child benefit - what do you spend yours on?

[PersephoneSnape]

I apend mine on (part of) the weekly food shopping for me and 3 dcs, ds2s ballet lesson and dds pocket money. does anyone tuck it away in an account or spend it on wine and handbags?

Just goes into the general feeding/clothing/bill paying fund.

I can't imagine being well off enough to put it away as savings!

mine just gets put in with the other income and spent in the same way.

tuck it away

not particulary well off

Goes in the kitty and gets spent!

another one where it goes in to the general household funds - together with our salaries and the tax credit bit we get.

I pay an amount equal to child benefit into bank accounts for the dcs. My mother did this for me and it paid for much of my life at university!

just goes in the pot with all our other income. some is saved but i wouldn't call it saving the child benefit.

child benefit should be means tested

I pay it into DCs bank accounts.

goes towards school trips, clothes, pocket money, any clubs they want to go to.

ours is used towards food shopping.

we use it to live on

Music lessons

I am starting to think it should be means tested as well (not from the replies here....don't know where the cut off would be though) I also think it's weird that it's more for a first child -i appreciate that you have a lot of the necessities with your first child cot/pram etc, and they get handed down to 2nd and subsequent children..but it just seems to value a first born more to put a higher price on their heads, so to speak..

Goes into the general account but we do have a standing order each month to DS's savings account so I suppose it covers that.

Another who counts it as part of the household budget..we buy food and clothes for dc with it.

we use it to live on.

i don't think it should be means tested.
it is often the only money a mother can say is entirely her own.

Over half of it goes to pay for their school dinner(£20+ a week) and the rest is put away for shopping

living

it just goes into the housekeeping account

that and TC's get the weekly shopping and allows me to take DS swimming & to one group.

I understand the thoughts behind means testing but I think it should be available to every child in the UK - I don't nec think it's fair that it's available for children in europe thou.

I use it to buy clothes and shoes for the children and myself, any school related expenses (trips, phots etc); the rest of it is just part of our household income.

Just into the general pot here.

I think it should be means tested sorry, I think it's crazy that people with an income of say 150K plus a year get the same amount as someone on minimum wage. But then you could say they pay more tax so are entitled to something.

General pot here. Would love to be able to put it away for them, but just not possible unfortunatly.

Just goes into the joint account and gets spent.

Agree that it should be means tested.

I seem to remember my mum saying when I was born (I'm 32) that you didn't get it for the first child although before my sister was born (7 years later) that changed.