JISAs - what did your 18yo do with theirs??

[wobblychristmastree]

Wondering how sensitive or feckless 18 year olds are with any money they get then!

my DC should have around £15k when they get there…eek!

:)

DS18 knows that his trust and ISAs are there for him around £90k but he also knows that it was created solely as a house deposit so hasn't even asked for the details. He's very good with money though, hopefully it will continue that way!

Interesting! Is he going to uni? I hadn’t thought of a house deposit

We are hoping DC will use it for university expenses and to avoid student loan as far as possible.

Yes this is a worry for me. DC is likely to have about £70k across a mix of premium bonds and a stocks and shares JISA when she’s 18. She knows about the premium bonds now as she’s 16 and the account has transferred to her. We’ve told her they’re for university / house deposit so I hope she stays sensible.

My nephew and niece both put theirs towards house deposits.

One bought a house immediately (with M&D being on the mortgage due to their age) and the other used it as a deposit after finishing Uni and starting work.
Both were single when they bought and had their heads screwed on.

Not all are feckless when given access to a significant sum of money.

Well that’s a relief!

my nephew blew it all. I don’t know how much it was, less than £10k I’m sure. His single mother had scrimped and saved for that. There were no other financial support or opportunities ever coming to him.

My DC’s money is in my name as a result!

This is the fear! We’ve got some in a JISA. The rest is in our names and they don’t about it!!

Exactly the same as us! They have their p bonds and will get their ISAs age 18. We are also clear they can fritter a little bit but the rest is for house deposit. Ultimately the choice will be theirs though. We aren’t bothered about them going to Uni. If they do, we’ll suggest they go local so they can stay at home to save costs.
I’d rather they started work !

DS turned 18 at the end of last year and is planning to go to Uni this year. When his CTF matured, he put it in an ISA and will leave it untouched until using it for Uni. If for some reason he doesn't go, I've made it clear that I would expect him to use it for house deposit, travelling or something else worthwhile not just frittered away and he respects that.

Ours will have around £20k, they know that it needs to stay in an account towards a house deposit ideally, but they will definitely want to fritter some of it away, which is fine by me. They won't be going to Uni and will live with us for a while - hopefully I've educated them on saving, investments, compound interest enough!

Mine both transferred them into ISAs, and have continued to add to them.
They are now 20 & 23.

This is my.plan

Despite how much I'm teaching them about finances

When it comes down to it.

It's just too much temptation for an 18 year old.

My sister got a few grand from a savings policy when she was 18. She just blew it.

It's too much too young.

If there was a way of not letting them have access until they were 25 I would consider saving into one for them.

DS' is in my name so that I can give it to him when I feel he is ready. 18 is too young for most imo.

HolyHolly have you read the recent thread about paying off student loans? Might be worth a read depending on your knowledge

Both my DSs transferred their CTF money into ISAs and are leaving it alone till after uni. It's not loads like some have, maybe £5000 each, but they know that I was saving it during a period of divorce and career change when I didn't have much to spare so they appreciate it's not to be wasted. I think most 18 year olds are much more sensible than they are given credit for.

DS1 only got £3000 and it went straight in a LISA for future house deposit.

My son had a CTF and also had a child savings account where I was the trustee. Think together it was about £15k. He was really sensible and opened a LISA and an ISA and put the res in his other savings accounts. I think he’s spent some on travel but he’s always been a saver and had other savings from his jobs etc. Am glad he didn’t blow it as I would have been really disappointed about that.

However my mum has said if / when I inherit anything from her she’d like me to give DS a house deposit. If that happens it’s staying firmly in my name until he’s actually house hunting - as that would’ve a much higher sum.

Ds1 had just under £1k. He turned 18 in January and is in the process of spending it. He's living well right now and enjoying lots of extra events with his mates, lovely meals out etc. I don't expect it to last very much longer tbh.

My DD will have between 10-12K in her JISA when she reaches 18. I’d be happy for her to use it for travelling or her first car but it will be hers so we’ll see. I would be a bit gutted if she frittered it as I’m a single parent and every penny is hard earned!

I keep a separate savings account for her which she doesn’t know about and is in my name. This will have about 20K in when she’s 18 and I will likely gift it towards a house deposit at the right time.

Last week AJ Bell published an article suggesting that of their clients, only 6.5% withdrew the entire ISA within a year of turning 18: https://www.ajbell.co.uk/news/how-many-teens-keep-their-junior-isa-18

Obvious that's a self-selecting group and I guess that 18 year olds who've had parents investing in stocks and shares for them might have been exposed to different messaging about it than someone who has some cash in the post office.

A few children and it's been a mixture.

We stopped investing in their JISAs after reading on here no tax advantage unless already maxing out your own ISAs.

My not quite 18 year old has been told that the contents of their government trust fund is theirs to spend as they wish.. it’s about £300 as we added nothing to it.

the other money saved for them (about £1k ish) is in an ISA in my name for now

We opted not to put much in their own isas but put money aside and will help them with a house deposit when needed. The job market is so bad and if they have a certain amount in an isa of their own that would affect their ability to claim any benefits. Although I very much hope that would not be an issue.

My children have accounts in their names that their grandparents are paying into. The accounts they currently have would have access to it at 12 (although only in branch at a bank). We also have money we are saving for them but currently that isn't in their names. My eldest is only 5 so we still have quite a way to go but we are trying to start educating on financial matters now and discuss our financial situation and the situation of others with her in an age appropriate way.