Child Benefit

[Katierose34]

Out of interest, what do you use your child benefit for?
I have every intention to save it in the kids own accounts but usually end up using it to manage through a month.
Do you put it away for your kids or do you see it as being there to be used?

It just goes into the bank and forms part of the monthly income.

We're not eligible any more as I earn over the threshold but ours used to just go straight into our general bank account. We spent a lot more on dd in total than the CB ever brought in!!

We top it up to £100 and put it in their Junior ISA

However don’t save money for your kids if it would cause you hardship! I know I’m lucky that I can save.

I just use it as part as our monthly income. So in reality it pays for a weeks shopping or the electricity bill etc. Something that does benefit my kids, but I don’t save it directly for them.

Perhaps if our incomes increase I will put it away for them, but at the moment that £145 (2 kids) is needed family income

It used to go into monthly expenditure. I don't get it anymore, it was a big help at the time.

I have a standing order for it to go into the children's savings accounts automatically so I can't spend it. I figured if I saved it birth - 18years old it will be roughly £18k each child, which is a huge amount for us. Then it can be used for car / towards uni etc - big stuff.

My dd is 15, so she gets half for a clothing, make up, special toiletries allowance, and i top up her child trust fund with the rest

I get it for 3 dcs.
Normal give eldest it one month for clothes etc
Then following use for the 2 smaller ones clothes etc

They seem to grow or wreck stuff quick so always something needed.
This month will be school shoes, wellies and trainers for dc 2. Pjs and prw school clothes for dc3 so will be virtually the £200 gone.

I put £20 each from child benefit in dc savings accounts. Their dad and grandparents also top their saving up. Some months if don't put anything in and wouldn't feel bad if I didn't put anything in

I co-parent and we still have a joint account which CB goes into. Anything and everything with regards to clothes, haircuts, toiletries, holiday spends etc comes from that account. Saves arguing about who spent what.

We started putting it in an ISA for each child - once we were no longer eligible we carried on putting in £60 a month. Worked out pretty well and grew to a decent amount ~30k each to use for education/house deposit.

I do a £5 per week standing order to savings account then the rest is towards food/snacks/nappies for that week.
Then the saving amount built up goes towards clothes and days out

It gets paid into a separate account as a sort of rainy day fund. If I've paid out more money than usual (bulk buying nappies etc can sometimes cause it!) and am left a little short I'll transfer some money from the CB account to tide me over

It's a necessary part of our monthly expenditure on food, bills etc. Same for my DParents when I found out about CB and asked why I didn't get to keep the money for myself.

Its their pocket money/holiday money

Just goes into the joint account, but is not listed as income on our spreadsheet when I'm doing the finances.

We put it towards the monthly budget

I save mine in a bank account for him. Likewise any money that he has been gifted. He's only 1.5 yrs old but as he gets older I'm hoping to teach him to spend half and save half of any money given to him.

It all goes on his toddler classes at the moment 😊

I keep track of it and use it for clothes for child.

It was saved for school uniform and school trips until they were 14 and then they got it as a monthly allowance.