Now that those strands of grey that made you look distinguished are broadening, you may want to take a moment to examine the value of all that money you've poured into your FICA (social security) account over the years. Grandboomers can obtain a "rough estimate" of your anticipated benefits by going to www.ssa.gov/retire where a "quick" calculator allows you to input some information and responds with a projection.
On another government front, you may want to know what those US savings bonds you've had for years are worth. You can get that information instantly by going to www.publicdebt.treas.gov/servlet/SBCPrice. Yes, your bonds are actually public debt. This URL takes you to the exact page for the calculations. If you need a tutorial, start with www.publicdebt.treas.gov.
You may be interested to know that the government pays interest on your bonds semiannually. June 1 is one of the two dates. Therefore, you may want to consider redeeming some of those old bonds now. With Alan Greenspan increasing interest rates at each Treasury meeting, the value of bonds has diminished to the point where you're better off investing the funds. in a CD at your local bank.
A word of warning. If you don't redeem your bonds on or around a dividend date, you lose whatever you would have earned between the last dividend and the upcoming dividend. Bonds may be returned for their original cost, plus interest, any time after you've owned them for at least six months.
© 2012 Created by Myles Bristowe.
