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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to ask how much your child has in savings and what age they are

294 replies

Hmmmmminteresting · 10/08/2020 00:58

I'm being nosey for comparison reasons I guess.
4yo has £2,300. I feel like in the grand scheme of things it's rubbish. Once we have paid bills, extra off mortgage, paid into our pensions etc he gets what's left which isn't a lot. That figure includes bday and Xmas money too but we don't have a big family.

OP posts:
SqidgeBum · 10/08/2020 16:06

My 20 month old has about 800 in savings. We put £25 into it for her every month, and my parents have given her money for birthday and christmases along with a small token present. Her Great Grandmother has also given some money sporadically.

Oly4 · 10/08/2020 16:07

No savings here. We’re prioritising overpaying the mortgage and hope to be still
Working once that’s paid off so we can then divert huge chunks to our kids

sjonni · 10/08/2020 16:20

I've got £6k in savings for my child and contributing a little towards it every month. I would say don't worry how much you're contributing - You've made a start early and that is great! The beautiful thing about kids savings is that if you select the right product, it can grow quite nicely since it's such a long timeframe.

Most people keep their kids' savings on bank accounts with super low interest though - And knowing where to put the money is super difficult. This is why me and my friend built this and maybe it can be of help to some people here - It recommends the best way for parents to save for their children based on their goals and situation

recommendations.hapiplan.com/

Would love to know what you guys think

DontTouchTheMoustache · 10/08/2020 16:30

Ds is 4 and I've managed to put about 1450 into his isa so far. I have some.debta to pay off and in a few years once that's done I plan to increase his monthly payment significantly, I'd like to be able to give him enough for a house deposit (obviously he may use it.for other things, his choice) but I come from quite a poor family who could never help me financially and I will never have an inheritance, I'd like to offer my son some financial security. I'm a single parent as well so I think it's a reasonable sum to have saved on my own

worriedmama1980 · 10/08/2020 16:34

Nothing. Two things to think about:

If you're paying 3% on your mortgage and have money put away for your child earning .75% interest, you would be better off overpaying that mortgage and then putting the money saved for them aside when they're older.

My parents had no savings for me, expected me to get a part time job, gave me a huge help doing my masters and then when we bought a house- after I had saved the deposit myself. My husband somewhat similar.

What would you have done with five or ten grand at 18 vs 30? Also, there's nothing you can do to stop them finding out about money in their name and spending it how they see fit.

KerbsideViolet · 10/08/2020 17:05

We have a large house so they will inherit a fair amount when they are older!

I was set to inherit my grandmother’s property. It was worth a lot of money. When she became ill, she had to sell it to pay for her care and when she died 4 years later, there was nothing left.

You can’t assume there will be an inheritance left when you die.

00100001 · 10/08/2020 17:51

@worriedmama1980

Nothing. Two things to think about:

If you're paying 3% on your mortgage and have money put away for your child earning .75% interest, you would be better off overpaying that mortgage and then putting the money saved for them aside when they're older.

My parents had no savings for me, expected me to get a part time job, gave me a huge help doing my masters and then when we bought a house- after I had saved the deposit myself. My husband somewhat similar.

What would you have done with five or ten grand at 18 vs 30? Also, there's nothing you can do to stop them finding out about money in their name and spending it how they see fit.

but the problem with it all, the money in DS16 savings belongs to DS, inheritances, gifts etc.

Not my money to spend on my mortgage iyswim?

TheGoogleMum · 10/08/2020 18:00

We dont have much spare cash so we just save £10 a month (shes under 2). We didnt start for the first 6 months of her life either so its less than it should be. Maybe in the future we'll afford more but probably not. A grandparent did ask about a savings account in her name, so we created one and they've put nothing in so maybe they're saving something separately? We originally just made an extra account in our name and planned and instead of getting it at 18 we could use it when needed for a big purchase (but not that big because it isnt going to be that valuable! Might help her get her first car i guess)

justwinginglife · 10/08/2020 18:13

Don't worry about what other people have as everyone's financial situation is different. The fact that you have an account for them and are putting anything aside is great. A lot of people don't.

My DD is 10 and she has around £9000 and my DS is 7 and has around £7500 ........ BUT my grandparents gave them both £5000 last year which bumped it up massively. The rest of the money is from their birthdays/Christmas (they get quite a lot from friends/family). My in laws also have accounts set up for them which they pay into every month so they are extremely lucky.

I don't put any aside for them myself each month, although it's something I keep meaning to sort out

Viviennemary · 10/08/2020 18:19

It's so vulgar to discuss savings in this way on a public forum. I can't see the point. Why would a four year old need thousands. If the family was poor they couldn't afford to save that much anyway and if the family was well off they wouldn't need it.

