US Savings I Bond Looks Attractive As Savings Vehicle

December 11, 2022

The US Savings I Bond looks attractive as a savings vehicle for a portion of your savings that you will not need within 2 years. You can buy up to $10,000 per social security number. In other words, spouses can each buy $10,000. The current interest rate is 6.89% and is inflation adjusted every 6 months. Please note if you do these buys before December 29th, you will be able to buy another $10,000 in January.

These purchases must be done directly with the treasury and cannot be done in your brokerage account. It is more complicated than a traditional brokerage, but making an account with the Treasury should take no more than 10 minutes. Please note that you must go directly to the US treasury site link below, which we have as a button on this page.

About I Bonds

  • Protect against inflation. Earn both a fixed rate of interest and a rate based on inflation. The rate is reset twice a year.
  • Current Rate: 6.89%
  • Primarily electronic – keep them safe in your TreasuryDirect account (minimum amount $25)
  • You can choose to use all or part of your IRS tax refund to buy paper I Bonds (minimum amount $50)
  • Maximum purchase each calendar year: $10,000 in electronic I Bonds + $5,000 in paper I Bonds
  • Can cash in after 1 year. (But if you cash before 5 years, you lose 3 months of interest.)