what should I do with my money? savings type things

[Beansmum]

I have a savings account for ds in his name, and I put his child benefit in there every month. I was thinking of changing it to an account in my name, but with the intention of giving the money to ds when he's 16-18ish.

I have decided that I don't really want him getting his hands on what will be at least £12000, probably more, unless I know he wont waste it. And he will have the £250 from the government and money from grandparents, great grandparents etc in an account in his name anyway.

So, any ideas what I should do with the money I'm saving for ds at the moment? I'm totally clueless

put it in ISAs or tax free instruments first... then decide on your risk... savings accounts give lower returns than stock market... if you are happy to leave it for long term., go for ISA shares... that is what we have done with our kids Child allowance

what is an ISA? I told you I was clueless. I need something that I can add to monthly, or at least quarterly, so I can keep depositing ds's CB. Also if I ever get any maintenance from my ex I want to be able to put that in as well.

with an ISA you can only invest up to £3000 and the interest is not taxed. soem older style ISAs allow you to invest up to £5000 in a financial year. some give you instant access, some you need to notify them if you need an withdrawl.
savings accounts, at the moment give about 5% gross. some of these savings accounts are either online savings accounts or children's accounts or normal savings accounts. quite a few of them give you instant access, and some only require an initial deposit of £1 or £250. you need to visist a few banks and get their savings rates leaflets to decide. also do a search on the internet for places like egg. some high street banks offer an online only account with a good interest rate as above.
the children's accounts (some of them to give this same good rate) and they would be in dd's name but you can do teh transactions on the account. regualr savings account would most likely be in your name.
also, interest rates on savings accounts do vary over the years so what looks like a good deal now, won't necessarily be the same in 5 years time say.
tehre are some companies offering an equity type of savings account, where they invest your money for you in stocks and shares. i can cat you with teh name of one if you want.
above all, do your research.
i'd suggest you buy an ISA for as much as you're allowed, open a savings or young person's account (based on your own judjment, look for a 5%ish interest rate and shop around in which to make regular payments as and when you can afford it) and put most of the money in an equity fund (if that's the right name, I'm not really sure)with a good return.