€25k invested in prize bonds

WhiteMan32

Winnings from yesterday's draw: €0
Total winnings since Feb 2012 on €12k: €150

oaklands

oaklands wrote: »

Good spot AgentSmyth!

It looks like the prize fund was reduced by €219,950 vs Dec'12 equivalent. However, this represents an additional €43,163 more of a reduction than would have been expected based on the new prize system.

If this is extrapolated, it looks like the may have been a net €99.75 million reduction in Bonds in December'12, Given that there were up to 5 work days at most since the announcement and that a lot of people buy bonds as Xmas gifts in December, that is a lot of movement.


If this is indeed the case, we can expect to see a lot more cashed in by the end of Jan!.

It looks like there may have been an error in the earlier post above - so please disregard post #698 & apologies for the error. The extrapolation used was too simplistic - so we will have to wait until the 2012 annual report is published to get the real numbers.

scotchy

Cheque arrived yesterday for €50.

I have about €7k in prize bonds.

I won nothing in 2012, so a good start to 2013.


.

FoolsGold1

scotchy wrote: »

Cheque arrived yesterday for €50.

I have about €7k in prize bonds.

I won nothing in 2012, so a good start to 2013.


.

Indeed. More of that to you, so 'hold on to your ha'penny 'till etc. ...'!

scotchy

FoolsGold1 wrote: »

Indeed. More of that to you, so 'hold on to your ha'penny 'till etc. ...'!

Wasn't sure what you meant so I googled it.

Here

Don't think it means what you think it means.




.

FoolsGold1

scotchy wrote: »

Wasn't sure what you meant so I googled it.

Here

Don't think it means what you think it means.




.

See what thought does...apologies...not into the hieroghyphics of nature, I always knew it to be .... 'till you get a penny' .... so wonders will never cease, and more luck to you. Tomorrow is another day (I think!)!

pbwinner

Winnings from today's draw: €0
Total winnings since Feb 2011 on €25k: €800

doriansmith

No luck for me again today, my last win was on 4th Jan.
Winnings so far in 2013: €50.
Winnings in 2012: €675

XrayMike235

Had one win the previous six draws since I last posted. A cheque for €50 is nice, but €75 was a lot nicer.

Winnings from todays draw: €0
Total winnings since October 2008 on €18K: €1250

Date of last win: Jan 4th (€50)

smemon

I've joined the prize bonds club.

Winnings from today's draw: €0
Total winnings since Jan 2013 on €50: €0

Should I withdraw and keep it in a bank account earning interest? :pac:

Agent Smyth

Winnings from 01/02/13 draw € 0
Last win 11/01/13 €50
Total wins 2013 € 50
Total wins 2012 €375

oaklands

smemon wrote: »

I've joined the prize bonds club.

Winnings from today's draw: €0
Total winnings since Jan 2013 on €50: €0

Should I withdraw and keep it in a bank account earning interest? :pac:

With €50 (or 8 bonds) your performance on average should be:

Win 1 x €50 prize every 76 years on average
Win 1 x €100 prize every 1,291 years on average
Win 1 x €1,000 prize every 129,129 years on average
Win 1 x €20,000 prize every 839,342 years on average
Win 1 x €1,000,000 prize every 2,797,807 years on average

(Its also possible for you to win €1M at the end of this month!)

So if you are looking for a return, in your case you should consider a Bank or DIRT free State Savings or make an AVC to a pension or pay off any debt. If you are up to having a flutter, its 'only' €50 and you are helping to fund the State debt.

Finally, you cannot cash them during the first 3 months.

Based on stats from Feb'13

oaklands

It looks like there has been an increase of between 2 and 3 million bonds each month from from June to November 2012.(Total 15.3M bonds).

However, during Dec'12 and Jan'13 - it looks like this has increased to just under 5M bonds per month (Total 9.75M bonds).

If this is correct, it is clearly counter-intuitive. I would have expected a mass exodus after the reduction in overall return and the switch from €75 to €50 and instead we get a situation where the nett purchase rate doubles!!!.

The only thing I can think of is the publicity surrounding the change reminded people about Prizebonds???. Also, if this trend continues, we can look forward to further reductions in the prize fund.

(Caveat: We wont know the exact numbers until the Annual report is published mid-year)

FYI: my estimate for the number of bonds on 31-Jan-2013 is:
268,589,511 (vs 236M bonds on 31-Dec-11)

smemon

oaklands wrote: »

With €50 (or 8 bonds) your performance on average should be:

Win 1 x €50 prize every 76 years on average
Win 1 x €100 prize every 1,291 years on average
Win 1 x €1,000 prize every 129,129 years on average
Win 1 x €20,000 prize every 839,342 years on average
Win 1 x €1,000,000 prize every 2,797,807 years on average

(Its also possible for you to win €1M at the end of this month!)

