How much saved for your kids?

[darada]

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.

£100 month for each so with interest approx £20k when they reach 18

It's in our names so we can decide what to give and when but poss towards car, house deposit, uni, wedding

Used to save the children's allowance (€140 a month) into an investment fund for my eldest child. There's around €3k in there now but we've stopped contributing to it now because we're concentrating on aggressively paying off the mortgage. That fund went up 19% last year so I do kind of regret that decision.

With overpayments we'll save over 200k in interest and the mortgage should be cleared by the time our oldest is 13 so that will free up money to save for the children then.

They have a lot (6 figs + each) - mostly from an inheritance we got that we just put straight aside for them. But it’s not in their names and they don’t really know about it. We’ll use it for uni, house deposits and weddings.

Kids have got SIPP each, £10 a month as it’s just intended to encourage them to save into a pension as soon as they start working. They’ve also get £100 a month into a savings account in our names so we can control when they get it and what they use it for, I wouldn’t touch a junior isa because if they turn out anything like me they’d waste it within months of turning 18!

I’ve saved a little bit each month for them all since they were born, first in the CTF for my older two then in savings accounts. How much has depended on circumstances at the time but never more than £25/month. My dd turns 18 this year and is set to have about 9k in there. I do worry that it will get frittered away but will be having a serious conversation with her about it first. I have sometimes gone without to prioritise saving this money for her and she needs to understand that this is the extent of the help I can offer her to get her started in life. If she wastes it that’s on her and there will be no more.

None specifically but we have savings that we will use for them when required

I have kids age 10/12/14

Saved up £9-10k pa each

Costed unit fees, rent and living allowsnce for 3years of £74k each total, so thats the target

Paying in £1k pcm across the 3 accounts, but will top up with bits from bonus, spare cash etc

Sorry my post is misleading, I haven’t gone without food etc to save for her but I have seen those savings as a fixed outgoing so have prioritised that over a haircut or a meal out or some new clothes, or saving for a holiday etc for myself.

None. There was no money spare when the children were young.

Ours have a junior isa each and we put £100 every month and have done since they were babies. Hoping it will help if they want to go to uni or buy a flat or something.

My parents had a massive combined income but never saved money. Our income is less than half of theirs and they had that in the 90s! They were wonderful in other ways and they did spend a lot on us like clothes and gifts etc, but they just never saved anything for us or themselves. The surviving parent thankfully has a great pension and owns a very nice house outright - but that was more luck than judgment!

Anyway, big ramble there, but basically £100 each per month since they were babies.

Not a lot. A small amount that can buy a little car or the likes.

My eldest is 19 and is at university. She lives at home and we support her in that way. In Scotland, we do not pay tuition fees and they get free bus travel until 22.

So she doesn't work part time or anything, she can focus completely on uni and we pay for everything she needs.

I was a lone parent for the first 14 years of her life and I couldn't afford to save a thing.

You've saved £30k per year???

Woweee. I don't even earn £30k per year LOL

What are you going to do if they don't go to uni?

DD has generous grandparents- she’s 4 and on track for at least £50k at 18.

Uni isn't compulsory nor the only option...

I did something similar . As a single parent I couldn't save anything but I put all their Xmas and birthday money away for them. When they needed their first car I gave it to them. Was around £2k each.

Of course it isn't but it is sensible to save up for it. If they choose not to go then that money gets diverted somewhere else.

My son has been gifted savings by family and I put a very small amount away each month for him. He's 12 and it currently stands at about £8,000 I think....

Both dc have junior ISAs which started out as CTF accounts.

At 18 dc1 had £15k in theirs

They've added to it since as it's tax-free - I think they about £20k now and have been able to buy their own car

We were never able to put huge amounts in, but it's something

Dc2 should have similar when they turn 18

Dc1 chose a local uni to cut costs - some of their peers will graduate owing £70k+ 🫨😕

Not sure what dc2s plans are but I'd imagine a similar plan

DD6 has £15k so far, and I have separate savings to ensure I can support her through university. DH also has substantial savings (we keep our finances quite separate).

@HazelWicker could not agree more.

I worked with a woman who had two sons, one was a married accountant and the height of respectability. The other had got in with the wrong crowd at their nice private school and tried drugs, he has an addictive personality so it was not just a little try like many and he progressed to hard drugs and is a heroin addict. The last I heard he was back in prison for the third time.

No one knows how their cherubic toddler will turn out. DS has ended up being very sensible with money but I did not know that. We will assist when he needs a house deposit, the actual performance of our investments at the time will reflect the assistance. He has 12k in an account that was an inheritance and we will bung him at least 25k. We bought him a car as I did something MN disapproves of I said get three A grades at A level and I will buy you a car and he did. He is also doing a degree apprenticeship so is on 28k in his second year already but it means we have not had to pay out a bean to support him.

Baby’s only 1 so not a lot, just a couple of hundred but we put £50 a month away for him and grandparents have their own savings accounts for him too.

Girls each have a stock and shares ISA, I transfer any cash bday/Xmas presents straight in, and my dad has a standing order that transfers in £1k each a year (for now, don’t expect this to continue until they’re 18!). Because we started so early I’m hopeful it will be a reasonable sum when they get to 18, but we’re unlikely to make any big payments in ourselves.
I’m also going to follow Martin Lewis’ suggestion and set up university savings accounts for each when they start school and transfer in £100pcm - but these will be in our name, not theirs, and cover the parental contribution if they decide to go to university.

We have our own savings around £200k and properties worth around £630k to leave them

I'll pay house deposits, help with uni and buy them a car when they're 17 but the rest they can prise out of my cold, dead hands

They're also 2 and 9 so the cash above should be a lot higher when the time comes

@wubwubwub theyve all agreed the money is for: uni, colleage / apprenticeship rental and support costs/ first home deposit and furniture. Only.

I also have x3 btl's worth £550k each with £350k mortgages, current mortgage is only £450 pcm so idea would be for apprenticeship/ college option, move in one with a friend and pay the £450 mortgage and extra money to refurbish/ save up to etc

DH and I had rhem all before we were 28, so planning to retire from big city careers age 48 when all graduated wnd move overseas and cone beck monthly