Archive for the ‘Premium Bonds’ Category


Conspiracy Theories About Premium Bonds

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

As with most things that are concerned with the government, conspiracy theories are generated to prove or disprove unfairness between two parties or plots to hurt the population. Premium bonds are not isolated from these kinds of attacks. Conspiracy theorists have accused the National Savings and Investments agency of defrauding the public and being bias in the way they hand out the prizes and pick out the numbers of the bonds. These conspiracy theories are meant to hurt the agency and they are being reported in blogs and other methods to bring the idea of premium bonds to a halt.

The National Savings and Investment agency has issued statements that debunk these theories and preserve their integrity. Their number generating machine, ERNIE, creates random numbers that correspond with the numbers on the bonds. Large drawings are held each month and some people believe that the number generating is fixed. One of the most bizarre theories is that some people believe that ERNIE is a super computer that knows how a person thinks. People have even sent ERNIE Christmas and Valentine Day cards to the computer in hopes that it will sway its picks. This is totally untrue; the machine is totally random and does not have the capacity to know anything.

Psychologists have made the assumption that even the employees of the National Savings and Invest agency does not even know how the numbers are picked by ERNIE. The people that make the theories have a intrinsic need to know how a process works and when they do not know, they will come up with ideas that make them feel more comforted. Ironically, most of the conspiracy theories come from people who have never won any of the cash prizes and they feel that they are not in control of the situation.

You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about Premium Bonds. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.

The maximum holding for premium bonds is thirty thousand pounds. A theory exists that only the maximum amount in the system will generate winners for those people only. If you do the statistics thirty thousand pounds has a better chance of winning than if you have just two or three thousand pounds invested in bonds. Again people with the lower amount of money invested are perpetrating the theory. With over a third of the population of Great Britain investing the premium bonds system, so people may never win a cash prize nor see their investment grow.

There is a theory that only new premium bonds are winning. This may be true. Though the program has been going on for decades, there has been a surge of new buying since the one million pound prize was introduced. Again the numbers come into play, the more that people play, the less chance you will win a cash prize. As with any lottery system, the more people that play and save, the more people will lose.

The good thing is larger prizes and more money can be put into the system where people who win will make a larger profit. By doing the simple math, most of these theories are debunking themselves.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest venture: GVO to claim your $1 trial membership!

Fun Facts and Myths about Premium Bonds

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Current info about Premium Bonds is not always the easiest thing to locate. Fortunately, this report includes the latest Premium Bonds info available.

There are many web pages dedicated to successes of the premium bond program in Great Britain but there are also some false facts that are circulating around the net that gives premium bonds a bad name and puts out false information that would keep some otherwise wise investors from even purchasing their first bond. This report presents some of this false information so that the discerning investor can make clear and logical choices when investing their money in the premium bond system. Remember these are myths and false facts that have been discounted by the government agencies that were selected to monitor the actions of the National Savings and Investment agency.

One myth is that the million pound winner is always notified in person on the last day of the month after the drawing. The winner has to be at home or the prize will be given to another premium bond member or will not be given away at all. The myth also supports another. Since you have to be home to win the prize, the myth says the statistics support the idea that most people that win the million pounds are in their nineties and that they are home all the time anyway. Most people in their nineties live in a retirement community or nursing home and they would not have an address that would support the myth.

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

There is a ridiculous rumor that nobody has ever met a million pound winner. This myth contends that it is a government hoax and the sole purpose of this hoax is to trick people into giving their money to the government in lieu of taxes. This is completely false. Not only is there a website that lists all the million pound winners, it even lists the towns they live in and what date they won. Of course the National Savings and Interest agency is going to keep them secret because the publicity generated would destroy their privacy and make the million pounds more of a burden than a pleasure.

There is even a rumor about premium bonds and the famous British comedian Bennie Hill. Though Bennie Hill died at the age of 92, the myth says he had just won a million pound prize and he was killed by his jealous grandmother because of the money. Bennie Hill was already a wealthy man and the age of the jealous grandmother would make her about hundred and twenty years old. This does not only make sense chronologically but the woman at that age would have a hard time killing anyone.

