To ask how much you save for your child's future...

[Leggytadpole]

Not strictly an AIBU I know but I've just received my child's junior ISA statement which I save £10 into monthly and his DF matches that amount. It's not much but being a part time working single mum I can't really afford much more.

It's predicted to be around £3500 - £5500 by the time it matures when DS is 18. It will probably barely cover the cost of learning to drive and buying/insuring his first car. I know that's good but would not be enough to help with uni fees or a deposit for a house. I guess my circumstances will be different then so hopefully I'll be in a position to help him financially by then but who knows what the future holds.

So AIBU to ask what other people save for their kids?

[alltouchedout]

Nothing. I can only just manage to meet our current expenses.

[mamalovebird]

£15 per month each into a CTF to spend on whatever they like when they get to 18 (thinking car / gap year). All birthday money goes into a separate accounts.
We also have buy-to-let flat that they can either live in when they start out or we'll sell to help them with a deposit / uni fees.
And the mortgage will be paid off on the house we live in too.

I left home at 16 with a bag of clothes and it has taken years of graft and sacrifice to finally feel comfortable. I don't want my kids to have to go through the same.

[crazywriter]

We've saved nothing except whatever is in their piggy banks when we have £1 and £2 coins spare. Some of their money gifts go in there too.

Can't afford for the extra savings right now, but will be able to in the future. When we do, we'll be putting that money into their activities and family holidays. It's what my parents did for me and my sis. Never did us harm not having any instant money to fall back on. In fact, we quickly learned to understand the value of money and pay for things ourselves.

My parents did help towards the cost of my first car and they did help towards our wedding (which we were paying for ourselves until something happened that I won't go into here). They've also helped us out in other cases when they can. These are just kind gestures that I never expected from them.

[LoveFromUs]

We save £500 each a month for both of our boys. When they get older it is up to them how they want to use the money.

[ItalianWiking84]

We save 25£ or month and every 3 months when child gov support comes in I transferred to dds account which is 440£. It's all locked in a trust in her name until she turns 21. My parents also have a save for her...

[roarfeckingroar]

DP and I put about £1.5k away a month, to use for school fees when DCs come along. We will continue to put money away if our careers continue so they have a trust fund come 18/21.

[limon]

We have saved £100 a month since she's ben born and will carry on as long as we can.

[FantasticMax]

Nothing directly, but we have a flat that we rent out. The hope is that the mortgage is paid off by the time she goes to uni, and she can then live in it through uni (popular uni town), or we'll continue to rent it out and effectively 'pay' her rent wherever she ends up. It's more help than I had when I was a student.
Plus by the time our own mortgage is repaid we'll have free cash to top up our retirement savings/help out when needed.
I don't think I like the idea of putting anything into her name at this stage - though have been toying with the idea of putting future birthday cheques/cash into premium bonds for her.

[Custardcream33]

£20/month each (2 DC). They're only young so will up this with inflation if needed.

Quite amazed at the high amounts here!

I must admit I feel jealous of those who will (or did) get given large amounts by their parents. DH and I have worked or had loans for everything. But maybe that helped us be independent? Possibly a statement that'll get me flamed but I don't think it's necessarily good for young people to be handed everything (uni costs, house depisit etc.) on a plate (though again it could be envy making me say that!).

[Pinkheart5915]

Me and dh are landlords are both inheriting some property so ds (8months) get 10% of all the rents each month. He also has a large trust fund that my grandma left my first living child.
When our dd is born in August she will also get 10% of all the rents from property each month.

[Appleand]

i'm working to build up a network of very useful contacts that he can benefit from when he is older. worth more than any money i could hope to save.

[SerenityReynolds]

DH and I were discussing this the other day. Both DC have junior ISA's in their names where we put any money they are gifted. We also added to it in lieu of lots of physical presents for Christmas/birthdays when they were tiny. However, I am reluctant to have our main savings for them in their names for precisely the reasons pp's have mentioned. I have no idea how sensible they'll be at 18 and I don't want my hard earned savings being pissed up the wall because they might lack the maturity to make good financial decisions at that age (hopefully not, but I get the impression it's not that uncommon!). Once we're done with childcare fees, we'll try to put aside something every month that we know is really for them, even if it's technically in our names.

BIL also scared the crap out of me recently by telling us he's started SIPP's for his kids - basically a pension plan for them that they'll get at 55! For me, that's just a step too far. We want to help our kids as much as possible, but not at the expense of our quality of life in retirement. I want to pay off our mortgage asap, invest in our pension plans and enjoy family holidays/activities now.

