Financial Support Into Their Future

[DeegeeDee]

Hi all, been reading the thread about the 13yo spending all his money on chicken and donuts and it made me laugh (spent my provident insurance money at 16, credit card debts in my 20s, sorted myself out in my 30s) but also a serious point about financial prudence.

What have parents done for their children's future self? We have a 5yo son and want him to have money but don't yet know if he will be impulsive all his life or just now.

How has adoption and the teen years been managed?

Our wills are done so that when we die he gets everything at 25 but until then in trust managed by a guardian. We have his savings from the money he gets for birthday and Christmas doing nothing.

Looking to navigate the now to late teens in a way that gives him freedom and independence.

We have started giving pocket money for helping out and small chores which is kept in his money box. He plays with the coins but no other concept or correlation as we nearly buy everything on our cards. He hasnt started the pestering but he does some times point out magazines he likes which we buy when out shopping.

All in all, lost as to what to do and thought I would ask those who've been down this road. TIA.

Mine are younger but because lots of payments are card only now I got them a hyper jar account. You can limit what they spend and see where they have spent it!

Mine are now 23 and 18 (where did the time go?). They got bank accounts with cash cards when they went to secondary, and at that point we paid pocket money monthly.

Dd1 was a hopeless spender. She just saved, which wasn't a great learning tool. DD2 had been brought up to carefully choose which charity shop ornament or toy she wanted.

Around y10 we switched to a debit card.

When DD1 went to college she got 'college money' and pocket money. She had to manage college lunches and incidentals from that.
When she started work and running a car we showed her how to budget with a day to day account, a Bill's account and a longer savings. She did well on this.

We absolutely did nothing they would get age 18. Both of mine were doing fine aged 15 but big issues aged 16-18+ and having access to big sums would have been detrimental, especially for DD1.

(Our wills actually say age 30, but neither DD would have the skill needed to manage the size of our estate.)

Neither of mine had jobs at college, they just couldn't have coped.
Neither had a clothes allowance either. DD1 was offered one but preferred not, and it would be too much for DD2 right now (mh issues since start of pandemic) and anyway she's always hated clothes shopping.

Thank you both.

Haven't heard of Hyperjars so will look into that @Therapeutic70, will be useful for the now.

@UnderTheNameOfSanders, you've hit the nail re the future. Right now we can see impulsiveness and at 5, that's OK but will it continue, be detrimental later on? So we want to be cautious in how we develop his financial future.

We have no idea how his teens or any other major turmoil, as per pandemic, may affect him. Saw in an adoption magazine there are specialist financial advisors out there so going to nudge one and see what they say.

30 for the will, am now reconsidering......