Money matters

[Lougle]

DD1 is now 16. She goes to special school and I am her appointee for benefits. Currently, her DLA goes into our general savings account and is used as necessary.

I have just opened her a bank account but because of her vulnerability, it wouldn't be wise for significant funds to be in there. I have put £10 in as a starting fund, with the intention that I can top it up as and when she needs to spend money. She currently doesn't spend money herself - we get everything she needs - but she will need to buy lunches, etc., when she goes to college.

How do you all manage this? She has money in a money box that ideally would go into a bank account but it can't really go into her bank account directly because she might decide that it's a good idea to give her PIN to a friend, or spend it all on slime for friends, etc.

What about a pre-paid debit card (nimbl, go henry type thing) for pocket money and lunches? You can restrict what they spend money on and how much, and it’s easy to stop it and arrange a replacement in case of loss. Then you could look after the main money, but give supervised access to some. I don’t think there is a top age for it as long as you start it before 18. There is a monthly fee, but it might be worth it for the tools and shared access part of it.