There has even been a website posted with these myths and the challenge for anyone that has won a million pounds to come forward and dispute the myths. To this day, no one has posted on the site. This is logical because by posting they would be giving up their privacy as well as the possibility of setting themselves up for a scam. The National Savings and Investment is a sound agency that guarantees your money. These myths are just created to destroy their integrity.

Now you can understand why there’s a growing interest in Premium Bonds. When people start looking for more information about Premium Bonds, you’ll be in a position to meet their needs.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest acquisition: Free Adsense eBook and make sure to claim your free adsense ebook download!

Premium Bond and ERNIE

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Premium bonds are bonds that do not pay interest. They do something much better. You purchase premium bonds and let it sit just like in a savings account. Each month there is a lottery and if your bond number is picked, then you have a chance to win over a million dollars. Over one and a half million cash prizes are given away each month and if your bond number is picked, you win from fifty British pounds to well over a million pounds. The great thing is if you do not want to participate in the program anymore you can take back your money like it was never invested at all. This program is so popular that over a third of the population of Great Britain participates in it.

Unlike the American lottery system where numbers are picked randomly from ping pong balls, Great Britain uses ERNIE to generate numbers from premium bonds. ERNIE is a random number generator hardware system and has been around since 1957. ERNIE first generated the bond numbers by picking up on signal noise from a bank of neon tubes. It was the size of a mini van and could only generate about 2000 numbers an hour. The first number generator lasted almost seventeen years and was replaced by an updated version in 1972.

The best time to learn about Premium Bonds is before you’re in the thick of things. Wise readers will keep reading to earn some valuable Premium Bonds experience while it’s still free.

The computer age came to age in the eighties and in 1988 ERNIE 3 was invented. The generator was about the size of a personal computer but ran at no where near the speed personal computers run today. It took ERNIE 3 almost six hours to generate the numbers for the monthly lottery. ERNIE 4 is being used today and it came of age in 2004. Working at speeds five hundred times as fast as the original model, ERNIE 4 uses thermal noise instead of the noise from neon lights. It can compute over a million numbers and hour

Once the numbers are generated, a staff of hundreds validates the generated numbers with real bond numbers that the numbers match. Once matched, prizes are allotted to the public. The machine is checked over monthly to ensure proper validation and to keep the system honest. With over a million and a half winners monthly, the machine keeps every thing running smoothly. The investments pay off as winners are awarded their prizes depending on the order that their premium bond number was generated.

ERNIE is so popular in Great Britain that the machine actually receives cards on holidays such as Christmas. Jethro Tull, a poetic singer and song writer even wrote mentions ERNIE in his song, “Thick as a Brick.” The magic of ERNIE and the thrill of lottery and a chance to win a million has the majority of the population of Britain investing more and more. The idea that your money can earn more than a mere one or two percent that savings accounts earn has the British public flocking to the bank to let ERNIE make them a million.

Sometimes it’s tough to sort out all the details related to this subject, but I’m positive you’ll have no trouble making sense of the information presented above.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest venture: GVO to claim your $1 trial membership!

How to Claim Your Premium Bonds Winning

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

When most people think of Premium Bonds, what comes to mind is usually basic information that’s not particularly interesting or beneficial. But there’s a lot more to Premium Bonds than just the basics.

Premium bonds are a great way to save money and at the same time have a chance to winning up to a million pounds. Each one pond bond has a unique number on it that is put into an automatic number generator machine that produces numbers for a monthly lottery. If your number is picked you and a million and a half other investors have a chance to win a cash prize from fifty to a million pounds. If you have premium bonds you have twelve chances a year to receive a significant amount of money in lieu of the percentages from a regular savings account.

Some people have won a cash prize for the premium bonds and don’t even know that they have won. They could have moved and their new address wasn’t registered with the National Savings and Investments agency. A notice of their win would have gone out and the recipient would have never known. The National Savings and Investments agency will keep the money until someone claims it. You just have to step up to the plate and claim it. But like many investors, you don’t know how. There may be money out there you just have to ask.

