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?

Not dull Quattrocento - rich

£15 a mth i put in ds1 bank account, but now we have ds2 i should put the same in the bank for him i guess. Might just put a tenner each away cos ds2 is at nursery and im gonna use child benefit to help towards fees.

But there are other benefits for those on a low income. If all benefits where means tested then it would end up those who don't qualify still pay the taxes/NI and then have to pay for themselves on top of that! Sorry this is a subject that gets my goat so perhaps I should just stay away.

Am I the only one to find it slightly distasteful that people who are well off enough not to need child benefit save it up so that their already privileged children have a nice little nest egg when they grow up? Surely this is not what it's meant for?

The thing is we may not need it now but if our children are going to go onto further education, you can be damn sure we will be needing it to help fund them through university.

I use it to get through the month! I work part time but don't earn enough to save it, although I do put some money into ds trust fund each month, so guess you could say some goes into that!

I agree seeker.

I only started putting a bit aside cos i felt guilty hearing of people who save all of theirs and we were using ours on household stuff without even noticing it!!

We are just getting by, so my "already priviliged" child will go without plenty of stuff in her life, but will also learn the value of money. I don't want her to be getting in debt for a car or wedding, that's distasteful to me.

I use it as a budget for DS related expenses - after initial outlay to get setup, the child benefit now pays for nappies (only a few disposables as we use re-usables when at home), his clothes and our mother and baby classes.

I guess spending it on 'frivilous' classes probably means I'm too rich to get it, but I consider it a general saving for the taxpayer - they're not having to cover my medical bills when I lose my mind after too long stuck at home with only a baby and 2 dogs to talk to all day!

living

is everyone entitled to child benefit?

Hang on, a benefit that was supposed to help lift families out of poverty might be used in the future used to pay for a WEDDING???? How is that OK?

savings what the hell are they?

Child benefit is spent on whatever bill is outstanding at the time it goes into account. [usually bloody BT] If there are no outstanding bills [unusual] I go out and buy the boys news clothes.

My dh is saving for a gym.... so he has savings, we don't.

How do you decide whats the Cb amount and what's not anyway? It goes into the account, we pay the expenses for the things they do (swimming, private therapies for their SN, football school in the holidays or half term club)- there's no direct calculation, it just goes in and goes out again and usually it balances.
Add in some craft stuff, a few books, and it's more than spent- but we don't say 'oh that can come out of the CB'. We do say 'that can come out tof the DLA' though- wonder why that is?

so does paying the bills to keep your house warm, have fuel to cook your child's dinner, and buying food not benefit your child????

Poverty stricken families get plenty of other benefits, child benefit is for the CHILD. If you think that saving for your child's future is irresponsible then so be it.

Of course it does FAQ, I bet people buy a bit more fruit and veg toot han they would without it- In know we did when we were on the breadline (or next year when we're back on it).

i split it between my 2 dcs and put it into a seperate savings a/c for them to use in the future on school trips (ie longer trips at secondary school which we may not otherwise be able to afford)
I totally disagree that child benefit should be means tested.

Ambi - as far as I'm concerned if I'm using the CB to pay for my gas bill, or to buy 2 weeks worth of shopping then it's FOR my children

Ambi - of course I don't think saving for your child's future is irresponsible. I just find the concept of a state benefit being saved to pay for a wedding a little , that's all.

It goes towards enormous nursery bill.

Though I did spend the very first lot on a pair of trainers. For me

Child benefit is NOT for the CHILD!
It is for the carer of the child.
The CTF is for the CHILD.

We use it to live on, dp only earns around £700 a month so every little counts!