NOW CLOSED: Are you saving for your retirement or your child’s first home deposit? Discuss this topic with Barclays - £150 up for grabs

[AnnMumsnet]

Hello  you may have seen that this week Barclays have a big campaign to get people talking about home buying and money topics.

On Monday they asked "When are you too old to ask your parents for help?" and on Tuesday discussion focussed on whether (or not) "A home is still a home if you don't own it".

Finally Barclays are asking: "Are you saving for your retirement or your child's first home deposit"?

They say "We want to know what Mumsnetters think about home buying and money dilemmas - this time we want you to think about the future with your children. Our third question relates to savings and you and your family's future and the question is - if you're lucky enough to be making any savings these days (or plan to make savings) - "Are you saving for your retirement or your child's first home deposit?""

Please share your thoughts on this thread - there are no right or wrong answers and (as we've seen) - the question will mean different things to different MNers.

Add your thoughts and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one winner will get a £150 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks for all your comments on the topics this week  do continue to add your thoughts and we'll do the draw for all three threads on Tuesday.

Thanks MNHQ

PS Please note your comments  along with your MN name may be used on the Barclays pages on Mumsnet and elsewhere

[scripsi]

We have some pension provision but no savings to speak of apart from a rainy day fund. We would like to save for university fees/first home but that will have to wait.

[WowOoo]

Yes, we are trying to.
When we have a extra left over it goes into an account for them.
I'm glad I did when I was working full time because my hours were cut and there isn't much leftover from my salary.

I think Dh does a direct debit into an account for them. Not sure how much it is, but I know he changed it to paying in less per month.

[icepop9000]

@Boggler if you write something like DH earns 60K and you use child Benefit for higher education then you are really leaving yourself open for negative comments. For many people that seems an awful lot of money to earn earn. As for only be able to save for annual holidays and christmas many people dont have them. If you can afford to save for them then yes,I dont think you deserve child Benefit. For some people CB is spent on essentials suh as food and clothes for their children.
You probably didnt mean to sound it but you have come over as sounding very patronising.

[moonbells]

Are you saving for your retirement or your child's first home deposit?

We just try and save. What we use it all for depends on what is needed. Yes we're both saving into pensions, but they have crap returns and we have no idea if the lump sum is going to be abolished before we get to take them, so can't even rely on having those to pay off the mortgage.

I'd say we're saving more to be able to help DS through uni, as it looks these days as if the only way he'll be able to go is if he doesn't have a mahoosive debt hanging over him afterwards.

If Barclays want to know what to best do for their customers, or to win some from other banks, PAY SOME DECENT INTEREST ON SAVINGS!

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

Saving for emergencies at the moment as that is all we can manage. I have a pension, DH has a pension, the kids are on their own when it comes to buying their first homes, sorry kids.

[CuppaEggnogAndAMincePie]

I put a set amount of money in to my DD's trust fund each month, my parents put cash in to it reasonably regularly as well.

[Adviceinscotland]

This worries me so much

My parents have saved a small amount per month since dc were born and now they are reaching retirement we are taking over the small monthly payments.

I'm hoping elder dd's will "pool" their money and put down a deposit on a small flat, even if they stay with me while renting it out I would be happy.

Dh and I are trying to save for our deposit to buy our own home one day but dc will prob get there before us!!

[GeraldineH]

"Are you saving for your retirement or your child's first home deposit?""

We are saving money every month and make sacrifices so that we can put a little bit away every month. We have a holiday account and an account that is simply the 'future' account, we don't quite know what it will be for.
We anticipate it will either be for university fees for the children or to help them with a deposit for their first houses. If when we get older we realise we need the money because our pensions don't provide enough then we will have to keep it to live off but the intention is to give our children some help to get started.
We have chosen not to put the money into the children's names or into a trust fund for them because we want to keep control of the money. Whilst we have the intention of it being for them, if our circumstances change we would spend it now to keep us afloat, if we put it into their trust funds we wouldn't be able it access it if the family needed it.
So its basically an emergency pot of money that we will use if an emergency arises and if we get through the next 20 years with no dire emergencies then the money is can be for their education/homes.

[Tyranasaurus]

too broke to be saving atm. will be saving for kids future- money for uni etc not for house deposit. when did it become standard for parents to provide deposits?

[Offred]

Icepop - why is boggler leaving herself open to negative comments? People earning £60k are expected to financially support their children through uni where other people on lower wages are not so surely to a family who don't get any financial support it is pretty essential to be prepared for children who may want to go to uni. If you don't save your children may not be able to go.

