How to Calculate the Value of Your U.S. Savings Bonds

If you're like many Americans over the age of 55, you've probably had money taken out of your paychecks for years and years in order to purchase U. S. savings bonds. Those bonds are probably sitting in a safe deposit box at your local bank or in a drawer safely tucked away at home. But, while you might know where those bonds are right now, do you have any idea how much they are actually worth?

It seems to be a fact of life that World War II-era Americans purchased U. S. savings bonds for any number of reasons. First, it was the patriotic thing to do. America needed the money to support the war effort and Americans were more than willing to lend their support. Second, it was an excellent way to save for retirement, or for a child's education, or for any other reason. Third, the interest paid on U. S. savings bonds was competitive and the income taxes were deferred until the bonds were actually cashed in.

For some reason, though, many of the U. S. savings bonds that were sold never did get cashed in until after the owner's death. Then, a family member would discover them and wonder how much they were actually worth.

Of course, if you're in that situation today, you could take the bonds to your local bank and have them figure it out. But, there is another way to get the information. The Bureau of the Public Debt, Department of the Treasury, has a web site that provides all that information, including a calculator with instructions so that you can figure out how much your bonds are worth today - and you can do it all by yourself.

So, if you have any questions about your savings bonds, go to http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/. And don't forget to bookmark the site for future reference.

Attorney Michael Pancheri is the founder and CEO of the Living Trust Network. You may contact him directly by email at info@livingtrustnetwork.com. You may also contact at the Living Trust Network's web site. Its URL is http://www.livingtrustnetwork.com

Copyright 2005. LivingTrustNetwork, LLC.

---

My Way Or The Highway: Give Your Financial Professionals A Good Talking To!

All this talk about Investing is encouraging lately. Over the last few years, more people have become interested in the duty to invest there money, then ever... Read More

When It Comes To Investing, Asking The Right Questions Can Help You Make The Right Decisions

Are you ready to open your pathway to financial independence?Well you should be. The sooner the better. But, how do you get started?There is so much to... Read More

Shareholders Meeting Changing With Times

A significant number of corporations that settled accounts in the past year are ready to hold their annual shareholders meetings.In this year's meetings, more than 300 companies... Read More

Economic Survival in the 21st Century - the Three Key Questions to Ask

In this "special report", I want to pose a few important "philosophical questions" to my readers. Firstly -- our Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan, addressed the effects... Read More

Franchise Investing, Franchise Opportunities and Franchising Renewals

Have you considered buying a franchise instead of trying to start a business from scratch. Many franchise agreements are renewed every five or ten years, automatically. If... Read More

Angels Investors and Their Networks

What is an Angel Investor? An Angel is usually a private person who invests in small businesses. The Angel is generally a successful businessperson or entrepreneur who... Read More

Retirement ? Its Sooner Than You Think!! (Honestly)

Many people hear "retirement" and think- what? 401K? Roth vs. Traditional IRA? Stocks, bonds, mutual funds? Do they?Or do many people put money away according to the... Read More

Asset Allocation: Critical to Your Investment Success

Asset allocation is a critical component of investing success. Both research and academic studies show asset allocation to be single most significant factor in determining your financial... Read More

Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 6)

Pre-1933 Gold Outperforms Today's Gold Bullion...Since 1970, an investment strategy that included Pre-1933 gold has been proven to outperform modern gold bullion, gold bars, Krugerrands, Canadian Maple... Read More

How to Buy to Let

Find out everything you need to know about buy to let. Learn what to buy, where to buy and what not to buy. All this information about... Read More

An Old Dividend Stock Investment Idea, for a New Generation

Death and taxes! The certainties of life! And then, of course, there are the mortgage payments, the utility bills, phone bills, the car payments and thirsty automobiles.... Read More

Use this Simple Trick its to Buy $100 Bills Direct from your Bank for only $97

Most People just don't understand the power of using their home as a Wealth Creation Tool. How many people do you know who have lived in the... Read More

Forex Trading Best Practices

FOREX, the term for the FOReign EXchange market, is an international exchange market where currencies from many different countries are bought and sold. Both long-term hedge investors... Read More

Investing Offshore for Retirement

As an expatriate you are in a privileged savings and investing position. Make the most of the options available to you while you can, consider investing offshore... Read More

Wit and Wisdom on Money, Wall Street and Success - Part #4

Can you concisely summarize your investment philosophy in a few sentences? My experience is that most people can't. The quotes that follow are diamonds that offer a... Read More

Franchise Opportunity Sellers Beware; franchise buyers lie on forms?

It seems completely absurd that franchise buyers lie about their financial position, available cash and abilities in order to buy a franchise. After spending 8 years setting... Read More

Have You Ever Seen A Map of the World Turned Upside Down?

For those accustomed to viewing things a certain way, it is quite disconcerting. One almost expects the ocean to pour out. It just seems wrong. Yet, the... Read More

Your Worst Enemy To Successful Investing - The Media

How do you make your investment decisions and where do you get your information? If you're like most of the people I know, you look to the... Read More

How to Terror-Proof Your Money

"To drift is to be in hell, to be in heaven is to steer." -George Bernard ShawFormer Homeland Security Director, Tom Ridge, has said it's not a... Read More

The Key Ingredient To Increase Preconstruction Profits By Over $20,000

One of the greatest preconstruction investing issues that I hear from individual investors is that they can't get access to what they believe are good projects. Regardless... Read More

Top Ten Investment Mistakes

1. Lacking an investment plan a/k/a/ "Don't take a trip without packing the map". A pre-planned asset allocation generates positive results and eliminates emotional panic selling.2. Buying... Read More

Realistic Investing Expectations

Over the long term stocks have provided us with great average return results. But this average return masks a great deal of volatility, because returns have fluctuated... Read More

Finding a Broker

"Hey Joe! I need help finding a broker. I notice that discount commission rates are pretty much the same. So how do I choose?"Commission is definitely not... Read More

Delist My Corporation Please

It use to be said that once a company was de-listed from the NASDAQ it was the kiss of death, not so any more. With Sarbanes Oxley... Read More

Advice for International Investors on How to Safeguard Their Profits

What are the risks?Today, investors are increasingly turning to global markets to find opportunities for profit, giving urgency to the issue of protecting returns from foreign exchange... Read More

Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 3)

Putting Rare Coin Market Cycles to Work for You...Until recently many people believed U.S. stocks would go up forever.However, recent crashes in high tech stocks and the... Read More