Do you have savings for your DC?

[tiffanysaudrey]

I’m sorting out the best way to save for my little one who is due very soon!

I’ve been putting £2.50 a week in a seperate account to move into his own once he is born and also have a change pot. Any birthday or Christmas money whilst he is too small to know/want to buy toys will be saved also and I think me and DP will probably add some each birthday and Christmas too.

I want it to be a good amount for when he is an adult.

How much do you save (if at all!) any little tips to add little extra bits that won’t be noticed or missed but will add up?! If that makes sense.

I never had a savings account as a child but love the idea of having a little bit of money towards his first car, or buying a house or whatever :). Any success stories where little bits have added up?

I’m a SAHM so don’t have an income. But I do put money in DS’s piggy bank whenever I can. If I find cash in pockets when doing laundry it goes in the piggy bank! So does my spare change or any coins that DH leaves lying around. And if DM wins at bingo she puts it in the piggy bank. Then when it’s full I deposit it in DS’s bank account.

We don’t save regularly for him though. We save for ourselves and pay it off the mortgage, which will benefit him in the long run.

I feel like such a shitty parent after reading everyone's comments. I've not saved any thing for my daughter yet and shes 8. She has the savings account the government opened for her when she was born but that's it as I've never added to it :(
After reading how much everyone has been saving for the DCs, I really should probably start otherwise it will be yet an other thing to beat myself up over.

it doesn't make you a shit parent at all your child is still young 85

Save nothing for them.

They have their communion/birthday/babysitting/summer job money in their accounts. Nothing from us.

We have savings for us and our family. Our children already benefit enough from being from a well-off family (we weren't when they were little but are now who knows what the future holds). There is no way I am going to have an 18 or 20 year old access 20 years of hard earned savings and possibly piss it up against a wall.

My sister saved the irish equivalent of the child benefit in separate accounts for each of her children. My parents added stuff too. My eldest dn is 25 and there is none of that money left and nothing to show for it.

I try to save for the future - my retirement, my children's education, maybe even a bit of help for deposits etc. I would never put money in a child's name that they could access at 18. The money you frugally, carefully put away at a cost to yourself might go to education or driving lessons or a bit of a house deposit - or it could go on 4 weeks in ibiza.

When I save money, I save it in my name and of course some day I may spend it on my children.

What I do is I try to teach my children the benefit of saving for themselves.

My little one is 2 and we save 50 a month plus cash gifts. We originally had a cash isa until we realised 18 years of inflation would be significant and started a stocks and shares ISA. I personally wouldn’t save much more than that even though I can afford to as I’d rather have the security and flexibility to save in my name and If I can, help with deposits etc when they’re older. I also think having too much at 18 can be a challenge.

Chickenwings85 don't beat yourself up for one moment. People that click on these threads and comment are usually people who are saving- those that don't are less likely to come on here and say so!
The most important thing is to provide for your child now if that's as far as money can stretch (lots of people). You may well be in a financial position to help her out when she's older by paying for driving/her shopping at uni/some travel/ whatever which is just as valuable.

Chicken - my parents never saved for me. They couldn’t afford it. It’s fine

@pallisers which is why my savings for DS are in my name not his, I will choose when to give it to him. Probably once he has starting saving for a house himself.

There is no way I am going to have an 18 or 20 year old access 20 years of hard earned savings and possibly piss it up against a wall

I agree. That’s why I’m saving for my child’s benefit to be used for them, NOT to be given to them.

So one child has just bought a flat, I provided a very large deposit but I have a charge on the flat. This means I can get the money back if I want when she sells it, or I can let her keep it and use towards her next purchase. And if she gets married and then divorced, her partner doesn’t get any of that capital.

I have three half siblings who inherited quite a lot in their early 20s and two out the three pissed it up the wall.

One used it as a deposit on a flat in London. Guess which one is mortgage free in his 40s and now supports a wife and four kids on a part time wage ?

Chicken - lots of parents don’t save especially not as much as some PPs are able to.

I can’t afford to save the £100 per month and think actually if I could I’d put a large proportion in my own savings!

Thanks everyone who has replied it’s so interesting! I’m reconsidering how I save the money though as I want it for a house or similar not just for them to access 18 and spend however!

