family Living
Focus
MARILYN FURRY
Penn State
Extension
Investigate Series I
Savings Bonds
U.S. Savings Bonds are a fa
miliar way to save income. But,
do you know about Series I
bonds?
I Bonds currently earn 7.49
percent interest and are govern
ment guaranteed and tax-de
ferred. The Treasury Depart
ment introduced the I Bond in
September 1998 with a base or
fixed rate updated every May
and November. The base rate is
currently 3.6 percent, good for
the life of I Bonds bought be
tween May 2, 1000 and October
31, 2000. This is its real rate of
return, however, it’s not the total
amount you earn with an I Bond.
The “I” in I Bond stands for
“inflation indexed.” This means
that its total return or interest is
a combination of the real rate of
iflAV 8
oNiv
S'
V * »
r
INVENTORY OVERFLOW
TENT SALE
From A Store Closing In Elkton, MD. EVERYTHING MUST GO!!!
25
Financing
Available
90/180 Days
Same-As-Cash
Available On
Most Items!
BRING YOUR TRUCK. ~ BRING YOUR MONEY.
(BRING YOUR TRUCK FULL OF MONEY!)
YOU WON’T BELIEVE
THESE DEALS!!!
Lancaster
Store Only
return and an adjustment based
on inflation for the previous six
months. Your I Bond will always
earn over and above the inflation
rate. Until November 1,2000, the
total return on an I Bond is 7.49
percent when a new rate will be
announced.
If you shop around, you will
see this is a good rate of return. I
bonds are absolutely a safe sav
ing tool and you can start earn
ing interest for as little as $5O,
the minimum I Bond denomina
tion. Other denominations in
clude $75, $lOO, $2OO, $5OO,
$l,OOO, $5,000 and $lO,OOO.
I Bonds are bought for full
face value. You pay $5O for a $5O
I Bond and it increases in value
by earning interest. Series I
bonds are unlike Series EE Sav
ings Bonds which cost half their
face value and grow to reach it.
*,
i^KutnEDfsoarrca
3019 HEMPLAND RD. „...
(JUS. Off Rt 30 ® Centerville Rd.)
*l%
*, 4>
'more! off OUR
' ALREADY
11 EVERYDAY
N LOW PRICES.
. Earnings from savings bonds
are exempt from state and local
income taxes and federal taxes
are deferred until savings bonds
are redeemed or for 30 years,
which ever comes first.
Getting savings bonds includ
ing I Bonds is very easy. While
many people buy them through
automatic payroll deductions at
their jobs, others don’t have this
option. The self-employed and
employees of small businesses
can now enter the Savings Bond
Easy Saver Plan. With Easy Sa
ver, you can buy bonds regularly
with a debit from your checking
or savings account.
This is a simple, no-cost way
for you to save money; however,
you must select the amount of
money to set aside, when you
want bonds issued and how the
bonds are miade out. You will au
tomatically receive your savings
bonds by mail on a regular basis.
If you bought Series EE sav
ings bonds after 1989 or I Bonds,
you, your spouse or a dependent
may use them to pay for qualifi
ed higher education expenses.
Proceeds from U.S. Savings
Bonds are exempt from state and
local taxes but you must report
them on federal tax forms. If you
use the bonds to pay education
expenses, federal income tax on
earnings is deferred.
To take advantage of this ben
efit, follow these steps: 1. Both
’ *1 22
Dining Room Sets
Sofas & Love Seats
Bunk Beds •Curios
End Table Sets
Recliners & Chairs
& MORE!!
BUM
A
principal and interest from re
deemed savings bonds are eligi
ble for education expenses. If you
use only 75 percent of the pro
ceeds of the bonds, you only can
exclude 75 percent of the interest
you earned from the bonds you
redeemed. 2. Married couples
must file a joint return to get this
exclusion. 3. If the eligible sav
ings bonds were bought in a de
pendent’s name for education ex
penses, bonds can be reissued in
a parent’s name. 4. A qualified
taxpayer has to be 24 years or
older before the bond’s issue
date.
If savings bonds reached final
maturity they’ve stopped earning
interest. It’s estimated that
Americans have tucked away ap
proximately $6 billion in savings
bonds that isn’t working for
them.
Savings bonds issued before
March 1960 are not earning in
terest. Series E Bonds issued in
November 1965 and earlier earn
interest for 40 years. Bonds is
sued in December 1965 and after
earn interest for 30 years. Series
HH Bonds earn interest for 20
years. The date of issuance ap
pears on the upper right-hand
corner of the bond. Be sure you
cash a bond on its issue date or
six months thereafter when inter
est is again posted.
Many bondholders forget they
hold bonds and often they’re not
Genealogy Fair Is Nov. 4
MORGANTOWN (Berks Co.) -
Have you traced your family
tree? Who were your great
grandparents? Where did they
five? Where did you get your
blue eyes and black hair? Do you
have German, Swiss, English,
Scottish, Polish roots?
A Genealogy Fair for amateur
, and experienced genealogists and
historians will take place at Mas
thof, Morgantown, on Saturday,
November 4, from 9:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m.
Open to the public, this free
event will include complimentary
genealogy charts and handouts
for beginners (adults and chil-
dren), consultation with profes
sional genealogists and histo
rians, door prizes, refreshments,
and more.
Historians and genealogists
available to answer your ques
tions will include Annette Bur
Lancaster Arming, Saturday, October 21, 2000-B5
included with other important
financial papers. When you add
this information to your assets,
include the bond’s issue date,
value, series, owners and benefi
ciaries. If you can’t find bonds
you remember having, file a Lost
Bond Claim Form available from
most local banks, or from the Bu
reau of the Public Debt, Wash
ington, DC 20239; or go to http:/
/www.publicdebt.treas.gov/. For
more information, check with
your local bank or credit union.
If both husband and wife hold
bonds, they should be retitled
upon the death of a spouse and
adding a new co-owner or benefi
ciary should be added, prevent
ing the distribution being held up
in probate upon the death of the
second spouse. To make these
changes, request a reissue form
online at www.savingsbonds.gov.
Lastly, I Bonds are a great gift.
They can be used to celebrate
any occasion special holidays
such as December holidays,
birthday, weddings, graduations
or birth.
To learn more about I Bonds,
go online at www.savingsbond
s.gov or call 1-800-4 US-BOND
(1-800-487-2663). Buy bonds on
line direct from the government,
http://www.easysaver.gov/ or
(877) 811-7823. You can also
write: Bureau of Public Debt,
Savings Bonds, Parkersburg, WV
26106-1328. +
gert (author and genealogy
speaker), Barbara Goda and Syl
via Graybill (Berks County Ge
nealogical Society), Gary Haw
baker (author), Neil Ann Stuckey
Levine (author and genealogy
speaker), Jeffrey Rollison (Chest
er County Historical Society),
Pam Shenk (Tri-County Heri
tage Society), and J. Lemar and
Lois Ann Mast (authors).
Here is the opportunity to
bring questions and problems for
experienced researchers to help
in researching your Pennsylvania
roots; as well as migrations west
ward, and even origins in Eu
rope.
Masthof is a publisher of books
and periodicals and operates a
genealogy and history bookstore
located at 219 Mill Road, Mor
gantown, Pa. Call (610) 286-0258
for more information or e-mail to
mast@masthof.com.