[rmd2]

Originally Posted by rayschic

I bought Ibonds a few months ago at 9.62 %
They are now at 6.89%

If you go to treasury direct.com they have a chart for all ibond rates and all the changes from the date the bond was issued. I tried to post the chart but was unable to do that.

Are you saying that you bought bonds a few months ago at
9.62% and THOSE bonds that you own are now down to 6.89%? or are you saying that you bought bonds at 9.62% a while back but any NEW bonds you would buy TODAY would be 6.89%?

[Battlebasset]

As others have noted, Home — TreasuryDirect is the way you can directly buy ibonds. It has been pretty seamless for me, but I do understand that some people have reported issues. It has become very popular, which may be stressing the site.

Ibonds are limited to $10,000 a year. You and your spouse can both have an account, which allows $20,000 per year. As others have also noted, you can buy treasury bills for larger amounts and variable time frames, with fixed interest rates for the selected time frame.

A good source of information on both of these vehicles for me has been the Wall Street Journal. They have published a number of articles/videos, and you can search them with an online subscription. A subscription is pricy after their trial period, but if you have a library card, you have access to the on-line version for free, at least for the Sumter county library system.

[rayschic]

I bonds interest rates — TreasuryDirect

Hope this link works
It’s a link to a chart that shows what the bonds rates have been for all bonds and how they have changed over the years

Yes, I bought bonds a few months ago at 9.62% and THOSE bonds are now at 6.48 % (I made a slight mistake on my first response)
New bonds issued between now and April of 2023 are at 6.89%
All bonds get a new rate every six months. Sometimes up, sometimes down and sometimes remain the same.
Check the treasury direct website for the chart.
May 2022 was the highest rate on the chart. All bonds were getting between 9-13 %
November 2022, the rates changed and all bonds are now getting 6.48%—10.2%

[rayschic]

I bonds interest rates — TreasuryDirect

Ok, this link gets you to the treasury direct website.
You have to scroll all the way down to a link that says

all the rates together in one chart

Click that link. Great chart !
Hope this helps

[tophcfa]

Don’t confuse an I bonds coupon rate with what you actually earn. You earn the bonds yield if you buy and hold to maturity. The yield is made up of three components, two of which are known at purchase, the fixed coupon and the price you pay for the bond. Over time the bonds earned yield is also effected by the inflation adjustment to the bonds principle, which happens every 6 months based on an inflation index. To further complicate matters, if you sell before maturity you will earn what is referred to as the “total rate of return” on the bond, which will incorporate a fourth variable, the price you ultimately sell the bond at. If this is not understood before purchasing, it would be best to invest elsewhere.

[Plinker]

Originally Posted by rayschic

I bonds interest rates — TreasuryDirect

Hope this link works
It’s a link to a chart that shows what the bonds rates have been for all bonds and how they have changed over the years

Yes, I bought bonds a few months ago at 9.62% and THOSE bonds are now at 6.48 % (I made a slight mistake on my first response)
New bonds issued between now and April of 2023 are at 6.89%
All bonds get a new rate every six months. Sometimes up, sometimes down and sometimes remain the same.
Check the treasury direct website for the chart.
May 2022 was the highest rate on the chart. All bonds were getting between 9-13 %
November 2022, the rates changed and all bonds are now getting 6.48%—10.2%

Actually, regardless of when you purchase the ibonds you will get that rate for a full 6 months even if the new rate comes out a few days after the original purchase. Example:
For the first six months that you own the I bond, you'll get the prevailing interest rate at that time. For example, any I bond issued between November 2022 and April 2023 earns interest at 6.89 percent annually. That means even if you purchase the bond in April, you'll still earn that rate for a full six months.
Then, your rate will reset at the prevailing rate.

[rayschic]

Originally Posted by Plinker

Actually, regardless of when you purchase the ibonds you will get that rate for a full 6 months even if the new rate comes out a few days after the original purchase. Example:
For the first six months that you own the I bond, you'll get the prevailing interest rate at that time. For example, any I bond issued between November 2022 and April 2023 earns interest at 6.89 percent annually. That means even if you purchase the bond in April, you'll still earn that rate for a full six months.
Then, your rate will reset at the prevailing rate.