I didn’t have any childhood savings but did save up myself as soon as I got a first part time job and then parents contributed a little towards driving lessons and a car. That way it fitted their affordability at the time.

We saved for ds and as we live overseas most of his birthday presents were also cash and that went in his account too. He has about 21K, is 18 and has full control over the money. He has a good understanding of budgeting and how to manage money.

@BarbarianMum it all depends on the income of the parents and their other dependants.The government say they need £8k a year to live off then tell the child how much out of that £8k they will get and the parent tops it up. It is nice to be able to give them extra though if you can afford it.

Yes 8k to live off but no matter what your parents earn the government won't give them that - there's a gap of about 5k bw the max grant and 8k iyswim. It's the gap I want to cover - if they need more than 8k to live on they can get an evening or holiday job.

Dd has a Child trust fund so we put mo ey 8nto that as we could and she has a decent amount.She also has a bank account that birthday money and pocket money goes into,she has other saving that exhaust parent gave her but he holds them so that money will probably be available when she is18.
If you haven't much money then building your own savings up is more important.Over my marriage I saved a nice little running away fund,never realized I would need it!

@sockportal , sure 
Both the S&S ISA and Junior SIPP are with Hargreaves Lansdown. I find their platform easy to use and their funds info understandable! There are other similar platforms.

The Junior S&S ISA only gets lump sums, and I have a standing order for £30 a month to go into the Junior SIPP. I invest the cash across a number of funds and keep an eye on how they are doing.

I started the pension when DD was 4, and will continue to pay into it until she's 18. A calculator told me that my contributions on their own would be worth approx £44k by the time she gets to retirement age. Obviously she'll add to that herself, but it's low-impact savings that will hopefully set her on the right path regarding her personal financial planning, and give her options in the future.

The ISA money is in her name (and it's got quite substantial) so we need to help her to understand the potential a sum like that can have if it's used wisely.

Thank you @MissSueFlay I will look those up. I really like the idea of preparing a pension for my little one.

Child benefit goes into the credit union to be split between the Christmas and birthdays fund, dd's child trust fund and her savings account which is dual control, ie she and i can agree to spend it on a school ski trip/ new laptop/driving lessons but neither of us can touch it independently. That account got topped up with christmas and birthday cheques before dd cottoned on to asking for cash

I save £20pm for DS. I haven't decided what age to give it to him yet. It won't be enough to pay for university or a pension or anything, so hopefully it will help him towards a house deposit. I can't afford to save more.

I don't save anything for my kids.

I want to help them out when they are older but I don't really see any reason to earmark it for them now.

We are just focusing on our own financial position. We are going to be able to help out more with uni and house deposits if we have our own mortgage, investments and pensions in order.

By putting the money in your kid's name, you really restrict what you can do with it. Just one example: why save into a child ISA when as an adult you can save into a LISA and get a 25% bonus? If we were already using all the various allowances, then it would be different but we are not.

I completely agree with @pallisers.

Savings accounts are worth nothing at the best of times. There is a big risk that the value of those accounts will decline with inflation.

It is far better as an adult to invest in your own name, whether that’s in your mortgage or wherever else, and then pass on any wealth you accrue from that to your children later on.

Separately, I hope all those who are commenting saying they are saving for their kids’ educations know that this is only wise if your kid wouldn’t be eligible for a maintenance grant? Fees are covered, in their entirety, for everyone. If you want to rectify intergenerational inequalities, it is best spent on a house deposit. And I say that as both a uni graduate and a person of parenting age.

My DC have far more in savings than I do 🙈

Buy savings bonds as a way to put a little money in and have it grow.
Grand father decided to save for the future by taking pocket change and throwing it into a special jar for 2 generations from then figuring it wasn't going to help him or next gen but in time there might be coins worth something one day or to hide as a treasure hunt. My kids (3rd gen) go through the coins and have decided to keep it going for another future gen. Its amazing as Granddad's coins are now 100 years old and there are rare coins worth a fair bit (nothing too extravagant) from WWI & WWII, changes of currency, etc. Its a nice time capsule and in another couple of gens we are looking at very old and some rare coins.

My parents saved for me - i had access to that money from when i was18. i never touched it until i bought my first house. i save for my kids in isas. if something happens to me, nobody can take that money away from them.