I bonds are 9.62% for the next 6 months.
I'm thinking about putting some cash there since the markets are up and down.

Thoughts?

Following!

good to know

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I-bonds are easily the best cash reserves investment you can make now. $10k limit per person/entity per year, so a married couple with a trust and a business could invest $40k annually. Have to hold for at least 1 year and forfeit 3 months interest income if sold before 5 years.

You have to leave it in for 5 years or pay 3 months of profits.

I've said this before on another thread. Time was that the traditional advice was to park 'emergency' or 'excess' cash in a CD ladder, so that you had 5 years worth, with one maturing each year to rollover or cash in as needed. Now I tell clients to do that with series I bonds for their emergency cash.

As for the 1 year & 5 year time limits thing, the redhead and I park money each month into a series I bond and can let them go to the 5 year mark. After 5 years, we always have some portion of the I bonds available to use for whatever might come up - household repairs, medical bills, etc., and don't have to worry about losing out on 3 months worth of interest.

I think you'd be smart to park 10K in I bonds.

How do you invest in these?

Go right here too start. https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/prod_ibonds_glance.htm

Can you put it in kids names too?

Thanks

So what are the tax implications? Is the interest paid out quarterly/annually? Is it accessible as soon as it's paid and taxed within that calendar year as capital gains?

Interest accrues while you hold the bond and doesn't get paid until you redeem them. It's taxed as interest, rather than capital gains.

Sure can. Make it a gift. You can gift anyone $15k a year without having to report it.

As an attorney, I'm assuming you see the glaring problem with this.