can savings bonds be cashed in @ any time? Are there any peneties?

bcurley is correct. There are no penalties other than you dont get the full face value (no loss, b/c you didnt pay face value). also, you cant cash it in until at least 1 year after issue, not 6 months. It has changed some years ago for that.

You will earn just the interest that has accumulated for the time that you have had it. You will also pay tax on the interest at the end of the year.

Yes you can redeem them at anytime. As to penalties, there is not a penalty per se for early redemption but you will not get the full value of the bond. A typical $100 savings bond is purchased for $50 and earns interest over the term or will accrete to $100 at maturity. If you redeem it early, you will receive the $50 plus a pro rata interest income component; however, the interest earned on a partial holding period for early redemption is less than the effective rate if held to maturity. I recommend you reference the Treasury Direct web page below and it will tell you in a table how much you should net.

Caveat: if you are in a county that has been declared a disaster area -- there are exceptions so you should check the 2nd web link for the exceptions.

no...a double E bond cannot be cashed until it has been owned for 6 months...you will not have earned any interest at that point...so if you cashed it you would recieve half the face value of the bond. The bond does not mature until 20 years after the purchase date, so if you have a $50 bond it will not be work $50 until 20 years after it was purchased. It can earn interest for another 10 years after that so that means it would be worth more than face value between 20 and 30 years.

Yes there are penalties, if you have a 10 year 50$ savings bond it only cost 25$. To get the full 50 you must wait 10 years if you do not you only get a percentage of the 50 dependent on how old the savings bond is.