Baby account

[sthau]

Hey wasn't sure really where to post this!

I am looking to set up an account to put money in for my baby (she is only 4 months) but people have been giving us money & when Christmas & her birthday come (even her christening) I was looking at putting it into an account for her when she is old enough to have it herself & start her up in life a bit!

What is the best account or shall I just get a safe & put it in there?

Speak to your bank. They should be able to set up a child account linked to your account. That's what we did.

How about a Junior ISA?

I'm with NatWest. We have an account for each of our children, no minimum age. I set up online without having to go into the bank, you will need ID for the child so birth certificate or passport I believe.

The accounts appear on my online banking as "my name, in trust for childs name" so you can transfer into their account from yours.

A Junior Isa is probably the best option. www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/junior-isa/

We struggled to find one that we could open from birth and more recently when I have found a suitable account the rates we can get are worse than we can get so for the time being I have an account in my name that I'm using for my daughters money. Each time the rate changes I review the childrens account available. She's 4 and there has been a huge growth in accounts over this time and I'm hopeful that there will be something more competitive soon!

Check on moneysavingexpert website. Last year we found a children’s savings account was better than an ISA. Open which ever account is best for now and every year see if you need to move it to a better account.

We bought premium bonds for DS as his grandparents bought him some so I decided to just do the same with other xmas/birthday money. On average they are not the best in terms of return but he won £100 last month which was great (£1500 invested).

Best junior isa rate at the moment is 4.95% but you can get 5.8% in the highest interest rate children’s account.

Recommend a junior stocks and shares isa if you are looking to save for your child over a long period.

Hargreaves lansdown have lots of information about this online and you can choose an isa and a fund to invest in on their website.

I think some/ all? may require a regular monthly payment to be made -we do this via direct debit.

Returns usually much better than the 4% or so you get on a cash Isa.
The amount we invested for DS has tripled in value.

Most banks do accounts you can open for dc.
Look on Moneysavingexpert for the current best rates, but do check every year or so to make sure they are still the best, as things change.

We set up an ISA for my son with Tesco and he can't touch it til he's 18. Big savings go in there. More recently, I set up a first saver account on NatWest because I bank with them. I did it all online. It's super easy and we can withdraw from that one so he can spend it when he wants.