I Bought I Bonds

Several weeks ago I bought some US Savings Bonds. Yes, the tool my grandparents used for savings is still around! And it's still relevant, too.

Just how old-fashioned are savings bonds? Consider that in the movie Captain America the third act (using a Shakespearean 5-act model) is all about the title character hawking savings bonds in, like, 1943:

Watch on YouTube

Yes, as I bought my bonds I hummed, "I'm the star-spangled man with a plan!" 🤣

What I bought, though, are Series I Savings Bonds, or I-Bonds for short. They're a newer creation, dating to only 1998, that work a bit differently than the classic savings bonds created back in 1935. Here are Five Things about I Bonds:

1) I Bonds pay a variable rate that is indexed to inflation. That's created renewed interest in the them as inflation spikes to high-single-digit rates not seen in 40 years.

2) The rate on I Bonds is set every 6 months, in May and November. Smart investors rush to buy them in late April and October, when they can still lock in the current rate for 6 months and can also estimate, based on published reports about inflation, what the rate for the next 6 months will be. For example, the rate in April was 7.12%. In May it jumped to to 9.62%. These are phenomenal, risk-free rates in the current investment market!

3) Once purchased, an I Bond cannot be redeemed for 12 months. There are some exceptions for specific hardship cases, but basically the money's locked up for 12 months. This makes it a tool that's not for everyone.

4) After 12 months an I Bond can be redeemed, but doing so forfeits the last 3 months of interest. At 5 years a bond can be redeemed anytime without penalty.

5) There's a limit of $10,000 per year, per individual, on buying I Bonds. That's a clue that there's something special there. Treasury bonds, for example, can be bought by the billions by institutions. They pay a way lower rate. There's a low limit on I Bonds because their high rate, at times of inflation like now, is the government doing a solid for middle class savers.

Beer Tasting, Round 11: Michelob Amberbock and Köstritzer Schwarzbier

It's time for Round 11 of my Beer Tasting 2022 project. Actually it's past time, as it's been now three weeks since I posted Round 10. 🔔🔔 Who's in the ring this time?

Continuing on my theme of generally not picking head-to-head competitors but instead two beer in slightly different segments, this time I've paired Michelob Amberbock with Köstritzer Schwarzbier.



Indeed this does seem at odd pairing at first. On one side is an uncommon (in America) import from an old and well respected German brewer. On the other is an American macrobrewer trying to offer a fancier beer to appeal to drinkers disinterested in its usual watery slop. But it is a dark larger, as is the Köstritzer.

This round of beer tasting unfolded exactly as I thought it would. The Köstritzer is everything you expect in a German dark lager: dark, nearly black color; with flavors of rich, toasty malt and hints of of chocolate and caramel. The Michelob is... basically a softer form of all that. It's a dark beer for the generations of Americans who had basically no choice other than which brand of watery slop to proclaim their allegiance to.

That's not to say the Michelob Amberbock is bad. It's just that when it's put up against a genuine representative of its cateogry it's revealed to be a weak imitation. Also, weaker is sometimes better. In this round as with Hofbräu Dunkel in round 10 I find the German dark lagers (bock, schwarzbier) a little too strong in their flavors. Michelob's Amberbock goes better with food and even goes better unaccompanied whenever I'm in the mood for a dark beer that's still easy-drinking.