Sometimes the most important aspects of a subject are not immediately obvious. Keep reading to get the complete picture.

There are online services that will search the National Savings and Investments unclaimed prize list and let you know that if you have a payment or prize pending. The great thing about this service is that it is free. You just give them the bond numbers and they will tell you if you have won. They cannot do anything with the bond numbers themselves. The bond itself is the proof that you won when you present it for the prize. The bond number itself is useless to anyone trying to scam the system.

The investor must remember that the bondholder number is a unique code given to each holder. The bondholder number will allow the finding service to search all premium bond numbers you have in your account. If you don’t know your number, it is the number tat was given to you when you bought your first premium bonds. The numbers are arranged in eight digits and a letter at the end. The premium bond numbers will have letters throughout the number sequences and will be distinct from any other sequence. This way you can discern between your bond holder number and your actual bond identification number.

With most online bondholder checking services, the list of prizes is updated on a regular basis. Again, just your book holder number is needed and not the individual numbers from your individual premium bonds. The service will match the numbers and give you the results, either positive or negative, by email. You don’t have to worry about moving and having the notice sent to the wrong address. You can even be out of the country and be able to be notified. Both recent and past numbers will be matched and you will have an answer within a few days.

I hope that reading the above information was both enjoyable and educational for you. Your learning process should be ongoing–the more you understand about any subject, the more you will be able to share with others.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest site: Power Copy Club to claim your FREE membership!

The Difference Between British and Canadian Premium Bonds

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

The following paragraphs summarize the work of Premium Bonds experts who are completely familiar with all the aspects of Premium Bonds. Heed their advice to avoid any Premium Bonds surprises.

Premium bonds, the most successful savings program in British history, has given the common man a chance to win up to a million pounds in a lottery based drawing that draws the numbers from the bonds themselves. Other countries are starting premium bond programs but there are distinct differences between them. The forty plus years of the British system has made millionaires out of two people a month and has given several other millions cash prize in lieu of interest. The great thing about the British premium bond system is that you can withdraw your investment anytime without penalty or loss of money.

Based off of this model, the Canadian government now has started a similar program that has very distinct differences. The Canada Premium Bond is a safe and secure investment is a bond that has interest and even a compound interest. In comparison to the British system that offers no interest the Canadian system offers a guaranteed rate of return and offers a higher interest than the common Canadian Savings bond which is a completely different investment opportunity. They can be redeemed once a year; where as the British premium bond can be cashed in at any time.

Now that we’ve covered those aspects of Premium Bonds, let’s turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.

Both premium bonds are backed by the governments so you can be assured that your money is safe. Both countries use the money to fund government projects. This money is used instead of tax money so the investments you make actually help keep tax increases from happening and saving you money in the long run. The British system relies more on giving back the money in the form of random cash prizes while the Canadian system assures their investors a solid interest rate.

Both premium bonds in both countries do not charge a fee of any kind but the Minister of Finance in Canada can stop the sale whenever his department chooses. The British National Savings and Investments have no plans to stop the sale of the bonds and actually the number of bonds being bought is growing rapidly. The only negative aspect to this is that the lottery payout system has to grow because without growth, the odds of winning a cash prize in the British system may grow wider than most of the investors would want to deal with.

A Canadian investor has the same promises as a British person trying to save money. The money is guaranteed and though the return is not guaranteed in the British premium bond plan. Both bond systems are an excellent addition to any investment portfolio but both countries need to diversify the portfolio especially if the portfolio is for a long term savings plan for the retirement. Whether you are a British or a Canadian citizen, both premium bond opportunities presents themselves as an excellent opportunity outside the mainstream savings plans that have been the backbone of most banking institutions. You may want to talk to a financial consultant to find out if either the British or the Canadian premium bonds are right for your portfolio.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, still letting you get Unlimited Web Hosting from ONLY $1/month

The Premium Bonds Program Hits A Milestone in Financial History.

