Savings Bonds: When to Hold, When to Fold and Everything In-Between

Surprisingly,this book is enjoyable and easy to read. It contains information, I have not found anywhere else, that is vital to know before investing in savings bonds. If you already own savings bonds, you will benefit from reading this book before you sell them. Savings bonds are not the simple investment most people believe they are. I checked this book out from the library, but found it so valuable I am purchasing a copy for myself.

This book contains more in-depth information than theinformation available from government publications or the website. Use that information and thatwebsite, but also get this book. I use the free downloadable SavingsBond Wizard from the government website, and also set up an Excelspreadsheet to keep up bond statements as outlined in this book--whichis a more effective statement to aid decision-making. Some of theissues covered in this book: don't trust your bank to know whatthey're doing / understanding interest rates / timing issues re:redemption and maturity / organizing your bonds and keeping records /recovering lost bonds / tracking your investment (using the wizardand/or a statement you develop yourself or purchase from a service) /deciding to hold or fold -- evaluating performance of your bonds /comparing savings bonds to other investment options / taxation issuesinluding estate/gift/inheritance tax issues / using savings bonds forretirement / exchanging for HH current-income bonds / purchasing /reissuing / redeeming / tax-free for higher education feature / bondsas gifts / the new I bond / forms of ownership / bonds for minors /resources. Highly recommend. END

This is a completly thorough book on every type of US Savings Bonds with good advice on how to purchase them, when to purchase them, and when to redeem them as well as how to redeem them. It has good structural content, with easy to follow guidelines. It also contains addresses to send to for more information. Like any book in this field, by the time an author has it published, it has some obsolete material, but I must say I still found it very useful. The reason for my most current purchase is that I have purchesed two other copies and have given them each away as gifts.