Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to borrow money off the kids to replace manky bathroom?

111 replies

gruffalobuffalo · 25/04/2014 14:22

We moved house not long ago and have been busy decorating, putting down carpets etc. We inherited a yucky bathroom complete with manky smelly carpet and our plan was to save up to replace the suite, tiles and flooring later this year. We had a leak at the weekend resulting in the bathroom carpet being drenched with water. The leak has been sorted out but the carpet absolutely stinks to high heaven (it was only water that leaked but it seems to have reactivated all the yucky smells in the carpet!). I could take the carpet up but then it's bare boards and with a SEN toddler, that would be difficult. I don't want to waste money on temporary flooring that could go towards proper flooring if you see what I mean.

It's going to take four or five months to put aside money each month to pay for the bathroom. We're not having anything fancy, only need about 1K but our savings have been swallowed up due to the moving fees and we're slowly building them back up and would rather not touch our 'emergency' money which is there for car repairs etc. This would be the last essential house job we'd have to do. Would it be awful to borrow out of the children's savings accounts to get the bathroom done soon and pay them back each month over the next four or five months?

OP posts:
therealeasterbunny · 25/04/2014 15:14

Surely the children are lucky to have savings accounts at all?! I never had any savings, and i'm absolutely fine! An awful lot of children have no savings at all. So surely if the parents do have savings accounts and get into financial difficulty then it is better to use money they have access to rather than get into debt?! What child would begrudge their parent dipping ito their savings if it saved them from financial hardship? Having savings is a privilege, not a right. Besides, the OP has said she will pay the money back, so I really don't understand why this would be an issue?!

Bonsoir · 25/04/2014 15:16

Sounds very sensible! Go for it!

ICanSeeTheSun · 25/04/2014 15:17

It's not like the money isn't going to be paid back.

The money is going to be used for a bathroom which the whole family is going to use.

Tbh I could cope with the whole house smelling because of a bathroom carpet.

ICanSeeTheSun · 25/04/2014 15:17

Couldn't

bragmatic · 25/04/2014 15:26

Of course. It's a no brainer.

Trooperslane · 25/04/2014 15:30

Do it. You'll pay it back and they don't need it right now.

Handsoff7 · 25/04/2014 15:43

I don't understand why you'd take from the children's accounts rather than the emergency fund.

If something else like car repairs came up after you sort the flooring and there was nothing left in the emergency fund, perhaps you could then borrow from the children (effectively treating their money as an emergency fund of last resort).

Surely this sort of unexpected cost is what the emergency fund is for.

Original poster
gruffalobuffalo · 25/04/2014 16:29

Am feeling really guilty now. If it wasn't for two year old DS having sensory issues that lead him to being fixated on textures, I would wait and just take away the carpet for now. However the floor underneath has splinters which he would spend all of his time picking off the floor. He has no language and no understanding of our language yet so it is difficult to explain to him not to do something. I don't really see it as home renovation as much as making the bathroom a safe and pleasant place to use. He doesn't like baths as it is (suspected autism) so making the room a bit more pleasant to use certainly wouldn't hurt. It needs so much faffy work doing (such as wobbly toilet, spurting taps, etc) that just doing a bodge job is a waste of money. It would be more cost effective to just update the room with new suite, taps, flooring etc and pay back the children rather than paying someone to temporarily sort the room/lay vinyl flooring and then pay again a few months later to do the work again properly.

Driven, I do understand what you are saying and I would never just dip in and out of the children's accounts for the sake of it. We are very careful with money, it is just the house move and the fact I haven't yet returned to work because of DS's issues that have caused a cash flow. Had we not had the leak, we would have held off until the money was already saved up. This is what we usually do and had in fact started to do with regards to the bathroom. However I didn't want to say no to DD's £350 school residential trip or birthday parties amongst other things because they were new to the area due to our relocation and we wanted them to make friends and settle in fully. We don't have credit cards or any debt other than our mortgage. The repayments to the children can be afforded alongside normal things that might crop up. The amount I want to borrow from the children is money we put into their accounts rather than spending on ourselves and was made up of money from ebaying/overtime at work. A bank loan for such a small amount would cost far more in interest than the children would lose on their accounts and we will pay in extra to make up for this.