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Imagine the next time you join a discussion about Premium Bonds. When you start sharing the fascinating Premium Bonds facts below, your friends will be absolutely amazed.

Premium bonds have reached a milestone in financial history. At fifty years old this saving system has outlasted other government and private saving plans and seems to have enough stem to last decades to come. Not only is the premium bond a success the nation of Great Britain has embraced the bonds and actually holds an endearment for them. This is amazing for a system that doesn’t pay interest and actually rewards up to a million pounds to a single investor. Over a third of the country invests in the bonds and that account for twenty three million citizens that have a stake in their future and the future of their country.

The big winnings are just the tip of the iceberg with this saving plan. Premium bonds can be put be bought and exchanged for the exact same value as you put in. The cash prizes are just the crème on top of the milk when it comes to earnings. You don’t pay a penalty for withdraw nor do you lose anything except the meager interest that other savings plans have. All you have to do is fill out a repayment form from the National Savings and Investments agency and your money will come back to you. You usually only have to wait about a week to receive your cash in the post.

Truthfully, the only difference between you and Premium Bonds experts is time. If you’ll invest a little more time in reading, you’ll be that much nearer to expert status when it comes to Premium Bonds.

The sales of premium bonds are going out of the roof. There is a premium bond bought every ten second in the country and this accounts to about twenty one million bonds bought a day. The accessibility of purchase has increased in the last few years due to the availability of online venues. For those that are less technologically oriented they can go to the post office and purchase them in person. You have to purchase at least one hundred pounds worth of bonds to start your saving and you can even have payroll deductions or account withdrawals that will allow you to save as the purchases are put into savings automatically. You can save a maximum of thirty thousand pounds and just wait for the cash prizes to come to you.

The bonds only cost a pound a piece and this bond gives you a chance to win one of over a million cash prizes awarded monthly. The National Savings and Investment agency has a random number generator that will pick numbers off of individual bonds and then report the winnings to the bond holders. The prizes range from two million pound awards to over a million fifty pound rewards. The bonds are issued consecutively and a single investment will let you be able to keep track of your number between the lowest and the highest. The rewards are also listed online and in most town newspapers.

If you like the thrill of the lottery and the hope of free money coming your way, the premium bonds program is for you. Your money will not just sit in the bank and wait to accrue a meager interest. You will be able to get lump sumps each month if you are that lucky of a person.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, the Cheap Web Hosting Guy!

Randomness in the Premium Bonds Market

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

The more you understand about any subject, the more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you’ll find that the subject of Premium Bonds is certainly no exception.

Some people wonder about the randomness of the premium bonds lottery that is conducted each month. The randomness has been under scrutiny in the past and the National Savings and Interest agency, the people who conduct the lottery are scrutinized by an outside agency to provide security so that winners have an equal chance.

The Government Actuary Department was created for the sole purpose of checking the premium bond system and the randomness of the numbers. The Government Actuary Department is not associated with the National Savings and Interest agency and is does not receive any monetary funds. Just like the agency that checks the gauges and meters of gas pumps, the Government Actuary Department just regulates honesty for the good will of the citizens of Great Britain.

There are conspiracy theories that say that only regional areas of the British Isle win more than others. What these people do not take to mind is that the population differences as well as economic differences create statistical abnormalities that skew the awarding of cash prizes. The Government Actuary Department investigates these allocations and through statistical analysis most are proven only disparities in population and how many people in each region actually participates in the program.

It seems like new information is discovered about something every day. And the topic of Premium Bonds is no exception. Keep reading to get more fresh news about Premium Bonds.

The National Savings and Interest agency also takes these allocations very seriously and encourages investigation from outside agencies. If these false allocations are true, it could seriously affect the premium bond program and the agency that supports it. The scrutiny and honesty is the upmost priority of the National Savings and Investments, and scrupulous behavior is not tolerated.