[gilmoregirl]

Are you saving for your retirement or your child's first home deposit?""

I am a single parent and save as much as I can each month. I am in a final salary pension through my employer so I would be foolish not to take advantage of it. I have always made the contribution so I don't really see that as "my" money - it is just taken off my pay like tax and childcare vouchers.

When DS was born I set up a savings account for him which I pay in to every month, again I treat this as not being "my" money as it comes off my account on payday by direct debit. This money I am saving is not earmarked as for a flat deposit or for university - I just want to save so that I have some money to help DS when he starts out in life, whatever he wants to do (as this was not something my parents did for me).

I do not earn a big salary am I very careful with money and live frugally, I choose to prioritise saving. Family and friends can be critical of my choices and are forever telling me I should go on holiday instead of saving and sometimes I think I am too careful with money.

[DeckTheHallsWithBoughsOfJolly]

We both make pension contributions. We also put a little into a saving account for Ds every month. This is more likely for uni than for buying him a house.

We try to build up wee nest eggs every so often. The most recent small pile of extra cash is getting paid as an over payment on the mortgage.

[Hopezibah]

We used to be a lot better with saving but then remortgaged for a building project last year and raided all the savings and even the kids savings to do it. I figure that they may as well benefit from having the space now while they are young rather than the money sit in savings hardly earning any interest. Would like to save a bit for their future education. Haven't thought about our own future when we are old. then again my mum died before she got old so you never know how long you've got. Need to get the balance right to save enough for a rainy day and a bit for the future but still have no regrets in life if something was to happen.

[KvetnutsRoastingOnAnOpenFire]

DH is of the opinion that we are saving to pay off the mortgage first of all (can't overpay in the first few years by much), then we can save for retirement. We are unlikely to save for our children to buy a house, unless we miraculously come into some money before they leave home - but then, neither of us was given money from parents towards a house, because our parents couldn't afford it either.

[CrackedNipplesSuchFun]

Savings?? I really wish we were in a position to save both for retirement and for my DS (not just a deposit but for help through uni, should he wish to go). The fact we can't, and can't foresee that we ever will, scares me so much. I have sleepiness nights intact.

We go very much for the grit our teeth and hope for the best. (Not the best approach I grant you and very much not going to be our advice to our DS as he gets older hypocritical I know

[OptiMumPrime]

I am putting £150 of John Lewis vouchers aside for my DC!

[OptiMumPrime]

Hopefully a bit of both. DS is only young, so we have a bit of time before university and home-buying. I would like to help my DC with a deposit for a home, it will only be harder for them in 20 years time, and I hate rent, it's just money down the drain, so if we have the money, yes, we'll help. We haven't got much to put by at the moment, DH does have a pension, but I think we should be a bit more comfortable in a few years (currently living in a high-rent area for work, but won't be here for more than a couple of years, then moving somewhere much cheaper).

[whattodoo]

I've contributed to employers' pension plans since 18, it'll probably be a piddly amount by the time I want to retire.
We save a tiny amount for DD - uni fees, house deposit, car ie whatever we feel appropriate when the time comes.
Our main priority is to overpay the mortgage at the moment.

[EldonAve]

I'm saving for a home for myself first

[LiveItUp]

Savings? They're surely having a laugh? We're the generation that won't be able to retire aren't we? (mid-40's incase you're wondering). No matter how hard you work, the tax-man's there to take another swipe into it, and the banks don't exactly offer enough to encourage you to even try and save.

No, we muster enough to give the kids what we hope is a good education now. There'll always be a roof over their heads on offer, but we won't be buying them their own houses.

[chrisrobin]

Not enough money coming in to save for anything at the moment. If we have an extra money, like tax rebates, we put it in an ISA but this then gets used on car repairs/unexpected bills so the children will never see it. We encourage them to save at least half of the money they get for birthdays and christmas and DS1 has said he wants to save up for a house (he is only 6, bless him) but he does spend bits here and there on toys.
We need to do something about it as we will have to save for University fees and would like to help them with first car/ house costs, but until I go back to work or we win the lottery its just not practical.

[Wallison]

^PAY SOME DECENT INTEREST ON SAVINGS!

Absolutely. Savers are getting hammered by banks these days. It's only quite recently that my son's CTF has started to generate any kind of return - for years there was less there than I'd put into it! Even ISAs offer piddly amounts. Hardly an incentive, is it, when you've got things in the house that need sorting.