Good news, bad news

[ffutures]

Good news - I won the premium bonds this month - only £25, but it's interesting because the bond that won was the first I ever owned, one of two bought for me by my parents a few months after I was born. Try buying just £2 worth of premium bonds these days!

Bad news - the Mac Mini is back and its wifi really wasn't working, the daughter board that carries Wifi and Bluetooth was a millimeter or so off the connector, which is a weird one with no pins. I'm guessing the box got bashed in transit hard enough for the connector to shift. I've put it back and tightened everything and it's working fine, but I've had to give a refund which is a PITA.

Never mind, the bond win will cover the expenses...

Brian WINOLJ has suggested I make a claim with the couriers and I'll give it a try, but it's a nuisance rather than a disaster.

Comments

[pauldormer.livejournal.com]

I got a £25 win this month too! My first this year. (My records show I got £100 total last year.)

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I win quite often - got a lot of bonds - but this one is special because there's a theory that really old bonds are secretly pulled from the draw and never win. I think the reality is that the older your bonds, the less you're likely to have - I have two bonds issued in 1953, compared to several thousand more recent, so of course the latter win a lot more often.

[pauldormer.livejournal.com]

I bought two large batches when I retired and when I got some money from an inheritance so I've never really noted which bonds win.

When I went on my retirement course, the financial advisor mentioned the idea that old bonds never win. The first year after you buy them you get a good return but after three years, the return goes down. The trick, apparently, is to cash them all in and buy another batch but I've not bothered to do that.

Of course, the other thing is that the return is linked to the bank rate, and when that is low you have a smaller chance of winning a prize.