I probably am bu and very nosey but...

[Ciggarettesuffragettesandboys]

Aibu to ask if you put money into an account regularly for your DC? If so how often and how much?

Me and DH put money in monthly (£40 each) and one of us thinks this is a good amount and the other doesn’t. I’m totally aware that it comes down to circumstances and income but just looking to gain some perspective really.

We have 1 DD & put in £40pm. But number 3 will be arriving in May so it’ll have to go down to £29 each then.

Number 2 sorry

& £20 each!!!

I am currently aiming for a minimum of £1 a day in his savings account (so minimum £30 a month), not much but currently on SMP.

How do you start a pension scheme for a child?

Nope. Thought about it, but decided that it makes more financial sense for us to pay off the mortgage first as quickly as possible.

I wouldn't put it in a savings account, I'd put it in an ISA.

@brizzledrizzle an ISA is a savings account.

We put £100 per month in each child's account - 2 DC - with a view that it will be used to help with uni or a house deposit etc.

I'm thinking of starting a pension for my ds (he's 3), because I bloody wish I'd started one (for myself) sooner.

He has an ISA, but I worry he may blow the lot on a fast car he can't afford to insure or something daft like that when he gets his mitts on it at 18.

I put £80 a month into the ISA. I'm probably going to increase this soon though because I've just got a better paid job (starting next week) so will be able to afford a bit more.

Probably look at the pension idea when he's at school and we're not shelling out for nursery fees though.

Ds gets £25 a month in his account. We will prob up this when he goes to school as we have massive child care bills right now!

My ideal would be to give him a deposit on a house but he might not even want that when the time comes i guess!

I mean not a bank savings account as the returns are rubbish.

If you can afford to save it then you are obviously well off and should NOT be receiving it. Stop claiming it.
Utter nonsense. It was a universal benefit for a reason and if the government deems it acceptable to give to families earning up to 60k then people should claim it.

Our DD gets DLA. Half pays for her motability car, which is a bigger car than we would need if she didn’t have a disability and which we could afford but wouldn’t choose to have. The other half goes into her savings account along with a top up from us. We don’t need the money but when she hits 16 and later when she becomes an adult the help she gets with equipment, physio etc will virtually disappear. Hell, the way things are going, by the time she’s an adult, disability benefits might well disappear.

The government gives bugger all help to students from better off homes, expected parental contributions are quite high for living costs and the like, and start at quite a low salary. This can mean the ‘squeezed middle’ struggle to support children through uni. If they want to save CB for their children’s tertiary education or to help them get on the property ladder, why shouldn’t they?yy

I'm another "fool"'who has invested in Premium bonds for her DC. I've had 10 wins of £25-50 per win in 2018 which worked out at around 4% interest. Haven't seen many savings accounts with that rate so I'll just keep some money there until DC is old enough.

All the small wins are reinvested so almost every month there's been 25 more chances to win.

Also have one of those Child Trusts where the gov gave £750 to start and top it up annually.

Re. children blowing the whole lot aged 18 - surely you just keep it inaccessible? My children will know we have money saved for them, but I won't provide account details until I feel they're ready for it. Am I missing something?

but I won't provide account details until I feel they're ready for it. Am I missing something?

If the account is in their name what is to stop them accessing it?

When my kids opened their bank accounts at 17 or so all accounts at that bank were then accessable to them.

Or are you suggesting keeping a bank account secret from an 18 year old adult?

I wouldn't be happy at someone having a bank account in my name that they are keeping secret from me.

Is that even legal?

No, never, none had bank accounts and child benefit was spent on their day to day expenses which is what it was designed for, If you can save it you dont need it

speak

My 19 yo knows I've saved for him. When he turned 16 the account changed from a children's one to...I don't know actually...whatever it is now.

I guess he could wander into the Building Soc and find the account and withdraw all the money, but we don't really talk about those savings at all. I regard it as my money that I've put aside for him and will hand over when I think it's appropriate. It's not something we discuss tbh.

It really depends. What is the money actually for and how much does it impact your family life? The most important thing is security and opportunity while they're growing up. Helping with a deposit fir buying a house would be a nice extra but I wouldn't do it at the expense of interesting opportunities while they're growing up.

TheOrigFV45

Does he bank at the same bank as the one you have saved in?

I also thought premium bonds were stupid but even ignoring the big prizes you'll never win they do reliably give a decent return comparable to most savings accounts so not a follish idea.

The account we have is in DS' name and is a children's account so benefits from the tax side of children's accounts. However when he turns 18 it becomes a normal adult account in my name and I can give him the money when I choose.

We don't save monthly - we put occasional chunks in, e.g. when I get a bonus or some other windfall. And it's in our name.

Premium bonds do not "reliably give a decent return" - on average, they return less than inflation, so in real terms, they shrink over time, not grow. Same's true of basically any cash savings at the moment, though.

Redgreencoverplant

That didn't happen in the case of my children.

They had Rainbow savings account, ( ROBOS) as soon as they hit 18 the money was accessable to them alone and I had no access to the account.

That happened automatically.

Yes. Every 4 weeks we put the child benefit in. We've now stopped receiving CB but still put the same amount in.

All birthday and Christmas money also goes in but us then used to buy something (this year it's a climbing frame) but we buy it in the summer as DSs birthday is early January so it's like spacing things out for him!

And it's in my name.