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

[aftereight]

No savings at the moment, any left over money is going towards the huge mortgage.
If I did have spare, I would probably be saving for university for my children, I have no intention of handing them money for a house deposit!

[BabysPointlessPocket]

We aren't saving for either at the moment. Haven't even got pensions! But we have got plans. We are buying our house, have got 20 years term on mortgage, but when dc2 goes to school. I will start ft work, instead of pt at the moment. Then we will increase our mortgage payments and reduce term so hopefully we can pay it off by the time we are 40-45. We will then both work ft, and save as much as we can for retirement, then, 60-65, sell our house, by a log cabin, split the left overs with dc1 and dc2. And retire using our savings.

[BabysPointlessPocket]

• oops buy a log cabin

[whatagreatname]

Neither really at the moment, have plans to save for college/uni for both of them when we can afford to.

[ClothNappyQuestion]

We are saving for our own first house deposit! We are putting a little money away for the kids and they can spend that on university or a house deposit when they are older. That's the plan anyway. I pay into a pension plan for my retirement and if we are able to buy a home then that will have to count as savings for our retirement.

[racingheart]

Truly? No. I wish I were but there seems to be so much we need and want to spend the cash on from day to day. I want our children to have a good life now, and not be constantly scrimping for some future date. But we are thinking ahead, and know that we can downsize to fund deposits on their first homes.

We are extremely fortunate in having generous relatives who have set up university funds for our children, so they won't be in debt. If those weren't in place, I suspect we'd still live without saving but sell up and downsize the moment the children needed money for university.

I keep intending to start a savings plan - just short term, for five years, to pay for an almighty once in a lifetime holiday. But somehow the constant outflow of money makes me nervous. I am never in debt and would always prefer to have cash in the current account at the end of the month than savings and an accidental overdraft.

[AnnMumsnet]

Thanks for all the comments ComradeJing wins the £150 John Lewis voucher for this one.

[ComradeJing]

Yay! Thank you so much MNHQ and Barclays!