What’s the best day to cash Savings Bonds?
Friday, August 13th, 2004
Categorized as: Cashing in US Savings Bonds
Is one day better than another for cashing Savings Bonds?
Tom’s response
In general, you want to cash a Savings Bond right after its value increases because of an interest payment.
Some Savings Bonds increase in value monthly, so the most you can lose by cashing on the wrong day is one month’s worth of interest.
Other Savings Bonds only increase in value every six months. Cashing on the wrong day can mean you lose up to six-months worth of interest. I call this the Savings Bond hidden interest-rate penalty.
All Series I Savings Bonds and Series EE Savings Bonds issued in May 1997 or later increase in value monthly. All other Savings Bonds, including Series HH bonds issued after May 1997, pay interest on a six-month cycle.
These bonds should be cashed near the beginning of their month of issue or of the month exactly six months later.
Readers of my book, , have access to a table that shows the best month to redeem any Savings Bond.
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Tom Adams