Correct.
The link that I posted shows when each bond rate changes. 6 months after you purchase

[Romad]

Most of the comments are pretty good. I-Bonds adjust every six months from the month of purchase. They are purchased from Treasury Direct. One can buy them in an individual account and a trust account. They accrue interest from the first regardless which day they are purchased. There are two components to the interest rate, but that gets complicated. Yes, they are variable, but that’s the whole point of addressing interest rate risk. They are also liquid after the first year. TIPS are an alternative, but the treasury doesn’t hold very many auctions.

A side note. Treasury Bills and Notes bought directly from the Treasury provide a much better return than most CDs.

[mkjelenbaas]

Originally Posted by rmd2

Does anyone know the answer to this question?
If I buy a US Treasury I Bond will the interest rate ever vary during the term I have the Bond? I Bonds are made up of a fixed interest rate and a variable interest rate based on inflation. If I already have an I Bond and the inflation goes down will the interest rate on the I Bond I already have also go down or does it stay the same for the full term of the bond?
Also are there any costs like buy, sell or manage etc associated with having I Bonds?

What did they tell you when you called a “professional “? Or would you take the answers given here??

[Fredman]

Originally Posted by rmd2

Yes but does it retroactively change bonds you already own or just new bonds?

All bonds that you own

[Frankb]

Why would you turn to this forum for any financial matter?
Research it yourself,.

Originally Posted by rmd2

Does anyone know the answer to this question?
If I buy a US Treasury I Bond will the interest rate ever vary during the term I have the Bond? I Bonds are made up of a fixed interest rate and a variable interest rate based on inflation. If I already have an I Bond and the inflation goes down will the interest rate on the I Bond I already have also go down or does it stay the same for the full term of the bond?
Also are there any costs like buy, sell or manage etc associated with having I Bonds?

[Caymus]

Originally Posted by Frankb

Why would you turn to this forum for any financial matter?
Research it yourself,.

The OP is "researching it him/herself. This is part of the research.

Question, are you related to a poster who has trouble making par?

[nn0wheremann]

Originally Posted by rmd2

Does anyone know the answer to this question?
If I buy a US Treasury I Bond will the interest rate ever vary during the term I have the Bond? I Bonds are made up of a fixed interest rate and a variable interest rate based on inflation. If I already have an I Bond and the inflation goes down will the interest rate on the I Bond I already have also go down or does it stay the same for the full term of the bond?
Also are there any costs like buy, sell or manage etc associated with having I Bonds?

The actual rate of interest for an I bond is a combination of the fixed rate and the inflation rate. The combined rate can, and usually does, change every 6 months.

I bonds protect you from inflation because when inflation increases, the combined rate increases.

Because inflation can go up or down, we can have deflation (the opposite of inflation). Deflation can bring the combined rate down below the fixed rate (as long as the fixed rate itself is not zero). However, if the inflation rate is so negative that it would pull the combined rate below zero, we don't let that happen. We stop at zero.

[Rich42]

Since you were obviously getting quite a variety of conflicting answers, I would suggest you try Google and see what the government has to say, as they are the issuers of those bonds.

[BrianL]

The I-bond interest rate is composed of two part, a fixed part that is same for the duration of the I-bond, 30 years, and rate determined by inflation over a 6 month period. The fixed rate is set by the treasury department November 1 and May 1 each year. All bonds purchased between November 1 and April 30 will have the same fixed rate as will all bonds purchased between May 1 and October 31. The inflation rate is based on the unadjusted CPI and is set November 1 and May 1. The November 1 inflation rate (ir) is equal to percentage increase in the unadjusted CPI from April through September and the May ir is determined by the percentage increase in the unadjusted CPI from October through March.

The I-bond interest rate is composed of the fixed rate (fr) when the bond was purchased combined with the inflation rate in the following manner:
I-bond rate = fr+fr*ir+2*ir
The i-bond ir changes every 6 months, as described above. When you initially purchase an I-bond it will have the fr and ir associated with date you purchase the I-bond. It's ir will change every 6 month. So if you purchase an I-bond in December, its interest rate will change every December and June.

Taxes on I-bonds are deferred until you cash in the bond. I-bond interest is exempt for state and local income taxes.