My children have been receiving savings bonds from their grandparents every year on their birthday. In order to keep track of the bonds and know what they are currently worth, I use a handy little tool provided by the Dept. of Treasury. It’s called “The Savings Bond Wizard” and it’s available to download for free at www.savingsbondwizard.com.

The program helps you keep track of Series EE, H, HH and I bonds. Entering your savings bonds into the program is easy. All you need to do is enter the type of bond, denomination, serial number and date of issue of the bond. The program tells you the current value, interest earned as well as the current interest rate and yield. In addition you will see when the next interest payment is due and the final maturity date. It even shows you which of your bonds may incur a penalty if cashed in before a certain date.

Interest rates on savings bonds are changed every May and November so your program will need updating with the new rates twice a year. This can be done through a download off the website or through automatic updates.

I leave the savings bonds in our safe deposit box and use my updated list to see what we have. Since one of my sons is in college, I’m ready to cash in some of his bonds (Series EE and I bonds issued after December 1989 are tax-exempt if used for post-secondary education.) I’m going to use my inventory to decide which bonds to cash.