About a third of Child Trust Fund vouchers not cashed. What have you done with yours?

[Tinker]

here

Mine's still in a cupboard.

Whenever I pick up the detials, all too boring to read and complicated for a non-finance expert like me.

Plus, have a 8 year old with no savings to her name - don't like there being a difference between the 2.

What's your excuse?

I put mine in the Allaince and Leicester because it had the best interest rate. Now they've changed the interest rate to something crap but i'm too lazy to swap accounts!!

I still have mine and I'm in Australia, in case you didn't know, do you reckon I can cash it here? it's well over a year old

Take it to the bank and just tell them it's English currency.

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think its crap idea

should have been spent on schools IMO

I wouldn't have thought £250 per each new baby would have much effect on overall tax levels tbh

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i only sorted mine last week

it was on the "important but not urgent" pile till then. that pile takes second place to "important and urgent", which usually consumes all the time i have to spend on this sort of stuff.

it's in the f&c non stakeholder, plus i set up the equivalent amount in their children's investment a/c for ds.

thanks for the reminder - ours expire in 4 weeks! Better get a shift on!

We were very slow to deal with this, but I now have the zeal of a convert. It's worth doing and, if you can manage to top it up with your own contribution, it's also an efficient way to save, as the interest is tax free. If you put in the maximum amout each year (can't remember the exact amount, but it's about £1200), the child would get over £30 000 at age 18. There is a recent report on all this in Which? magazine. They compared the deals offered by various banks and building societies and suggested some good ones. We chose the Nationwide.

We've just sorted ours out, with DS1's expiring in February.

I've put both with the Yorkshire Bank Cash Savings account.

When it adds up, its £568 that were never going to have spare to give to the boys, so I'm saving it as I daren't gamble it...

and before I get shot down about savings not making as much over the time etc, we're doing it because DH pension was invested in the stock market, one statement said £450, and the next time he heard, it was worth £50.

So I feel I'm justified in saving!!

OMG - just found this thread and looked for DS2's. It expires in about 2 weeks so I must get on with it. Thanks for putting this thread up

Anyone who banks online with Lloyds can do it with childrens mutual on t'internet. Don't have to leave the house or even pick up the phone

Sorted it out a couple of weeks ago .....now got a Nationwide equity stakeholder Child Trust Fund organised for ds2. Hope I've done the right thing!

Ooh, do you know, DS3's expires next month and I have just (yesterday) sent off the bumpf to open one of these stakeholder accounts for him. Have also set up direct debit to pay a bit more in for him each month.

Am going to do something similar (although not CTF, obviously) for the older DSs and am thinking of tapping grandparents for a contribution .

I can't find DD1's.

ExPat, you can ring tghem and they send you another one, no hassles. IO had to do the same with DS1's!

phone: 0845 302 1470 or
text phone: 0845 366 7870

I'm so bad I still have mine, must send it off!

I've just done mine last week, after procrastinating for so long. Just opted to put it in, leave it and earn just on interest and not to invest extra money .. didn't want to bother with those accounts .. like isa's .. risky!

I want to put mine in a mutual so that if it gets bought out DS will get shares. Any suggestions?

thanks, mumu!

i just gave 'em a phone.

Childrens Mutual stakeholder here.

Thank you for spurring me into action! After doing nothing for 10 months I have just done an on-line application with Children's Mutual.

Cod, are you on commission from the Children's mutual?

Have just done mine over the phone! Voucher expires 31/01.