The Lemon Fool

Two emails - one, this morning, telling me to log in to read a secure message and a second one a few minutes ago (time stamped 02.30 yesterday! ) congratulating me on a £25 win. My first! I've only been dribble buying since last October, 3k,3k,7k and 3.5k. The win came from the 7k held since April! It's more fun than leaving spare cash in ISA's to wither away at risible interest rates!

Tricia

Bouleversee wrote:And sweet F.A. (that's Fanny Adams) for me with a full holding.

I seem to remember you and Mrs Didds did rather well last month as well. Not fair. When did you buy your bonds, as a matter of interest?

yes - same amounts but reversed so to speak last month. I built up 50K over about three years I think, only topping out in 2019 i think - Mrs Didds bonds were all done in within a single calendar year in 2020 - i spent early lockdown closing a load of smaller savings vehicles doing not a lot and combined it all plus some inheritance from her dad that was sitting in a paltry level deposit account.

currently looking fro a suitable vehicle for another ~40+K that is otherwise earning stuff all.

didds

I have to admit that I've generally read this thread with slight bemusement at some people's hopes and expectations. I have held a maximum number of PB's for a long time and month after month, year after year, I get what I expect. Some months I get nothing, some months I get three or four (or even five) £25 prizes, but most often it's one or two. And every year I end up fairly close to the expected total return. Unsurprisingly, I have never been surprised, and would be very surprised if I was. So, imagine my surprise when I looked at the Prize Checker this month: "You have won £1075"!

According to MSE's PB calculator, only 0.0727% of people with a maximum holding win more than £1000 in a month - by my reckoning, that equates to a less then once in a hundred years event. So it looks like I've more than used up my lifetime's luck and the big one will definitely elude me. (That is how it works, isn't it? )

Anyway, good luck everyone!

CP

CryptoPlankton wrote:I have to admit that I've generally read this thread with slight bemusement at some people's hopes and expectations. I have held a maximum number of PB's for a long time and month after month, year after year, I get what I expect.

Unsurprisingly, I have never been surprised, and would be very surprised if I was. So, imagine my surprise when I looked at the Prize Checker this month: "You have won £1075"!

According to MSE's PB calculator, only 0.0727% of people with a maximum holding win more than £1000 in a month - by my reckoning, that equates to a less then once in a hundred years event. So it looks like I've more than used up my lifetime's luck and the big one will definitely elude me. (That is how it works, isn't it? )

Nah! The way it works (random) means you are just as likely, or unlikely, to win the big one next time as anyone else with a maximum holding - I feel you already know this.

Biggest single prize I ever won was £100 (in days of £50 minimum prizes), though a few years ago I did win 8 prizes in one month!

CryptoPlankton wrote: Some months I get nothing, some months I get three or four (or even five) £25 prizes, but most often it's one or two.....

So, imagine my surprise when I looked at the Prize Checker this month: "You have won £1075"!

yup I'd concur with that experience and ive only held PBs for a very few years. in fact when I had 25k statically, for about 15 months I only won anything maybe a couple of times. My luuck so to speak has increased since I maxxed out - but my expereince is CPs .

I did win £500 last decemebr, and i think I've also had one £50 win, but otherwise its all £25 wins between 0 and 5 of them in a month's draw

2x25 on two full holdings this month.

My biggest ever win was...today
£525 on a £13k holding, so that's £550 for the year to date

Oddly enough I tried (and failed) to buy more bonds last night, for the first time in >10 years
Perhaps that's the secret? Attempting to buy more and failing prompts them to give you a big win to encourage you ?



(no, stop...only joking ...)

2 x £25 on £50k. Long time since I had a decent win.

Prompted by postings here, I checked, and see the prize checker for July is already available (early on second working day of the month): NS&I seem to be getting quicker at releasing the results
https://www.nsandi.com/prize-checker

I looked at the media releases yesterday (1 July)
NS&I release: https://nsandi-corporate.com/news-research/news/julys-premium-bonds-winners-are-county-durham-and-east-riding-yorkshire
and the lovemoney release which gives the top prizes https://www.lovemoney.com/news/13635/premium-bonds-winners-have-i-won

I note the top two prizes (£1m) were both purchased this year/recently/in Feb 2021:

this is going to fan the "recent purchases get better prizes" debate just a little bit more

1 x £25 for me on maximum holding. My hope is to achieve more than a 0.5% return but although I seem to win £25 most months I haven't made any larger numbers yet.

I have a max holding and this month is the first blank since May 2019
so I'm happy more often that not

I've been fallow since April so was happy to see 1 x £100 2 x £25 - which probably averages me out at about 1% annually. My first non minimum prize amount for years.

I note the top two prizes (£1m) were both purchased this year/recently/in Feb 2021:
Prize Value Winning Bond number Total holding Area Date purchased
£1,000,000 441KH440355 £20,025 County Durham Feb-21
£1,000,000 439DR814317 £50,000 East Riding of Yorkshire Feb-21

Now even the PBs are part of the levelling oop North policy.

T7

after a couple of tidy months for me and Mrs Didds, it was 1 x £25 for us on two max holdings.

yorkshirelad1 wrote:Prompted by postings here, I checked, and see the prize checker for July is already available (early on second working day of the month): NS&I seem to be getting quicker at releasing the results
https://www.nsandi.com/prize-checker

No, it hasn't got quicker. It's reliably around midnight at the end of the first working day, or within an hour of that.

2 X £25 on 2 full holdings this month.

Scott.

My wife and I have only had premium bonds for 6 months now, and only £200 each.

She just won £25 which was a nice surprise.

Aim to increase our holding to around £30,000 each later this year so hopefully more prizes to come....

I'm trying to top up my premium bonds account but the website seems to be down - haven't been able to log in all day. Anyone else having this problem?

Tricia

6Tricia wrote:I'm trying to top up my premium bonds account but the website seems to be down - haven't been able to log in all day. Anyone else having this problem?

Tricia

Nope, just managed to log in no problem.

6Tricia wrote:I'm trying to top up my premium bonds account but the website seems to be down - haven't been able to log in all day. Anyone else having this problem?

Tricia

I just tried a couple of minutes ago and it's working fine for me

--kiloran

That's weird, I have just tried again but still can't login using my Samsung galaxy tablet which I have always used for nsandi.com. until now. I get:

This page isn't working
Secure. nsandi.com didn't send any data

So I had another go, this time on my little used desktop and had no problem logging in at all so mission finally accomplished - but can anyone explain the problem with the Samsung?

Tricia