To use the child benefit payment as my grocery budget?

[iwillsoiwill]

Would it be unreasonable to use my child benefit as my grocery budget for all 4 of us??
We get 280 per month so in a 4 week month that’s 70 per week, which is my average weekly spend! Or should I assign to to something more child specific?does it really matter?

With first child you tended to spend it on them

I've never come across this, do people really assign child benefit for things exclusively for the child? What if the child doesn't need anything? Do you spend it for the sake of it?

To me money is money, if you need to spend it why does it matter where it came from?

My CB goes to my DM, she was my main childcare for a long time. I transfer it each week and she uses £10 for the day's DD is there and puts £10 into an account. Currently £30 of the £40 'savings' a month is paying for a new washing machine - pretty essential piece of kit really, and so saving £10 a month, what's in the savings is used for school uniform, shoes and other expenses like that, or Christmas.
Both 'uses' of the money are in DDs interests.

I've never come across this, do people really assign child benefit for things exclusively for the child? What if the child doesn't need anything? Do you spend it for the sake of it?

To me money is money, if you need to spend it why does it matter where it came from?

Yes I agree...it seems nonsensical to specifically set child benefit aside. I get 137 for my two DC...of course I spend more than that over a course of a month on them, so no need to set it aside...it all goes into one pot.

I’m in ireland op. I get mine direct into our account every month and it goes into the general pool. I save a small amount for each child every month.

@formerbabe
I don't get why it's nonsensical.
I've always kept mine separate from mine and partners wage coming in.
as soon as I get mine each month it's goes to another account and is used for swimming lessons, the rest towards their clothes.
Mine and dp wages go on bills, savings, food, and spending money.
If say after swimming lessons they don't need any clothes it's stays in the savings account for when they do need something, that way I'm always covered for emergency's (new shoes, new coat if they've lost one ect)
I know quite a few people who put there's straight into a savings account for them, when mine are older I will split their child benefit each month and that will be their pocket money.

cb comes in at the start of the month and or wages at the end of the month.

So CB comes in just after wages then??

£34.70 for 2 children. Are you thinking of tax/universal credit?
If you're getting CB £70pwk for 2 please let the rest of us know how so we can get the same!
At the end of the day, does it matter if you buy food or just childrens stuff? Whichever you don't use it for will come out of your wages.

Bazie if you RTFT you will see the OP has explained she is in Ireland.

I think people are deliberately misunderstanding you... you budget child benefit for groceries not because money is tight (necessarily) but because that’s when money lands in your account and it makes sense from a budgeting perspective. But I’m assuming the portion of your wage that you would have previously spent on groceries you now spend on other things to benefit your kids so you have nothing to feel bad about!

If you're getting CB £70pwk for 2 please let the rest of us know how so we can get the same

It's easy! All you have to do is move to Ireland, as has been explained already.

OK, it's 70 euro, not pounds and I don't know if there are any qualifying periods, residency or nationality requirements, but that's the CB rate in Ireland, where the OP lives.

In Ireland they get €140 per child, per month? How can that be affordable?

Surely it depends on your circumstances, if you need to spend it it doesn't matter which family expense it gets spent on, food is a necessity. I know people who use it for activities/clubs etc or towards childcare. We save it for DS as we're fortunate enough to be able to do that, only have one child and I didn't even realise until MN that we'd receive it.

I wouldn't use it on nights out etc without DS but that's just personal choice and due to the way we organise our finances, DH and I put set amounts into bills and savings and then keep a set amount of our wages each as fun money so we have distinctive pots rather than everything out of one pot. CB goes into a separate account and then standing order to DSs fixed saver.

@Oblomov19 yep 140 per month per child, not means tested. If you have twins you get 1 and 1/2 each so the same as three. If you have triplets you get double per child so twins would get 420! Triplets get 840!

@Oblomov19 😂😂