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There Are 6,458 (or 7.9%) Fewer US Bank Branches Now Than in 2020 — Here Are the States, Metros That Lost the MostMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
This is just a short post to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a joyful holiday season. Thank you for your support throughout 2021. Please note that I will be on a holiday schedule through New Year’s with a reduced number of posts.
Before I prepare for Christmas, I have a couple of holiday related tips to share.
Series I Savings Bond can be a nice gift
If you are in need of a quick gift for a family member, you might want to consider buying an electronic savings bond as a gift. The Series I bond is one of the rare savings products that is able to keep up with inflation. The value of that feature has become apparent this year as inflation has been surging.
Buying savings bonds as a gift is not as easy as it used to be when you could just buy a paper savings bond at a bank. Today, gift savings bonds are issued only in electronic form (When you file your IRS tax return, you can buy paper I bonds for others if you are owed a refund.) Details are provided at this TreasuryDirect page. Step-by-step buying details are provided in this TreasuryDirect tip sheet.
The savings bond gift giver and gift recipient will need to have an account at TreasuryDirect.gov. However, the gift giver can buy a savings bond before the recipient creates a TreasuryDirect account. Another important thing to note is that the gift giver will need the recipient’s Social Security Number. The purchase amount range is from $25 to $10,000.
Once it’s bought, the gift giver can then print out one of the TreasuryDirect’s paper gift certificates to give as a physical gift. There are nine holiday themed gift certificates from which to choose.
For the recipient to actually receive the savings bond, he or she will have to have a TreasuryDirect account. For recipients under 18, their parents will need to create a minor linked account. Once the account has been created, the gift giver can finish the savings bond gift process by delivering the savings bond to the recipient. In this step, the gift giver must enter the recipient’s TreasuryDirect account number.
For more details on I bonds, please see my review of the latest I bonds.
Update 12/28/21: This TheFinanceBuff article was just published with many useful details about buying I bonds as gifts, including why you may want to buy one for your spouse.
Joining credit unions via family
I’ve been sharing this tip for many years. It’s a useful tip to remember during the holidays since it’s a time when families get together. Thanks to your family, you may be eligible to join many more credit unions than you realize. That can give you more access to better rates and more competitive banking products. This year I decided to create this separate post with the details of the different ways that family members can help you join a credit union.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All!
Hopefully these tips will help you or your family members earn more interest in 2022. May the spirit of the holidays fill your home with love and peace. I wish you Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2022!
A Merry Christmas and hopefully a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Wishing you all a happy, safe and healthy holiday season!
From a baby boomer who expected to live off the interest of their savings, your website is a lifesaver!
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR GREAT FINANCIAL HELP!
I wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and a Very Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year and beyond! :)
For complete info., see https://www.kitces.com/blog/federal-series-i-savings-bonds-inflation-712-composite-rate-treasurydirect-compare-fixed-income-investments/
Saw the following from an ibond blog posting…has anyone come across this and/or went to TD or Treasury on conflict? Q/A
"How much in I bonds can I buy as gifts?
"The purchase amount of a gift bond counts toward the annual limit of the recipient, not the giver. So, in a calendar year, you can buy up to $10,000 in electronic bonds and up to $5,000 in paper bonds for each person you buy for."
The above is the last q/a at
https://treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds/res_ibonds_ibuy.htm#gift
This q/a would strongly suggest one could buy up to $15K in tax refund paper bonds but only for the 3 entries on form 8888. Of course the instructions for 8888 are more limiting
My son had this issue too, probably because he had an address change a few months ago and provided his new address in the application. He has an account at a B&M bank but they say they've never heard of signature guarantees :-(
I then looked into linking an additional bank account to my Treasury Direct account and it too needs a signature guarantee. My brokerage account people knew about signature guarantees but only provided it for assets that were going to be transferred to them!
It would be great if anyone posts a success story where a paper form submission to Treasury Direct worked.
After going to Chase HQ the branch was told that a teller stamp would suffice. I submitted the paperwork and the account was approved.
Was it sufficient for you to tell the branch that a teller stamp would suffice or did they need to hear it from Chase HQ directly?
the very latest date you can make the purchase is Wednesday, Dec. 29th, which will get booked the next day Dec, 30th. Because Dec,31st is a Federal holiday, a Dec.30th purchase won't cut it, as processing won't happen until Jan 3rd 2022.
One note about I bonds, I added a link in this post to a useful article on buying I bonds as a gift.
Thank you for the great advice over the years. Without your direction, I would not be as safe as I am. Merry Christmas to all!
David