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Original poster

How much saved for your kids?

158 replies

darada · 21/01/2024 00:43

Could I get a sense check of how much money and where you have saved or invested for your kid(s)? I have a 7 year old and he has both a junior ISA and a junior SIPP.

OP posts:
transformandriseup · 21/01/2024 08:41

We are aiming for 10k in DDs name which she can have at 18 and can help support her at uni but won't save anymore in her name in case it is spent too fast.

Inyourwildestdreams · 21/01/2024 08:41

Inyourwildestdreams · 21/01/2024 04:40

We save what we can for DS to help with various things in the future. DH and I put away £100 each per month - this is intended to help with things like house deposit/wedding etc. We have a separate fund that we pay into that is to help him through university/apprenticeship etc if he decides to do anything like that.

My parents weren’t able to save anything for me - I worked from the age of 14 & paid myself through university (living independently). But it was hard. I missed out on a lot of socialising and fun at uni because I was working every hour under the sun around my studies. Everyone in my friend group and all my flat mates at uni had a significant amount of help from their parents (either still lived at home or had accommodation paid & monthly cash for food/books etc) which obviously made their lives a lot easier! Some still worked during uni but were able to save that and had a decent chunk to use as a house deposit when they got their first graduate job!

We also put away money that was given to “get him something” as a newborn and money given for birthdays/Christmas. We already had everything we needed for him as a newborn and he has plenty of gifts at bday/Christmas so I’d rather put it away until he needs something more significant when he’s older. This goes into an account in DSs name which we can access at any time. It’s not us contributing to this though so not sure if you’d include that 😊 it soon adds up - there’s roughly 7k in this account and he gets about £13pm interest at the moment!

I should add that the account with “birthday money etc” is in DSs name and he will have access to that. We can also access this any time should he need/want anything of significant value before 18.

All other savings are just away as family savings but are marked for DS. Should we find ourselves in a different financial situation in years to come then the cash can be accessed.

Floopani · 21/01/2024 08:41

My 18yo has about 15k between savings accounts, with another £3k when they turn 21 and 3k in a pension.

I think the pension is mad, but ex wanted to set it up so that's up to him.

No rules on how it's spent, but luckily they seem quite tight and overly sensible when it comes to money so I'm not concerned. I still expect them to get a job when they go to Uni, but without the pressure I had as a self funder as I moved out of home when I was 17, never to return.

DustyLee123 · 21/01/2024 08:42

I didn’t save for my kids. I saved any money given for birthdays/xmas in an account, and they used it for driving lessons.

StrictlyAFemaleFemale · 21/01/2024 08:43

Mine are 9 and 12. They each have a boarding school account (think of it as a very supervised gap year) and a confirmation account. Confirmation gets 20 pr month, boarding school gets 65/75 a month. We're not in the UK so no ISA option. They've also got a grandparent account from when my mum gave them I think 3k each.

foghead · 21/01/2024 08:43

Nothing but our mortgage will be paid when dc1 becomes an adult so I'm hoping we'll be in a position to help out a fair bit.

notanothernana · 21/01/2024 08:44

We saved nothing, dd now at uni and she doesn't get a full loan.

Wish we had have saved, it's crippling us having to help her to the tune of £850 a month.

christinarossetti19 · 21/01/2024 08:44

Similar here. I've been putting their child benefit into an Isa in my name since DD was born.

It will pay some of uni costs if they go, or something else they want to do when they're an adult.

My name is case we as family hit hard times before then

PrivateSchoolTeacherParent · 21/01/2024 08:44

TeatimeBiscuits · 21/01/2024 08:40

I’ve just started saving for mine (they are 13 and 11 but we’ve had house moves and so on until now). Saving £200 per month for each of them. Aiming to get them driving lessons, a little car, get them through university with minimal debt.

Depending on your financial situation and DCs' likely careers, using savings for a house deposit could be far more helpful than reducing student debt. Martin Lewis is good on this but of course the rules could change over the next five years.

swedishgirl · 21/01/2024 08:47

About £4k each in junior ISAs. Two children, 7 and 4.

wubwubwub · 21/01/2024 08:47

Noicant · 21/01/2024 04:57

I think DD 4 has something like 5k of cash gifts given by family in her account (one of ours really but it’s hers) but past that we don’t save for her. I would dread her having thousands in an account she can access as a teenager, you don’t have any idea what they’ll be like at that age.

