K 'investment' in the past 12 months. I'm going to keep them, though. Until I need to buy a house that is

That's very poor, OMG. When I had (only) £10K I was winning small amounts regularly. Better luck next month and until you buy your house.

I won £50 this month!

Heh, we've now reached the dizzying heights of a 1% return over 12 months

£300 for me and nothing for the other-half.

October draw, £100. for me, OH has no PBs.

This is the pittance i have recieved . hehe i think premium bonds are marmite . you love or hate em. i change my mind every day..

oh yea 30k,s worth. . out of 15 people i know who have bonds i was the only one to recieve 50 measly squid.(this month)

So far this year.......i need a £gazzillion win to break even


Premium Bond number Prize value (£) Winning month

77EE80**** £50 October

136FH52**** £50 August

94KR98**** £50 August

117RV62**** £50 August

77EE81***** £50 July

3HY63**** £50 July

26PM51***** £50 July

3ZQ94**** £50 July

3ZQ94**** £100 June

3ZQ94**** £50 June

117RV62**** £50 May

3ZQ94**** £50 April

Pretty cacksville really.......might as well spend it on a decent beer and choclate and party till i die with a smile on my moosh

£100 for me. Same for Mrs. U.

We've averaged £230 per month between us since April.

Heinzbean, so that's £650 in 7 months, so the year's not over. You've time for a biggie or more than one. Keep us posted in November and good luck.

will do ..........dont feel lucky at the mo............

Some of that was definitely mine

HaHa! Know the feeling.

I know a relative that bought £15 of bonds in the late 60s I think and hasn't won a penny when he checked recently, either hes very unlucky or someone scamed his identity I think.

scrappycoco, statistically he'd be very unlikely to win with a £15. holding. Get him to check online for winnings (if any) for the past 6 months and he could contact them about previous "wins" in case if ID scam. BTW Has he notified them of any change of address?

You buy them from the Post Office.

Once you take out the jackpot, which you very probably won't win, the interest rate is not that good, and you will get a lot better in a bank or building society savings account, even after paying 40% tax. As long as you pick a UK regulated one with a high street presence, realistically you are not going to lose any money.

Britannia and Newcastle Building Societies have index linked bonds that pay a higher rate than NS&I

But I doubt they are
A:Tax Free
B: Backed by HM treasury

Yay!!! £1,000 this month (investment of about 6k for a couple of years).....

Prize value (£) Winning month
1,000 November
50 September
50 August
50 May