What do you spend child benefit money on?

[fateisdestined2025]

Do you save it or spend it?

Haven’t had it for years but when we did it just went into the ‘pot’ of money we had to spend on all the costs of running a home and raising a family.

We put it in savings for the dc. Ds had a child trust fund and we paid it in there, they’d stopped the government trust fund by the time dd was born, so we put hers in an ISA. Ds has just turned 18 and is going to transfer his to an ISA and add to it when he can. He plans to put it towards savings for a deposit on a property once he’s finished education

Things my ds needs/wants. It helps towards pocket money, lunch money, clothes and bits for school.

Drugs, mostly.

Seriously though, I’m a single parent so it all goes into the pot. Once I’ve retrained and am on a regular income again, it’ll go into a savings account for when DC is older.

Into household funds (as I've said on your other thread)

We transfer it into Premium bonds for my DD but we should probably switch to a higher interest account. We will soon.

I think we will need to pause the saving while I’m on maternity leave with DC2 but we try to save it where we can.

Save it. My dd has over 22k, ds has about 20k. 140 per month per child here in Ireland so it adds up.

It goes into our family pot but we pay money into a savings account for her from that account and her clubs which combined would be covered by the child benefit so I guess you could say that's what's it's used for

I split it between DCs bank accounts

I give it to DD14 for pocket money.

@fateisdestined2025

Surely any normal person will just pool it together with the family finances, and then bills, other outgoings, rent or mortgage, food, and anything you need for your DC comes out of the pooled finances/joint account.

Does anyone actually spend their actual child benefit on anything specific?! It's not like vouchers for clothes and food (for the children.) It's money that goes into the bank, with other income. What an odd question! Asking what you spend your child benefit on!

And as a pp said, you have already started a similar thread? Why so curious? Why do you need to know? 🤔

It's goes into the family pot and pays towards anything that comes out that pot.
I got this months CB yesterday. Paid for my daughter to have a takeaway.
Ordered some stationary from eBay "for school". (in quotes because really my daughter doesn't need it for school).
Then today £35 ish has been spent on food and a Pokémon magazine.
The food is for everyone. Except the dried seaweed because that's gross and daughter is the only one who will eat it.
The Pokémon magazine is for her too. I might do the puzzles and colouring in it though.
Tomorrow I might need to top the gas up so some of the money will go towards that. Taxi on Saturday to get to a place we need to go.
More food will be bought on Saturday...
and well that's the months worth gone already.
£104 doesn't last long.

Goes in to the nursery pot at the moment but will save it for future car/university/house once we’ve finished paying for childcare.

Staying alive. Petrol.

Used to get paid into children's accounts so we could spend it mindfully, but always went on things to benefit them like clothes, food, school trips, a roof over their heads etc.
I remember DH and I used it once to go out for a meal for our anniversary and I justified it as it made us happy, and happy parents make happy kids!

Do you save it or spend it?

Impossible to say really. It's £240 every 4 weeks and it just goes into our joint account along with all other income.

We save far more every month than the value of the CB but we don't 'save the CB'.

Pretty much what I was saying. Does anyone actually 'save the child benefit?' Or withdraw it and specifically spend that exact amount on specific things for the children? As you say, it just goes into the 'joint pot.'

We haven’t had it for years but when we did it went on stuff for the children.

Most on booze and fags and waste the rest.

I’ve had a friend tell me she bought a new car with child benefit money saved up. Not sure what to think. I hope I’m not the only one gobsmacked.

Wide screen TVs cigis and gel nails. Obvs.

Why are you gobsmacked? Because it would have taken a long time to save up for a new car using only child benefit?

I don’t see how that’s shocking. I think for most people it goes in the general pot and I would imagine that will include funds to pay for essential things like cars to get everyone around in.

Does your friend not let her children in the car then?

Christmas and birthday savings pot