Picking up Nickels

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

March CPI-U numbers released: Buy April 2022 issue I Bonds Now!

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the March 2022 Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) inflation data last Tuesday, which rose by 1.34% last month, a historically large increase.

As always, now (along with the release of the September CPI-U) is one of the best times to consider purchasing I Bonds. The reason for this is that we now know what the rate of return for April 2022 I Bonds will be for both the first and second six month periods, which is important since I Bonds must be held for 12 months before they can be redeemed.

Using the CPI-U data from September 2021 (274.310) and March 2022 (287.504) (courtesy of inflationdata.com), we can calculate the variable rate for the second 6 month period for April 2022 issue I Bonds.


That means these bonds would earn a composite rate of 7.12% (using 0% fixed & 3.56% variable) for the first 6 months and 9.62% (using 0% fixed & 4.81% variable) for the second 6 months. Based on this inflation spike, April 2022 issue I Bonds are a screaming hot buy when compared to something like the 12 month CD @ 1.31% APY currently being offered by Luana Savings Bank.

So, should you wait until May to get that 9.62 rate?. No, a thousand times no! If you buy I Bonds before May you will get a guaranteed 7.12% return for six months followed by 9.62% for the six months after that. If you like money, my advice is to back up the truck and buy now!

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