Random Rant

I was going through some of my files earlier this evening and I came across some U.S. Savings Bonds that I received as a Bar Mitzvah gift back in 1993. I knew that I had these in my files for the past 14 years, but I decided to see when they will mature and their current redemption value. $350 in savings bonds received in 1993. Current value? Roughly $310-315. Surprisingly, it's higher than I expected. It might actually mature before my 30th birthday. Woo hoo!

I am not one to criticize the family members that were kind enough to give me a Bar Mitvah gift. I truly appreciate their kindness. However, I will never ever ever give a teenager as US savings bond as a gift. The bond takes almost twenty years to mature. Assuming that most bonds provided as gifts are for $50-200, the bond will probably be worthless to the recipient upon maturity unless I think that the person receiving the gift will not be successful in life at that stage of their life. It's one thing if the bond would mature while the recipient is still in college or grad school, but for most people, this small sum is not valuable when it matures around age thirty.

I would much rather have had $175 when I was a poor thirteen year-old child that relied on my stingy parents for money or a college student responsible for my tuition and living expenses instead of $350 when that money has a miniscule impact on my overall income.

Keep that in mind the next time you are attending a Bar Mitvah. I'm sure that's a handy tip for
all of my regular readers! :)