Knowing Savings Bonds and Your Savings Bond Value

Want to know the interest rates that apply to new and old savings bonds? How about finding out the savings bond value of the current bonds you own? And once you find out the savings bond value, of course you are going to be interested in cashing it. But how do you do it? The United States Department of Treasury has made it very easy to do all these things that even the very simplest of people can completely understand it.

For those that don’t know exactly what a savings bond is, it is a treasury security for individual investors. Savings bonds are backed by full faith and credit by the United States government. Studies show that one in every six Americans, a combined number of over fifty million people, have invested over two hundred billion dollars in savings bonds. This amount of money, however, only covers a minor portion of about three percent of the United States’ public debt.

There are many types of savings bonds and many different interest rates that come with them. Depending on the economy, changes in interest rates may have several changes over time. Changes in interest rates are announced twice a year during the months of May and November. So finding out the different interest rates are fairly easy. For even more additional information on specific bonds, a report at the Bureau of Public Debt is kept and updated.

If you want to find out your savings bond value, the offices of the Department of Treasury has available copies of tables of redemption values for savings bonds. The Bureau of Public Debt publishes a pamphlet twice a year. Using this pamphlet, it is easy to figure out your savings bond value. Just like the announcements of changes in interest rates, the booklet is published during the months of May and November.

Once you figure out your savings bond value, most financial institutions let you cash them in. But bonds that are issued to a trustee, guardian, corporation or any other type of bonds that need documentation from an attorney are not entertained. Instead, these are to be redeemed by Federal Reserve Banks.

Finding out your savings bond value is an important thing to do as this can help provide several advantages. Savings bonds are an extra source of income once it earns enough interest. Cashing in savings bonds could also mean that there is more money that can go into your personal checking or savings account providing you with more money to spend.