00100001 · 10/08/2020 18:32

@Viviennemary

It's so vulgar to discuss savings in this way on a public forum. I can't see the point. Why would a four year old need thousands. If the family was poor they couldn't afford to save that much anyway and if the family was well off they wouldn't need it.
Well obviously a 4yo doesnt need thousands, but they might at some point in adulthood. Hmm

What about when it's their money? My DS16 inherited and has been given cash gifts... Are they not allowed to keep that for when they're older, just because they are 'too young' to have £1000s? Confused

Viviennemary · 10/08/2020 18:34

Everybody must do what they think is right for their own families within their means.

justwinginglife · 10/08/2020 18:37

@Viviennemary

It's so vulgar to discuss savings in this way on a public forum. I can't see the point. Why would a four year old need thousands. If the family was poor they couldn't afford to save that much anyway and if the family was well off they wouldn't need it.
My children get a lot of birthday money and a lot of it is in cheque form (mainly grandparents). The cheques are in their name and therefore need to go into an account in their name. This was mainly the reason we set ours up. Plus they end up getting a few hundred each every birthday or xmas (large family). I let them buy anything they want with it but whatever is left I put in their savings rather than them just spending it all for the sake of it

We aren't poor, but aren't rich either. When they turn 17 and want a car or finish college and decide to go to university they will have a nice sum of money to help, without having to take out loans/finance

00100001 · 10/08/2020 18:39

@Viviennemary

Everybody must do what they think is right for their own families within their means.
Exactly.

So why the comment "why would a four year old need thousands"? Confused

riotlady · 10/08/2020 18:41

DD has about 2k and she’s 2. We don’t really contribute, it’s mostly from her christening, birthdays etc and her great granny puts in £40 a month.

MissCalamity · 10/08/2020 18:44

My kids have more savings than I do!

Ted27 · 10/08/2020 18:57

Not a lot. My son is adopted. He has £1000 in his CTF. As a single parent I've not been able to save much but can put some money away regularly now.
I hope to have enough to pay his driving lessons, rental deposit and enough to set him up. Assuming it doesnt go on care fees he will inherit the house. There are no other inheritances.

He has had a paper round for two years, now he thinks about how many rounds he would have to do to pay for things, then he decides if whatever he wants is worth the effort of those rounds or if there is something more worthy or it stays in the bank

TakeMeToYourLiar · 10/08/2020 19:07

DS is almost 4, we have 6k saved but it's in our names in case we need it and so he doesn't get it at 18

However expecting another so the pit will be split.

He also has a trust fund from his uncle but I don't know what is in it. It's meant to be some money to have fun at 21

confusedmuma · 10/08/2020 19:11

My 8 and 4 year old probably have about 300 each so far. I can't afford to put much in, when finances change I will, but at the moment it's not top priority 😬

BiBabbles · 10/08/2020 19:16

That's a good chunk of change OP. Each of my kids has a few thousands in their savings for when they're 18. My teens each have their own current account for their money now, we use that along with being open about our budget & how we manage money and different money programmes to discuss financial literacy with my kids.

I got ~$5k from my grandfather when I was 18, part early inheritance, part apology I think. I used it as part of immigrating and cover early expenses as an adult. I hope to give my kids the breathing space and that that money gave me. I find the idea that not having that money would have given me any more work ethic, rather than trapped me in a desperate situation when I had no support from my parents, a little odd.

IamwhoIwanttobe · 10/08/2020 19:18

I have been thinking about this a lot lately as I would like to start saving for my two. Both have a start of £500 which their great grandad started off. However, my youngest gets DLA & has £1600 through that currently. Can't decide whether that is classed as savings though. Might buy her first car with it as it'll help her disability.

IamwhoIwanttobe · 10/08/2020 19:19

@IamwhoIwanttobe

I have been thinking about this a lot lately as I would like to start saving for my two. Both have a start of £500 which their great grandad started off. However, my youngest gets DLA & has £1600 through that currently. Can't decide whether that is classed as savings though. Might buy her first car with it as it'll help her disability.
Oh & mines are 3 & 4.
Redraptor · 10/08/2020 19:25

Mine are 5 and 2. They each have about 3k in savings. I've been made redundant so cant contribute right now but they are earning about £5pm iiin interest each which is better then nothing

drspouse · 10/08/2020 19:39

My DS gets DLA but we absolutely do not save it. It goes on things like his ADHD assessment, a specialist babysitter, breakages etc.

Skyliner001 · 10/08/2020 19:45

Out of interest what is the purpose of this thread? To find out whether you are in line with the average family? I'm always curious about these posts.

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