Another theory is that new bonds win more than old bonds bought decades ago. The Government Actuary Department explains this by stating that populations have grown as well as the population of people buying premium bonds. The randomness remains the same, but if the purchase of new bonds that were purchased in the last decade is double or triple the amount of bonds purchased in the decade between 1950 and 1960, the number of winners will mostly come from the last decade. The general public has a hard time explaining this and when they have had bonds that have not won ever, of course they think that there is something fishy with the random number generator or the people at the National Savings and Investment. The Government of Actuary Department assures the public that the randomness does not discriminate against older bonds than newer ones.

The premium bond program relies on the effectiveness of the random number generator. Some people have suggested the ping pong number generator that American lotteries use. The only problem with that is that there are millions and millions of numbers generated to use and the ping pong method. The random generator that the British system uses has gone through four upgrades and a fifth is being looked at if the popularity of premium bonds continues to increase. Premium bonds still remain a great investment and the fun at a chance of winning will continue to make the program succeed.

Now that wasn’t hard at all, was it? And you’ve earned a wealth of knowledge, just from taking some time to study an expert’s word on Premium Bonds.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, the Cheap Web Hosting Guy!

Are Premium Bonds Worth It?

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Premium bonds are becoming more popular everyday. Millions of people are investing in these bonds and some are questioning if they are really worth it. Premium bonds were introduced in 1956 as a way to get the public to invest into the British Government. This was set up like a lottery so that the common man could save and at the same time have a chance to winning millions of pounds. Nearly twenty million people, a third of the population now owns at least one premium bond. Investors can buy these bonds directly from the post office or they can purchase from the National Savings and Investment firms.

Since interest rates are falling, premium bonds are seen as a safe way to invest and at the same time have the thrill of winning one of the over million and a half cash prizes awarded each month. Fifteen percent of the prize money is used for high cash prizes and another fifteen percent is used for medium cash prizes. The remaining seventy percent of the money was used to award lower prizes that are as high as fifty pounds. A fifty pound prize on a one bond is almost a 500 percent return. Right now you have a 1 in 21,000 chance to win, but with the bonds becoming more popular, those odds may be greater in the future.

If you don’t have accurate details regarding Premium Bonds, then you might make a bad choice on the subject. Don’t let that happen: keep reading.

You have to buy at least one hundred pounds to invest in premium bonds and you can only have thirty thousand pounds in an account. The bonds are backed and protected by the national treasury. Anyone who invests can be assured that when they decide to pull out their funds, the money will be there. Anyone can invest as long as you are sixteen. Many parents buy premium bonds as a way to pay for their children’s college. Young investors can learn the value of savings and at the same time get the chance to win enough money to set them up for life.

Unlike lottery tickets, the same bond can win over and over. The more you invest, the more times you will have a chance to win. The winnings are tax-free and you can even reinvest the money you win until you reach the thirty thousand pound limit. It has been reported that the odds in winning has declined in the last ten years. It is a matter of statistics that the more bonds that are bought the lower the chance that your bond number will be picked.

The odds are still better than the American lottery because you don’t have to buy a different ticket each time. You can find out if your bond number is picked by looking at the National Saving and Invest website. Here they list all the winning numbers and all you have to do is call or contact them for you to claim your prize. It is recorded that the National Saving and Invest firm has over five hundred thousand unclaimed prizes that they are holding for claimers.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

Success Stories About Premium Bonds

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Imagine the next time you join a discussion about Premium Bonds. When you start sharing the fascinating Premium Bonds facts below, your friends will be absolutely amazed.

Premium bonds are a great way to invest for your future. Not only do you get the chance to store your money in a secure environment but you get a chance to win a million pounds. Some people doubt the system but there is a plethora of success stories that prove that premium bonds are a good investment and is a great way to have fun playing the monthly lottery. Each month bond numbers are randomly picked and if are the lucky investor, you could win a prize from fifty to a million pounds. The following are some testimonials about the success for premium bonds.

One lady had a one pound bond purchased for her by her grandparents. Even though the bond was purchased in 1965, this single bond has been picked twice for a fifty pound and a hundred pound cash prize. This has spurred the woman to invest heavily in the program and she encourages her children to invest also. These two wins have created a saving culture within the family and with other wise financial decisions; this woman will be set up in her retirement age. Her family also will be able to save for college and their retirement also.