My DD's savings are in my name for this very reason!

She has a child's account in her name that floats around £250, and is used to buy her things like, bigger birthday presents etc as it's from others as birthday/Xmas money.

And there's a long term savings in my name at about £10k. Which is all from me and DH. she will always know that is hers, but she will have to ask me for it.

Motheranddaughter · 21/01/2024 08:53

We did not sabe
Focussed on clearing our mortgage early and paying into our pensions
Boyh Dc now at Uni and we pay them £1100 each a month for rent and expenses

bessytedsy · 21/01/2024 08:57

some in isas in their names & some in our names. We top up monthly & wider family contribute. Will be used for uni & house deposit.

Blomdd · 21/01/2024 08:58

£10 a week until 18. By my calculations that'll be about 10k after interest.

bessytedsy · 21/01/2024 09:06

@notanothernana thats one reason we save for dc as it will be £££. Don’t get CB either which annoys me.

abracadabra02 · 21/01/2024 09:15

We used to use Post office savings account but switched to Credit Union for each of our three children. Just for long term thinking if they needed loans in the future etc. We live in Ireland. Both myself and my husband have Direct debits of €60 a month for each child. €60 from me, €60 from their Dad. So because I have 4 children my total monthly €180 a month and same for my husband.

Annually it works out they have €720 each saved a year and I put their Christmas and Birthday money in their too. We both have average paid jobs. It's 15 a week for each child. By the time they are 18 they should have €13,000 each, plus the birthday and Christmas money.

It's a very little amount weekly/monthly I'm return for a nice savings by the time they may need it 🙂

abracadabra02 · 21/01/2024 09:15

I meant to say I have 3 children...not 4

angsanana · 21/01/2024 09:22

2 kids, 10 and 11. They have savings accounts int their names which birthday and Xmas money goes if they don't want to spend it immediately. We put it away for them up to a few years ago and now give them a "spend or save" option. Both aroun £10k each which they know about and will have access to at 18. We also have ISAs in our name where we've saved quite aggressively for uni / house deposit /wedding. If we're retired by that point we don't want to worry about finding it.

thesugarbumfairy · 21/01/2024 09:24

Weve been putting money away for them since birth. £20 per month They will probably have 5-7 k from that at 18. A family member died a few years back and from that ineritance i put 10k each aside for them as well.

twistyizzy · 21/01/2024 09:29

1 DD 12 yrs old. She has 4K in NSI fron my parents and they pay into this every month. We have a JISA for her currently around 10K and this will be for a deposit for first house/flat.
We are paying school fees and will pay her accommodation and hopefully majority of fees at uni. Once she hits 21 though she will be on her own financially although we will continue to invest shares for her for first flat/house.
Couldn't have done this for 2 DC and this is why we chose to stop at 1.

Scarletttulips · 21/01/2024 09:30

Couldn't have done this for 2 DC and this is why we chose to stop at 1.

I wouldn’t swap my 3 sisters for all the money in the world. That’s quite sad.

NonSequentialRhubarb · 21/01/2024 09:31

We aren't saving specifically for them because we couldn't find an account where they wouldn't gain access to the money at 16/18. We'd prefer to give them a lump sum when we think appropriate (buying a house, wedding, having kids etc).

Instead we just save as much as we can as a family, and we'll gift them the lump sum out of that. Those same savings will be used for our retirement and some of their university costs, so that will affect how much we give.

In terms of amounts, ideally I’d like to be able to give them 25% of a deposit on a house.

twistyizzy · 21/01/2024 09:33

Scarletttulips · 21/01/2024 09:30

Couldn't have done this for 2 DC and this is why we chose to stop at 1.

I wouldn’t swap my 3 sisters for all the money in the world. That’s quite sad.

No it's not sad. We never wanted a big family. I'm an only, my Dad was an only etc. I could say I think it's sad that my SIL has 3 kids and can't afford for any of them to go to uni because she hasn't saved up but I don't because I'm not a twat!

Spendonsend · 21/01/2024 09:36

We have enough to get them driving.

VisionsOfSplendour · 21/01/2024 09:37

Scarletttulips · 21/01/2024 09:30

Couldn't have done this for 2 DC and this is why we chose to stop at 1.

I wouldn’t swap my 3 sisters for all the money in the world. That’s quite sad.

I think that's sad too, I can't imagine preferring some money rather than siblings and I'd be amazed if my own children think the same

What's wrong with making your own way in life?