The pros

  • You know your money is safe for a certain amount of time
  • There is a fixed rate of interest on your savings
  • You can’t touch it, so no way of impulse spending

The cons

  • It can be locked away from any time from 5 years to 30. This is not practical if an emergency happens and you need to release the liquid assets.
  • Different banks have different minimum investments that they expect. This may not be useful for you if you don’t have a lot of money saved away to begin with.

Thoughts

I can see the appeal of fixed rate savings bonds. They would be practical if you are saving for a long-term goal, such as if you want to save for a round-the-world-trip in five years time or you want to save for your wedding. What do you think?