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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I probably am bu and very nosey but...

284 replies

Ciggarettesuffragettesandboys · 02/01/2019 14:54

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.

OP posts:
Wholovesorangesoda · 03/01/2019 18:15

We don't currently put anything in, dd has her trust fund which has what the government put into it only.
I think any amount is fine tbh! Every little helps

flowergrrl77 · 03/01/2019 18:18

I can only manage £15 a month per child. But my mum (their nanny) pops a fiver in for each too.

Their dad puts in £12.50 a month.

I figure any amount is better than nothing!

Hushhush89 · 03/01/2019 18:21

This is what I wanted to do for my 3 DC so when they turn 18 they'll have money for driving lessons, uni or whatever they like really. But my DH let's them use the money whenever they like and they very rarely have money in there now

Longdistance · 03/01/2019 18:25

We put £30 a month into each dds account. When this reaches £500, it gets put into their trust accounts which are looking very healthy at the moment. They’re 7 and 9, so by the time they get to 18, they’ll have a decent amount.

maureen17 · 03/01/2019 18:26

...lucky you, lucky children if you can afford anything! pat on the back you!

AznalEvol · 03/01/2019 18:35

We pay £100 pm into a pension for our 5 year old...!

PeachyPeachTrees · 03/01/2019 18:39

We put £20 per month into each DCs savings account. GPs put some extra in on their birthdays.

Deadpoet · 03/01/2019 18:41

We have 4 children and We save £100 per child per month and have done since each were born. Grandparents have ISA’s for them too. Dd1 turned 17 in December so b/day present was the car and lessons. We are paying for university fees and living costs so it won’t be needed for that. The kids don’t know about their savings so once they start saving for houses is when they will get their money. I think any amount saved for the future ( if you can possibly do it) helps in a variety of ways

greeneyedlulu · 03/01/2019 18:47

Probably around 50 a month but my ds is 5 and has over 3k in his account and I have around 200 quid so not fussed if I miss a month. Birthday and Xmas money goes in to his account too. And odds and sods for example if my folks have him after school and then say to me pick up fish and chips for us all on the way home then I pay for the food but my folks usually give me £20 for it so I will put that £20 in his account.
I'd like for him to use this for something more than trip to Ibiza and frivolous stuff but I have a while yet. Like the idea of a pension for him as a pp said

Offred2 · 03/01/2019 18:56

We don’t put anything aside for the children (aged 3 & 6). Any extra money goes towards over paying the mortgage as my thinking is that if our mortgage debt can be nil or minimal by the time they turn 18 then the money that frees up can be used for their uni costs, driving lessons etc.

Basically paying money into a savings account when you have outstanding debts doesn’t sit right with me! Though they do both have smallish savings accounts with birthday money from grandparents etc.

polkadotpixie · 03/01/2019 19:00

We put £10/month into our son's account so he'd have a minimum of £2160 by the time he's 18 but we also put all the money he was gifted as a newborn in there so he already has over £700 and he's only 4 months old.

We will also put Xmas and birthday money in there so hopefully he'll have around £5K by the time he's 18 for uni expenses or a car etc. We're not well off so we can't afford to put enough away to give him enough for a house deposit but figure every little helps

Wavingwhiledrowning · 03/01/2019 19:06

I'm a bit stressed now! We don't regularly save anything for the DCs. I remember having a lump sum from my grand parents when I turned 18 and I burnt through the lot at uni on booze. DH did the same with his savings. So I guess we're a bit tarnished by that.
Really feel like we should be doing something now though after reading this... The pension idea is interesting but I wonder just what it will really be worth in 70 years or so.

Frazzledstar1 · 03/01/2019 19:13

We have 3 dcs and dp puts approx £25/30 per month in each of their accounts. I used to also pay in, but at the moment I’m paying off a few credit card debts and I pay the childminder costs so just don’t have the disposable income. When my finances are in better shape I’ll probably contribute again too.