Is it really illegal to take money out of children's accounts? Surely if we put the money there, we can decide if to take it out?

OP posts:
Original poster
gruffalobuffalo · 25/04/2014 16:32

Our emergency fund money is tied up in DH's work share scheme and we'd lose the bonus at the end of the scheme if we take money out early. Obviously we'd do that if we had no other option but would rather not do so when we have the option of borrowing/paying back the children.

OP posts:
OliviaBenson · 25/04/2014 18:08

Could you not get a 0% credit card? Once you have bought everything, cut it up, and set up a direct debit for the £200 a month to clear it. You wouldn't pay any interest on it and it would be cheaper than taking money out of your children's accounts and losing interest on those.

SueDoku · 25/04/2014 18:18

When I passed the 11+ (many moons ago) my parents sat me down and explained that they did not have the money to buy all the uniform that I would need for the Grammar School... They asked for my permission to use £25 (told you it was a long time ago... Smile) of my Post Office savings, which they would then pay back over the following months. Of course I said yes, and all was repaid in about a year have always wondered what they'd have done if I'd said no...!
OP, this is something that needs to be done for your children's health and safety - go for it..! Flowers

grovel · 25/04/2014 18:24

Do it. Daft not to.

MooMaid · 25/04/2014 18:25

I genuinely dont see the problem - I dont see it as stealing at all and a bathroom is important. Take the money and pay it back.

Needadvice5 · 25/04/2014 18:35

Do it! you intend to pay it back so really can't see the problem, enjoy your lovely new bathroom!

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 25/04/2014 18:35

Definitely do it.

My parents borrowed a similar percentage of my savings many years ago for a far less necessary reason. They paid it back at a very good interest rate.

I don't think you should feel obliged to add interest though - because what you want to use it for is essential to basic hygiene and comfort in your home.

foslady · 25/04/2014 18:45

If you feel really bad about it ask the dc's what they think - and I'm sure they'll be laughing at you tying yourself in knots about it dc's can we borrow money that is in savings for your future so we can all have a great non smelly bathroom which you won't be embarrassed about when your mates come over and it will be all back in the accounts by Christmas?

PlasticLamp · 25/04/2014 18:49

Do it.

Original poster
gruffalobuffalo · 25/04/2014 18:57

Ha ha Foslady. When growing up we had one of those plastic concertina sliding doors on the bathroom that didn't lock. I was mortified as a teenager when my friends came round.

OP posts:
HappyMummyOfOne · 25/04/2014 19:36

I wouldnt but am not surprised that most posts agree with it. Money belonging to children, birthday vouchers etc seem fair game on MN ti be used for whatever the parent likes. I no longer give money or vouchers since reading posts in here.

ICanSeeTheSun · 25/04/2014 22:47

www.lloydsbank.com/loans/loan-calculator.asp

£1000 loan pay back £1121 over 1 year £93 per month.

Would people rather the bank had the extra £121 or the DC

AreWeThereYeti · 25/04/2014 23:53

If your older kids are 9 and 11 you could easily explain it to them and could present them with a signed 'loan' agreement. I'm sure Martin Lewis would approve. You could even throw in some 'interest', in the form of a trip to the cinema or something.

Handsoff7 · 26/04/2014 00:06

If the emergency fund is tied up then that case I'd say do it.

musicalendorphins2 · 26/04/2014 05:57

We had flattened out cardboard boxes stapled down over the subfloor, as we waited for wood guy to match up our old wood after water damage. Just an idea.

wheresthelight · 26/04/2014 06:30

I agree with the poster who points out it is illegal! It is classes as fraud and misappropriation of funds as you are trustees of the accounts - have just opened a savings account for my dd so all this is fresh in my mind.

Also if you don't work how are you going to afford £200 a month tobpay back? Is that going to come out of benefits that are there to help your ds?

Use your emergency money of buy a crap bit of flooring. Until you can save. You have no right to effectively steal from your children.

JennyCalendar · 26/04/2014 07:04

I think Oliva's suggestion is the best with the 0% credit card, if you are sure you can pay it off before the 0% rate disappears (12-24 months).