So if you are looking for a return, in your case you should consider a Bank or DIRT free State Savings or make an AVC to a pension or pay off any debt. If you are up to having a flutter, its 'only' €50 and you are helping to fund the State debt.

Finally, you cannot cash them during the first 3 months.

Based on stats from Feb'13

I see this as a kind of 'back of the couch money' savings account which doubles as a lotto ticket.

I'm hoping i'll continue to throw some cash in to it and then just kind of forget about it for a few years.

On a side note, for a gambling type of service, prizebonds.ie have one of the worst websites i've seen in a long time. They also do a terrible job of promoting it. Where's the page 3 models outside of Stephen's Green holding up signs or the facebook page

oaklands

They dont need to do any promotion, because they are sending out over 9,000 prizes every week which probably does the trick for them. Almost 50,000 winners every year = the best free exposure you will ever get. (people only ever talk about wins and rarely boast about losses)

They issue a press release every month identifying the €1M winners county and every local and many national media outlets carry it for free.

FoolsGold1

Boasting about my win today .. 1 x 50
Last win 18 Jan. ... 2 x 50
Famine other three weeks in Jan.!

WhiteMan32

Winnings from today's draw: €0
Total winnings since Feb 2012 on €12k: €150

nhg

nhg wrote: »

Just checked my bank a/c this morning, another €50 win, two weeks in a row



Win in this weeks draw €50

Win on once off purchase of €30k since 23/11/12 - €100
Win on regular €200 month purchase since Jan 2011 - €0
Win on odd presents of prize bonds received over the years - €75

Now it's a €50 win 3 weeks in a row!
Win on €30K since Jan 2013 - €150

XrayMike235

Winnings from todays draw: €0
Total winnings since October 2008 on €18K: €1250

Date of last win: Jan 4th (€50)

pbwinner

Winnings from today's draw: €0
Total winnings since Feb 2011 on €25k: €800

FoolsGold1

Winnings from today 1 x 50
Last win 1/2/13 1 x 50

Agent Smyth

Winnings from 08/02/13 draw € 0
Last win 11/01/13 €50
Total wins 2013 € 50
Total wins 2012 €375

WhiteMan32

Winnings from today's draw: €0
Total winnings since Feb 2012 on €12k: €150

smemon

Winnings from today's draw: €0
Total winnings since Jan 2013 on €50: €0

I'm starting to think it's all a big con..

el diablo

nhg wrote: »

Now it's a €50 win 3 weeks in a row!
Win on €30K since Jan 2013 - €150

Now would be a good time to withdraw it all and stick it in the bank.

nhg

nhg wrote: »

Now it's a €50 win 3 weeks in a row!
Win on €30K since Jan 2013 - €150

Now up to a €50 win in 4 weeks in a row!
Win on €30K since Jan 2013 - €200

Since Jan 2011 we have being €200 worth of prize bonds every month by direct debit (college fund) & never won anything on them and we have small amounts of bonds bought as presents over the last 30 yrs and only won €75 twice (i think, definitely once last year) on them, so it seems that it needs to be bulk buys to win on!

nhg

el diablo wrote: »

Now would be a good time to withdraw it all and stick it in the bank.

Not at all, I'm up €200 at the minute. It's money that I owe that hasn't to be paid until next September/October so I will be withdrawing it in August anyway, i only bought the bonds in late November, so everything I win on it is a bonus!

How much interest would I get in a bank on €30k locked away for 9 mths, they were offering me 2%?

FoolsGold1

nhg wrote: »

Now up to a €50 win in 4 weeks in a row!
Win on €30K since Jan 2013 - €200

Since Jan 2011 we have being €200 worth of prize bonds every month by direct debit (college fund) & never won anything on them and we have small amounts of bonds bought as presents over the last 30 yrs and only won €75 twice (i think, definitely once last year) on them, so it seems that it needs to be bulk buys to win on!

Yes, Yes...a roll and a half...keep up the good work!

el diablo

nhg wrote: »

Not at all, I'm up €200 at the minute. It's money that I owe that hasn't to be paid until next September/October so I will be withdrawing it in August anyway, i only bought the bonds in late November, so everything I win on it is a bonus!

How much interest would I get in a bank on €30k locked away for 9 mths, they were offering me 2%?

2%? You're looking in the wrong places..

gabbytheking

30k over 9 months at 3% is 675 with KBC bank instant access guaranteed. After dirt its 450. Be interesting to see how you get on. At the end of the day the 450 is an opportunity cost and effectively a gamble so will be interested to see how you get on. Government bonds are currently trading at 5% and are effectively the same thing and have the same risk profile. Thats 1125. Personally thats where i'd put it!!