[yomellamoHelly]

Not saved anything. But we're hoping to have paid the mortgage off in 5-7 years time which will free up some money just as eldest hits university age.

[BillBrysonsBeard]

Nothing... and don't know anyone who does apart from putting away birthday money. We don't have much spare income and would rather spend what we have on days out and time together. When DS is older we will try and help him as and when he needs it rather than giving him a huge amount to blow... Which lets face it, most young adults would!

[MidniteScribbler]

I've paid off the mortgage on my main residence, and also on my holiday home. I plan to move permanently to the holiday home in the future and the main residence. I am saving with the expectation that I will need to help DS with university fees (Aust Government is not to be trusted when it comes to uni fees so I expect that I will have to pay fees for him in the future), plus I'll probably help with a car and driving lessons since we live rurally. Otherwise, he'll have to wait until I die before he inherits my houses.

[torthecatlady]

At the moment dh and I only save for ourselves and we are hoping to pay off as much of our mortgage as possible before any kids arrive. No savings as of yet for dss but he is still very young.

[malloo]

£50 a month for each of our 2. My parents give them some money for birthdays so that goes in there too. Accounts are in their names but I retain control of them so they don't automatically get it, I would not trust any 18 yr old to spend a lump sum of cash wisely! The money will be used to help pay for university, driving lessons or deposit for house. In a sense it's us saving for ourselves to help us with what others have said is the most expensive time in your kids lives. We haven't got a lot of spare money and I guess it does mean we don't have much for holidays and days out, not sure if that's the right way round or not tbh. Certainly if our income dropped we would have no hesitation in using the money for stuff they need now. I know we are lucky to have enough money to put some away regularly and it feels reassuring to know that it's there.

[herecomethepotatoes]

We maximise the Junior ISA limit. I think this years will be around £4,000. Grandparents etc usually give money and a smallish present for Christmas and Birthdays. There are only so many toys a child needs.

We have a 5 year old and two year old so we have complete access to their money and honestly, I think we'd be loathe to allow them access to a lump sum on their 18th birthday.

Whilst they get everything if we die at the moment (obviously), I don't really believe in giving them a major inheritance. We want them to make their own way in the world. I may change my mind, but at the moment I see us downsizing eventually, spending the profits on fast cars / cruises and fine dining, leaving enough to pick up the (hefty, I hope) tab at our wakes.

[MintJulip]

its always worth remembering a calamity could happen and you may not be in the same financial position when they turn 18 as you are now, which is what happened to me.

Ours will have a few thousand but as people said, its totally uncontrollable what they do with it.

I am happy for it to go on proper travelling or even some holidays to be honest, your only young once and you never ever get your youth back. Its so much harder when your tied down with family and morgtages. But I also hope they will want to drive enough to pay for lessons and car etc.

would like to start another savings account, and have a kitty which we try and take less out of than we pay in, so hopefully it will accumulate over the years...

[PaulDacresMicroPenis]

We don't save anything for our 2, mil puts £25 in their ctf's each month, it's up to them what they do with it when they're 18. They don't know that they will each receive £30k inheritance when they turn 18, I hope they save or invest this, or perhaps use some of it for living expenses at uni. We already have funds set aside to pay uni fees, neither of us left uni with huge debts and we don't want the DC to either. I'm not completely comfortable with them getting that large inheritance at 18, mil told us she has specified 25 in her will which seems more sensible.

[MintJulip]

Paul thats a hellaovalot isnt it, 25 per month PLUS 30 grand!

why doesnt mil save for them in her own accounts?

[I8toys]

My In-laws save for our two boys. We save but not specifically for them. My dh worked how much they currently have in the accounts my in laws put money into and premium bonds - one is 10 and one is 12. They both have £14k!! They have more money than us and something I can't comprehend as my family never had money.

[Bitchqueen90]

I save £20 a month for my DS. He won't be getting it until he's 21 though because I know I made some silly mistakes at 18 and I don't want him to waste it. I'm a lone parent so that's all I can afford. It's better than nothing though! He's 3 next month so there's about £700 in it so far.

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

Nothing. We plan to help them as adults as and when they need help - much like my dad has with us. I expect them to take out the full loans available for uni if they decide to go, they are great value loans and more of a graduate tax imo. (Dh and I are currently racking up our own student loans going back to school as mature students!)

We will get them cars, but they will be the same standard as ours (old but perfectly drivable) if they want better they can work for it. I expect them to want to better themselves through their own hard work - its the example we hope we are providing at any rate.

[Longislandicetee]

We save a lot and they get given a lot. They have a lot in their name. It's a nice problem to have but it's a lot of pressure to make sure your kids are sensible when they get to 16 and 18!