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93195 t1_itx29am wrote

Yes, that many people are really buying I bonds before the rate goes down. It was never a robust website to begin with and can’t handle the volume. Only a couple days left. Just keep trying.

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Mrs_WorkingMuggle OP t1_itx2l30 wrote

will do, i'll try doing it late at night as suggested on another post. Luckily i've already purchased bonds at this rate, i was just going to try and sneak in another purchase.

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homecook_438 t1_itzuhrf wrote

Did it work for you late at night? I'm trying now and nothing.

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Mrs_WorkingMuggle OP t1_itzvnz1 wrote

I tried around 10 and it said the site was down for scheduled maintenance. Which baffles the mind. I think I’m probably giving up on purchasing additional bonds for this rate.

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homecook_438 t1_itzwf9t wrote

Ugh yea...I just didn't think it'd be this crazy to buy but that's on me! I'm gonna try a bunch of times tonight and maybe early tomorrow morning and if I don't get it, then what can ya do. Not the end of the world.

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carby t1_iu0mg7z wrote

I hopped on at 6 am EST today and it was all smooth. I'm assuming that things are better when it's late pacific time.

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homecook_438 t1_iu3xzew wrote

Thanks for the tip. I just did it at 7:15 et and after so many tries late last night, it (seemingly) worked! Thanks!

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carby t1_iu413fe wrote

Sweet, really glad that helped!

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wastedkarma t1_ity4dke wrote

You can only buy $10000 per year per entity so how does it crash? Are people making a bunch of fake companies and buying i bonds?

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brshoemak t1_itycpjy wrote

FOMO more than likely. People hear about I Bonds because they hear a magical deadline is coming up. They also realize it's a good deal. Traffic picks up and a page times out. The media covers that fact (search Google for examples) and suddenly everyone wants I Bonds.

High demand on a site that looks like it was made in GeoCities 30 years ago causes timeouts and amplifies the FOMO. Vicious cycle.

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93195 t1_ityu47a wrote

If you are married or have a trusted partner to gift with, you can buy future year’s maximum. For example, if you’ve already maxed 2022, you can buy another $10K for your partner as a “gift” to deliver in January 2023. Starts the six months of high interest now, and doesn’t even lock anything up for longer, because ineligible for redemption until October 2023 anyway.

And if you’re willing to lock up the money an extra three months to January 2024….you can buy a third $10K (x2, with partner) now too.

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wastedkarma t1_itz5lu0 wrote

Wait how do you do the last part you said?

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93195 t1_itz659l wrote

You go into TreasuryDirect, you make a gift purchase for someone else. There is no limit on the amount you can buy as gifts, only a limit on what an individual can get in a calendar year, either from purchasing it themselves or receiving as a gift.

So for example, a married couple can each buy their own $10K for 2022, then buy another $10K now as a gift to deliver in 2023, or even another $10K to deliver in 2024. Buying now for 2024 only adds three months to the lock up period, as the 1 year doesn’t run out til October 2023 anyway.

It’s not hard to do, you just register it in their name and check the “this is a gift” box when you buy it.

TreasuryDirect explains it:

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/gift-a-bond/

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