Savings Account / JISA / premium bonds

[MumEra2024]

I’ve got £2000 (£1000 per DC) to put aside for them. They are 3 and 11 months.

I’m so confused where is the best place to put the money but I want it out of my account!

I'm putting all money I get for my little one in a stocks and shares junior ISA.
I also drip feed £100 monthly into it at the moment (hopefully we will be able to increase this in future). Value goes up and down, capital is at risk, etc.

Whether this is the 'correct' thing to do, I don't know. But it felt sensible to me.

The return on premium bonds is in no way guaranteed, and with only £1000 your chances of winning anything are very low. You can read on MSE about returns on them.

If you put it in a cash savings account or cash JISA it is less risky than stocks; you get guaranteed returns but may be below what you could get from stocks and shares.

Your attitude to risk may well dictate where you want to put it.

Thank you. That’s really helpful. I’ve read the MSE guides but they still confused me a little.

I think when you're saving for children, you need to think about whether you want them to be able to access the money with no restrictions at age 18 - for me, the answer was No, so I'm currently saving for DS in my name, rather than his.