do you save for your children? if you are not well off? do you put something by for them?

[SlartyBartFast]

i have been putting my £9 a month for a long time for each of them, building up very slowly and increased it today.. but should i?
things are tight.
wwyd

[starmucks]

Absolutely. For one, it's tax efficient, and secondly do you actually miss the money once you've put it away? Money I don't save tends to be spent on complete crap.

[Babbity]

I don't because all our savings are going on paying off the mortgage & our pension. That way, if they decide to go to uni or need our help later on we'll be able to give them it because we'll be financially secure, mortgage free and not worrying about our pension.

My parents are both poor as church mice and we're currently supporting my father financially. I don't want to do that to my children, so we come first! Sounds a bit upside down, but there's logic there.

Any monetary gifts they get from other family go in their CTFs but we don't add to it. We'll probably be paying for education too so I feel that's an important part of what we're giving to them - an investment in their future, even if they don't come out of uni with a pot of gold to play with like some of their friends might.

[SlartyBartFast]

no but i might since the amount has been increased

[starmucks]

I guess you can just see how it goes for a couple of months, and if it's a struggle, cut it back to the original amount. Babbity's points clearly make sense, but are you putting your own financial security aside by saving for your kids?

[ChocFudgeCake]

No. It'll sound stupid, but if we have extra we pass it to someone needier. No savings here.

[SlartyBartFast]

bump for the morning

[Pinkjenny]

Yes, we have a monthly direct debit set up into an account for dd.

[purplemonkeydishwasher]

we put away £10 a month for DS in a high interest account, and will start doing it for DD now. it's not much but we can't afford much more!

[Jas]

I put £10 a month for each of mine in their accounts, but if/when we are really short, I have to cancel it, so this year very little has been paid in.

They often get money for birthdays from my parents so that gets saved too. It isn't going to be enough to put them through university, but might pay for driving lessons when they turn 17.

[misdee]

£2 per child per week. they use it for holiday spends or we dip into it if needed.

[SlartyBartFast]

the problem is we have 3, so 3 x 9 = 27, doesnt break the bank too much, however since i have increased it to 3 x 15, am worried that 45 will break the bank, and should i admit defeat that we can't afford it

[Bleatblurt]

We put away little bits here and there and any money gifts they get. It's not going to end up big money but it'll be a little extra help for when they start out on their own.

[SlartyBartFast]

that is a good idea Jas.
i do make of point of never, bar one occasion, dipping into it, but to cancel it occasionally might not seem such a bad idea.

[kando]

No - we can't afford regular savings for ourselves, never mind our 3 dds I'm a SAHM at the moment, but I know things will get easier when dd3 goes to school as I will get a job somewhere (fingers crossed!) So hopefully by the time dd1 (who's 8) is thinking about uni/whatever, we should have some money saved for them.

[Niecie]

I would carry on saving - it may not be much but over the course of a childhood it will be a significant amount by the time they are 18.

We have had times when we have been hard up but savings have become a habit and we have managed to forget the money goes out automatically and lived with what we had left.

If you are so hard up that the money would make a significant difference to you now then stop saving for a few months until things have improved. I would avoid doing this if possible though, because it would be more difficult to restart than it would be to carry on.

I assume that it is to build a nest egg for them to use on something significant when they are 18+ rather than something you are going to hand over when they are teenagers and which they could potentially fritter away on CDs and clothes. I wouldn't save for that sort of thing.

[oftenpurple]

Yes, DS gets £20 and DD half as she's 4 years younger. Also any birthday/Christmas money is paid into their CTF, unless given to them directly. Then we let them (well, DS as DD is too young) keep half and put half away.

[SlartyBartFast]

it wont be much of a nest egg, ds is already 14, but it will be something and yes i do wonder why and when they will get it.

i had one and admit it was frittered somewhat. but i enjoyed the frittering

[Jas]

I have three, too. I did dip int it once to but new beds fr the dds, as it was the only way to get them, but we are so close to our overdraft limit on a permanent basis that if £30 is going to take us over and cost as much again in charges it just isn't sensible to try and pay it that month.

I would try the £15 for a bit and see how you get on.
Or if it is easy to do (it would be for me as I bank online and check it almost daily) set up one payment each of £10, and one of £5 at as different time of the month, and then only cancel one part if you need to.

[LtEveDallas]

At the moment I save the CB for DD which goes into her CTF and put an equal amount into Premium Bonds each month for DSD.

Whilst I am working we can afford this. DH isnt working at the moment, but does get a pension, so CB is 'extra' cash IYSWIM. It felt wrong that DSD wasnt getting anything which is why I decided to set something up for her.

Hopefully by the time DD gets to 18 she will have some cash as a fallback and wont have to jump straight into the first job like DH and I did.

Obvs DSD wont be getting anything like the same amount (she is 13 now whereas Dd is only 4) but will still have something as a buffer. Her mum doesnt save for her.

Things may have to change in 3 yrs when my contract ends and I may be out of work but whilst I can do it I really want to.

[Aimsmum]

Message withdrawn

[SlartyBartFast]

thanks again jas.
good idea

[Kitsilano]

I put £25 a month for each of my DDs into their CTF. This will go towards their university costs (assuming they go to university)

[Niecie]

As to when you give it to them, I got a little something off my parents when I got married. They always said they would never pay for my wedding which is fair enough - I would never have asked for anything or even borrowed off them to fund it. However, when it came to it, one of their little savings plans matured when I got married so they offered to pay for the reception. We didn't have a big or expensive wedding but it was much appreciated that we didn't have to find the money ourselves.

Maybe hang on to it until there is a good cause - first car, first house, wedding etc.

I like a good fritter too and not adverse to my DC doing a bit too but not with my hard earned cash!

[Coochicoo]

We have direct debits into their CTFs, but it's not a huge amount. We also pay into instant savers for them. If money is tight and they need new clothes, bedding or whatever, we sometimes use their saver accounts. That sounds tight but it is there to be used for them (and they're only 3 and 1 so it's not like they actually want the money for themselves yet!).

I would always save for them, but it worries me that they might get given access to loads of cash when they turn 18 - I know what I did with the £1000 that my parents gave me when I was 18. I was at University and it was gone within days with nothing to show for it. So I also want us to start saving for them in an account that they don't have access to, so that we can help them out with things in the future.