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?

Of course they are. If you think it should be means tested than you think the people paying lots a tax are the ones who shouldn't get anything back. I know Gordon thinks I'm rich. I beg to differ. But, he get's to make the decisions.

(and by the way I don't really mean to be directing all of this at you. It was meant more generally in reponse to various people on the tread. Except the scrounger part, that was for you)

(thank you for the aside ) I'm honestly not trying to beat you round the head with my opinions either

My CB still goes into the post office account. Seeing as there is no cash point near me, but a post office in the village I find it handy to go when in the village & withdraw money for bits & bobs.

Generally though I tend to let the cash build up over the summer to buy school uniform in September & again over the winter to buy Xmas gifts for the kids.

How much is it a month per child now? I have 2 children and though I do spend the money usually on things they need, I don't really keep track of how much it is, nor am I waiting on it coming into the account in order to live.

I do know it can be got weekly though, as my sister gets it weekly into her bank account. She used to be a single mum but now she's married she still gets it weekly.

TBH ours almost exactly covers all my life insurance, critical illness and all the other dull payments I make each month in case the worst happens. When I go back to work, I'll put the money into a savings account for the dcs (like my mother did for me), but until then, it helps.

I think its impossible to say whether the cb should be saved or spent on the child or the carer - imo as long as it isn't being squandered, and its helping the family as a whole, who cares?

Moodlum, that's a really nice sum up.

Booster and Begrudgers.

I think the theory is that child benefit and the old age pension are the universal benefits that everyone receives regardless of means

I think the issue of whether it should be taken is an interesting one.

there was a debate recently featuring a single mum living on benefits whilst doing a degree to get a better future for her and her dc

Is it ever okay to live on benefits if you don't have to?

Is it ever okay to draw benefits if you don't need to?

Is the analysis the same for pension benefits as for child benefits?

I mean I could argue that I pay lots for the welfare state and there are two benefits that are universal so I should be entitled to them.

But I'm not sure that's morally correct actually.

AN, if you have felt jumped on previously it's probably because of statments such as

"There are a lot of people who live on benefits becasue they don't want to work. Not because they can't, but because they don't want to"

How many is 'a lot'? And how do you know they don't want to work?

''ours almost exactly covers all my life insurance, critical illness and all the other dull payments I make each month in case the worst happens''

Yet some people cannot afford basic house insurance. Exactly my point.

Quattro speaks a lot of sense

we don't have any insurance at the moment, it's just dawning on me how bloody scary that is.

it disappears into the ether ...

lol LiZS!

Coca, if you or your partner have a work pension or are members of a trades union then you should have some form of life insurance - and doesn't having a mortgage mean you have to take out life insurance??

Which reminds me, we need to make a will.

When DC1 was born I set up an ISA for it to be transferred into - the idea was to put all child benefit in to it and split it between them when they all come of age (didn't know then though how many children we were planning on having). That way DC1 wouldn't benefit more then the others.
Haven't got round to increasing the ISA money since DC2 was born though, the extra we get just goes into household spending.

Now preg with DC3 - maybe when he/she is born I will eventually sort out increasing the amount I put away!

Not rich or skint - in the middle here. The ISA is in my name though, so I suppose if there was some huge emergency we could get hold of it.

Pondering on what youb said Quattro and think you may be right

From a self centred position I don't think CB should be means tested - why? beause I doubt I'd get any {selfish person emoticon}

I had to go back to work full time withj a 10 week old baby as DH was propping up an almost bankrupt family business. I cried and cried at leaving my baby, had what I later realise was PND, almost lost my marriage, and struggled to pay horrific nursary fees. 6 years later, because of what i'd acheived at work, was able to go part time with DC2!! - now DC1 is 11 and DH and I are "comfortably off" - don't get Family tax credit or whatever, didn't get the child trust fund money - in fact the only "help" we have ever had from the government is CB and quite frankly I think I've earned it.
In the early days it paid for general living, then it graduated to paying for Schol holiday coover and now I am lucky enough to be able to save it for the DC's.
DH on the other hand can't beleive we are given something - he keeps thinking we will be asked to give it all back

Sonnet, tell DH to look at his payslip. And then ask him if he still thinks he hasn't given it back?

We aren't members of any unions mercy, and we rent now after a smallish financial disaster a few years ago.

LOL - oh he knows he has!! just not used to being "given" things - usually the giver

Consider this, my friend graduated and a month after leaving university discovered she was pregnant. Her boyfriend of two years left her after she told him. She couldn't claim a penny in benefits and ended up moving into her parents house and living off them. She was entitled to zero as she hadn't paid national insurance before. She met expectant mothers on benefits who were ravng about the grants they could get.
She now runs a fairly successful business and loathes paying her taxes as she knows she wasn't helped when she needed it. That screams of a fucked up system to me.

Outrageous TDWP

She couldn't get a job as she was pregnant, despite the law they do discriminate, she couldn't get jsa as she was pregnant, she even tried for incapacity benefit (as she was bloody incapacitated by the system) but that was refused too.

Ours goes into the children's child trust fund account thingy

Ours goes into DD's account with her Child Trust Fund.

Don't think it should be means tested. The moment you complicate the system it hits those that needs it most, many of the poorest families would fail to access CB if it were not universal.

I think it is fine for everyone to claim. It is every child's right. Those parents that don't need it will be contributing alot more in taxes.

So what was she supposed to do FGS?!

Am glad she fought her way through and now runs a sucessful business!

Direct debit it into my son's child trust fund. Sometimes tempted to spend it on booze and fags, though.