How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.

Another lady in Liverpool stated that she had twenty thousand premium bonds and that she was disappointed that she didn’t win anything after a few months. She had only won one fifty pound prize after the purchase. She was so up set that she wrote the National Savings and Investment agency and complained. Not only did she get a reply and an explanation but she also was notified that she had won another fifty pound prize and ironically the same bond number she won on the first prize was the same bond number that was picked for the second time.

This was picked up by a conspiracy theorist who spouted the odds that if one bond is bought for one person, that person will have a chance of winning every three thousand years or so. Also that person has a chance of winning the million dollar prize at the odds of twenty three million to one. He is skeptical about the ladies story, but refuses to pull out his premium bonds because he knows it is a safe place for saving and he still has faith that he will earn a prize, maybe the million dollar prize for his investment. He says not only he will save but will invest more until he gets to the cap of thirty thousand pounds.

Another lady supports the theory that newer bonds have a better chance to win than older bonds. She bought her son a bond in the 1961. Her son never won a prize for the bond since the purchase. The gentleman bought a new bond last year and won a fifty pound prize the first month. The theory that newer bonds win more frequently can be explained by the fact that the population and the popularity of bonds has increased since the sixties. Therefore the statistics are slanted more toward the new bonds than the ones bought decades ago.

When word gets around about your command of Premium Bonds facts, others who need to know about Premium Bonds will start to actively seek you out.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, the creator of Auto Blog Feeder, an automatic blogging solution for Wordpress

The NS&I and Premium Bonds

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Current info about Premium Bonds is not always the easiest thing to locate. Fortunately, this report includes the latest Premium Bonds info available.

Premium bonds were conceived in 1861. It was set up so that ordinary people could save and invest their money if case of accident or death. The original name of the program was called the Post Office Saving Bank. It popularity spread an soon the Chancellor was borrowing money from the funds so that he could support public projects. This gave the premium bonds a duel purpose. First the bond where considered a source of a secure investment that could not go bankrupt or could not loose value. Second the bonds were seen as a way to give the government a source of funds when taxes and other monies were not enough.

The Post Office Bank sold saving certificates that did offer a lottery system to go with them. In 1957 a lottery was issued once a month to persuade British citizens to invest more money. In 1967 the Post Office management changed hands and the Treasury Department took over. The program was renamed the National Savings and the Post Office became the major supplier of premium bonds. The National Savings part of it became a source of other investments besides premium bonds. In 1996 the post office became the store of the agency and the National Savings and Investment became more aligned with the Chancellor. All a citizen had to do was to go to the post office and make a hundred pound investment toward a bond purchase. They could invest until they reached the cap of thirty thousand pounds.

If you find yourself confused by what you’ve read to this point, don’t despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish.

Siemens Corp became apart of the operation in 1999. In an attempt to modernize the agency over 4000 agency employees were sent to Siemens schools for business to learn new investing techniques. Since then the employees have become more professional in the delivery of investment services. New call centers were added and more technology was used in the handling of investment portfolios. Siemens will end its contract with the National Savings and Investments in 2014 and the agency will be self-sufficient in its own affairs.

Through their training, the employees of the National Savings and Investment have met goals of improved customer care and the professional implication of investment opportunities. The use of the internet has made the communication between provider and customer easier to facilitate and information about the company can be found at the stroke of a keyboard. As the popularity of premium bonds grows so will the commitment of National Savings and Investment to provide their customers with professional, friendly service.

The growth of premium bonds has skyrocketed in the past decade. The negative impact of the growth is that the chances of having your bond picked by the random number generator is widening. Statistically the bigger the population of numbers the gap grows wider for the individual investor to be selected. Many people are pulling their premium bonds investment and putting them into traditional low interest savings accounts. This pull back from impatient investors may reverse the numbers so the chances of winning will grow.

That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

About the Author
Check out Anders Eriksson’s latest articles: Travel To Exotic Places and Make Money With Adsense