MIL has given us £50 to start a collection of something for DD as an investment. What on earth should we buy?

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MIL is a muslim so can't give us money to invest and earn interest on directly. So she wants us to buy something as the start of some sort of collection - something that can be added to in the future and will eventually be worth something. She's left it to us to work out what on earth that could be!

I have no desire to burden DD with clutter from such an early age but need to respect MIL's wishes. I know she can ill afford £50 and the thought is a very kind one. Any ideas??

gold bullion

how old is your dd?

What about a piece of jewellry for her for when she is older? Maybe a charm bracelet that can have extra charms added to it for special occassions as DD grows up?

could you buy premium bonds?

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DD is 18m. Like the bracelet idea. Premium bonds a no-no because that's gambling I think.

people have been giving ds the bunnykins china set which is nice. hard to get hold of because they're onyl making the melamine version now though

don't know if its of any interest but there was a unit trust just launched that caters for the muslim community with reference to the baby bonds .. you could look at that in terms of long term investment if interested

There is more information about the muslim savings thing here

Aha, very interesting - thanks

Hmm, looks like it's just for the baby bonds though. Also it's taken MIL 18 months to come up with the collecting idea so maybe we should stick with that ....

Oh, and DD seems to have a trillion bank accounts in her name already for various reasons! Lucky for some

I sold off all my bunnikins stuff on ebay and only got a couple of quid for it as it is too common to be valuable. I would go for antique childrens books with illustrations. They don't take up too much room and they are beautiful to read and look at.

That's a nice idea tri

What about a nice family Quran that she could keep as something special?

Or jewellery is obvious and a good idea too - or a posh jewellery box and then you can add nice bits of jewellery on birthdays etc.

I'd SERIOUSLY say no to other 'collection' type things - I had loads of stuff from when I was a child (my parents collected antique china for me FFS) which I ended up giving to jumble sales when I left home because it was SO not to my taste.

We are not Muslims, MIL just converted relatively recently in her old age - so no to Quran Jewellery a def possibility, altho the taste element applies there too - actually not sure if any of these things are really an 'investment' but suppose I might as well try to get something DD will enjoy even if it's worth nothing in the end

Yes jewellery is admittedly a personal thing but at least it doesn't take up much room! And doesn't need to be in display causing permanent guilt ...

What about either gold as mentioned before or a diamond

I bought a (admittedly very small) diamond for my grandparents diamond wedding - just went into a jewellers (one that made stuff) and said I want to spend x amount. I got a diamond and my grandad had it made into a pendant for my G'ma (it will be left to my dd)

It's small, easily stored and they have almost never lost their value in over 60 yrs

If you get more gifts you can either buy more or part ex the one you have for a bigger one - you never know you could end up with a pair of 1 carat ear-rings when she's 21 and they aren't subject to taste are they.......

The resale value on jewellery especially diamonds is rubbish. Unless you buy antiques and then they have already had that drop in price. Also if this is supposed to be an investment it should be something she will not become too attatched to so that she can sell it and use the money for college etc. I saw some lovely antique tiles on ebay with islamic designs on them.

vintage port

ohh sorry didn't notice you were muslim till after posted. sorry!

Steiff teddies or Swarovski stars. ISTR that Steiff hve a small bear that comes out each year, in the same way the stars do. OTOH these may be both focussed on Xmas so it may be more prudent to look at collectors' club items for either manufacturer.

The stars cost around £35 quid new but even at this time of year they seem to go for silly money on ebay once they are a few years old. And if not wanting to sell, they are still gorgeous. We're aiming for enough to decorate a table top tree.

How about this?

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Great suggestions everyone, thanks. janeybops we're not Muslims, just MIL. See my followup message below. But yes, vintage port might not be what she had in mind May go for the precious stones idea