EC Nebraska | steigertiger - 2/19/2024 11:23
There has been some discussion on here about setting up, I dont know, like your checking account, to buy treasuries from auction? How does the process work and are you liking it? Looking at trying to maximize return on some working capital.
Pretty simple process. It gives me some short-term return on the money that otherwise would be sitting there waiting for summer bills.
You set up an account with Treasury Direct, link it to the bank account of your choice, and then select what auction you want and how much money you want to invest. The short-term options are T-bills. 4 week, 8 week, 13 week, 17 week, etc. Right now the shorter term are bringing higher interest rates.
Enter how much money you want to invest, in 100 increments. That will be the face value, the amount you get back at maturity. For example, the most recent 17 week auction brought 5.215%. If you had purchased a $1000 bond on that auction, they would have taken $982.76 from your bank account on the issue date, and then you get $1,000 back in your account on the maturity date.
If you're buying through treasury direct, I don't know of any option to get the money back early. You can buy through proxies that might allow that option, but I know nothing about that.
It's easy enough. Set up an account, keep track of your passwords and login info, and go for it. The biggest hassle is the login process. Every time you log in, they send a one-time code to your email. You have to go to your email, get the code, and enter it, then your password.
If you have any other questions, there are a lot people on this site who can answer them.
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treasury direct
