Joint saving for 16 yo

[mumoflittle1]

Hello my son is desperate for a car when he turns 17, which will be in late July. I have agreed with his dad (my ex) that we will both put money towards it, as will my son and other family members. Our target is probs around £2k.

I’m looking for a savings account that we can all sporadically put into for the car, that myself and my son can access and track, and possibly set savings goals etc. I was thinking maybe a joint account between myself and my son so I can keep oversight of it, but he can see where we are with the goals.

I have looked online and can’t seem to find one anywhere! Can anyone help suggest anything? I’ve tried with my bank (Nationwide) and he doesn’t seem to fit the criteria. He is with Monzo for his current account. He is in college so not currently earning, but to be fair he is actively looking for a job to fit around studies.

Sorry for long post! I’m new to this and not good at being succinct!

Can he not just have a savings account with monzo that people could pay into? Why would it need to be a joint account?

Thanks for replying. He has got a little savings account for his monzo, but he can’t help himself from dipping into it. It currently has £6! I just think he’ll be too easily tempted to spend, if he hasn’t got someone keeping an eye. I am hoping if I can see what’s going on, it’ll stop him being tempted. Especially if he’s got bigger amounts going in.

I had a joint current account with Co-op Bank with both of my DC's at that age (for college spending etc) but I don't know if they do joint savings?

If he can't be trusted with it then you would need to set up a savings account for him 🤷‍♀️

There's a company called Forresters that offer high interest savings accounts. They aren't a bank so to access the money you have to go through various steps. That might work?

Revolut have a joint account and a pockets function- so you can create a savings pot for "Sams Car," or whatever.
If its only for the car, and only up to July, would you consider just using a money box instead? Cash is King!

Thanks everyone, I’ll defo look at co-op and Revoult. Also just thought our local credit union may do something. I was Googling old school cash boxes earlier! But I was thinking it’ll be good for him to see the numbers on a screen. So that he is able to see the amount he’s got in there, which is why I wanted him to have access as well. I thought it might motivate him a bit. I can trust him not to spend it if I can also see what’s going on, it’s just if he’s left completely to his own devices where there’s a risk!

This is a good idea too. I’ll look at Forresters as well. Thanks!

I’ve just checked online and it looks like co-op do a joint savings account for over 16s! I’ll ring them tomorrow to get more info. Thanks again for your suggestion!

Will he be able to afford to run a car and pay for driving lessons if he has no money and seems to not be able to save?

Unfortunately he probably needs to set his savings target somewhat higher. £2k might not even cover his insurance let alone pay for a car. Plus a car of that value is likely to need money spending on it to keep it going so another cost to factor in.

Does he need a car and will he get use of it? Is he planning to go to university? In many places a car is a hindrance as neither universities or student housing has parking unless you pay £££s.

I wouldn't be setting up a joint account with him either. If he messes up his finances it could also affect your credit file for up to 6 years.

Unless he's planning to do something like a mechanic apprenticeship or he needs a car for essential transport and he/you can afford to run one I'd really try to discourage him from spending thousands on what could effectively be a hobby.

Some sort of limited access account? So if he withdraws money he pays a penalty? Or an account that only allows a set number of withdrawals.

Link to Coventry - not for any particular reason, it just list different accounts clearly.

https://www.coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk/member/savings/all-savings.html

I understand what you’re saying @Bjorkdidit but this is the first time he’s really been motivated for something and I thought it was a good hook to teach him good savings habits. £2k was the lowest figure really. We are hoping he will have a little job by then as well, because he is applying for lots at the mo. He does want to go to uni, but that won’t be for a few years yet, so we‘ll rethink whether he needs to sell it then. Also re: the financial linking to me bit, as he is only 16 he won’t have a credit rating yet will he? It’s difficult to say what he will be like when he does have access to finance. But I thought this might be a good lesson for him to begin with, to hopefully encourage him to be good with his money when he’s older. As he’s just starting out I thought this was a good middle ground, where he can access it, but I’m also keeping an eye on things.

Thanks @sashh that sounds like a really good idea. I’ll check them out.

For my dd to learn to drive, buy a car and insure it I would estimate in total cost it was closer to 7k...

My dd worked from 16 so paid for all the lessons herself. She had a trust fund which helped towards the cost of a car (3k for an oldish Citroen c1) and £1400 insurance.

2k definitely won't get you far so he really needs to work and save.

Yeah from what you’re saying it sounds like we need to up our target. He is going to learn with his uncle and dad, so hopefully won’t need to pay for lessons. His uncle successfully taught my nephew and niece. But he will need money for maintenance, insurance, petrol etc. he is really trying to find a part time job, but hasn’t had any luck so far. There seems to be a lot of competition in this area for part time min wage jobs. I’m really hoping something will come up for him by end of July though!