Savings, savings bonds & ...
Yup, I too have some War Bond stamps - and a couple of ration stamp booklets - and, I can't even approach Pink Bunny's longevity.
But, that retrospection got me a-thinking (a dangerous thing) about another facet of this problem.
When did I last buy a bond ? Not exactly certain, but 5 years ago probably - one left in the "portfolio". Used to like muni bonds for two reasons: (1) tax free interest, and (2) they finance things I could agree with - schools, etc.
What happened during Clinton-Bush was a steady, on-going policy of low level interest rates that makes bond buying not a great investment. Long-term low interest rates have also hit investments in savings accounts and CDs.
That has been most notable in my senior clients who used to rely on interest to supplement SS, persions, etc. E.g., a couple with 200K at 5-6% could count on $10-12K in added income.
So, while low interest rates are great for "go-go" types, they have gutted the resources of middle-class savers. What I am seeing are folks who had, say, 200K in savings 5-10 years ago, who now are lucky to have 50-100K.