“Slowly it dawned on me that not only did I just loan $19,975 to the government for 2 months with zero interest, but I’d locked myself out of the golden window for buying I-bonds.”
I-bonds paid about 8.5 percent that spring, capped at $10,000 a person. TreasuryDirect took an over-limit order, kept the money, and promised a refund in 8 to 10 weeks. It runs a virtual keyboard for passwords and has no check for an amount the system already knows is illegal. The government is great at taking money instantly and terrible at giving it back.