Consolidateyourloins · 03/01/2019 19:18

Wavingwhiledrowning

We didn't get any money from my parents but when I graduated and got a job, I was able to save the majority of my savings as I paid them £250pm rent.

Something like that is very helpful for DC.

LisaD76 · 03/01/2019 19:20

I put my daughters family allowance away every month and have done since she was born... I also have a save the change from my current account that goes into her account

jade19 · 03/01/2019 19:21

We have an account for my eldest (I'm yet to open one for our youngest.) and we put money in where we can. If /when my partner gets a bonus we will top it up. It's totally up to you. If you can afford what your putting then, then I personally wouldn't change it.

NotTired · 03/01/2019 19:24

I plan to start saving for my toddler once we've moved house this year. At the minute he only has his bank account with £120 Birthday and Christmas money in it. I plan to start by saving £50 a month and if I can save more later I will. But I don't plan to save specifically in his name to give him as a lump sum as I'd hate for it to be wasted. I just plan to set aside enough in my savings to pay for some driving lessons, help towards a house deposit, help towards the cost of his wedding ect. And once he's older and starts paying board, I will set aside 50% to give him back towards a house deposit if I can afford to and feel he deserves it.

Lostinlondon999 · 03/01/2019 19:27

3 DC. Children get £20 each a month and my brother puts in £15 each. So a total of £35 each a month. All birthday and Christmas money goes into the account unless we are desperate. When we are desperate I add it to my IOU saved on my notes. They haven’t had their birthday or Christmas money in 2 years! They are all very young btw.

HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend · 03/01/2019 19:31

Yes, we pay into our 2 Children's trust fund accounts, as do there GP's

We pay £125pm each, and there GP.s the same if not more (GP recently retired, and they have just put in 8k, into their accounts).

HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend · 03/01/2019 19:32

*their Blush

Anotherloverholeinyohead · 03/01/2019 19:32

all money in a child's account is the property of the child. When said child reaches 18 (and they are mindful if this) there is nothing to stop them contacting every bank/building society and asking for full details of info held and accounts in their name - and they will be able to get this. The majority of accounts will pass over to the young adult at 16/18 anyway and withholding this info is very frowned upon by the banks.

If a young adult puts up a case to gain control of the account/the account has matured - the banks will give them the control - it is their money - not the adults who has been the trustee or the persons who gave the child the money. If you syphone the child's money out of the account - they do have a case to sue the bank/building society/trustee of the account for mis-management of their money. Believe me it happens.

Anyway, at 18 the young adult would need all their account info for tax purposes/benefit applications/possibility means testing for education.

EggysMom · 03/01/2019 19:35

Must be lovely to have spare money at the end of each month to put into savings for your children. If i ever have spare money, I'll bear it in mind ....

Prettypoloponies · 03/01/2019 19:36

I’m 28 and both my grandmother and godparents did this for me. I got about 8 grand from the combined, I used a little for a laptop and then the rest all went on my house deposit.

My dad also put away every month but hen reclaimed it when he got divorced Hmm

Anotherloverholeinyohead · 03/01/2019 19:37

And generally JISAs will mature into adult ISAs at 18. The bank will write to the young person directly asking for NI number etc and go through the maturity process - it is not your account/money to keep secret from them. When the young person reaches 18 the bank/building society will not correspond with the adult at all.

icanbewhatiwant · 03/01/2019 19:38

My mum paid into an account for me. When I was 18 it matured. It was in her name so she bought herself a new car!! I didn’t get any.
My husband put money away for our oldest. When he hit 16 we got the pay out, but shared it between all 3 children (into savings accounts) I only put small amounts in their accounts here and there. I can’t afford regular payments. I did fund my oldest sons driving lessons though. He passed recently. Then dad bought him a car. I’m getting worried about university costs though as he wants to go this year. I’m thinking we should have saved more. If my middle child wants to go to uni the oldest will still be there. So it’ll be a struggle. The youngest is much younger. I think I’d better start saving for him now!