Let's talk saving and investments for your children with Columbia Threadneedle Investments - you could win £300 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We have been asked by the team at Columbia Threadneedle Investments to find out your views and experience on saving and investing on behalf of your children.

They say "At Columbia Threadneedle Investments, our priority is the investment success of our customers. As a firm trusted with managing our customers' money, we understand that investors have different goals and aspirations and only by truly understanding these can we deliver a great service to you and your family.

With a busy family life we understand that saving and investing may not be top of your list of things to do. Whether you currently invest or not, we would like to find out your views and experiences of saving and investing on behalf of your children".

So please share on this thread your views and experience of investing for your children: is this something you do, if so what sort of savings and investments do you make? Is this something other members of your family do for your children? If you don't save or invest at present, do you think this is something you'd consider in the future?

Add your comment to this thread, and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

thanks and good luck
NB: a JISA (Junior Individual Savings Account) is a tax-efficient way of saving for children - you don’t pay tax on the interest you earn or any capital gains you make. The money is the child’s to spend as they will when they turn 18 (it can’t be accessed before then). JISAs were introduced in 2011 to replace Child Trust Funds (CTFs)

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

My parents have put money into an ISA and I try and contribute when I can.

I have a savings account that I put a small amount into each month and any birthday or Xmas money goes into- the kids can ask for money from this at any time but they also know the longer they leave it the more money they have for a big thing such as spending money for holidays etc. as they get older I will talk to them about saving for when they leave school and uni fees and everything else but at moment teaching them about money in general

I've always taught my children to save. They have their own bank accounts and birthday and Xmas money go in there

We have saved as much as we can afford in a savings account for them as soon as they were born, then told them about the total when they were 18. Both of them have decided to continue with the savings and are both sensible

All Child benefit spread between different companies and premium bonds, hoping for about £20,000+ for uni costs and for a car

We try and save for our children. I hate the thought of them starting their working life already owing money. What chance do they have of amassing enough to make deposit on a house without any help from us?
When we down size we will use the equity to give our son something towards a home of his own.

I'm saving with Asda Child Trust Fund for my two daughters. Just £10 each per month. They also have a post office savings account that their grandparent opended for them

Start early, start small (a building society savings account), and let them take over when they can.

I have set up standing orders for my boys savings accounts and put a certain amount in each month.

Started saving for the children when they were babies (now in their twenties). Glad we did as sums add-up, even with the downturn in the stock exchange. Would recommend investing in a Unit Trust or OEIC. Should give much better returns over the long term than any building society account - even with 2 or 3 recessions over the 20 year period. Best thing to do for long term savings is DON'T PANIC but keep going - they will recover over time.

A childrens trust fund

I save a regular amount in a savings account.

Premium bonds every birthday is our way

I think a few pounds a month and starting as early as possible is the way to go.

I live week tobwerk and pay day to pay day so not currently have the luxury of saving but they don't gobwithout. Hopefully when they are older I will look to put away when they start needing more expensive things

Children need to learn about the value of money and appreciate the importance of a work ethic. Invest wast you can and take advantage of any tax breaks, but don't just hand money over without getting something in return.

I would love to be able to save a little for my children x

We invested Christmas and Birthday money in Children's Bonds. It was lovely for our daughter to be able to use this money to buy her first car. More importantly, it's taught her how to manage money efficiently.

we have childrens bonus bonds and save alittle each week in the bank for when they get older.

Have put money in a variety of investments inc. premium bonds, ISA & savings accounts... however in the current climate they are not being increased by much.

I don't have any savings invested because i'm not exactly earning a comfortable monthly wage, however my mum does have a savings account for my daughter. If I got my debts sorted and got a better paying job, I would definitely consider doing it

i opened one of those ISA savings things for our son, but what really irritates me with saving for children is that you have to move accounts on a yearly basis to get a good savings rate! Then you ask yourself is it worth doing, we are not talking about a huge amount of money. We try to save regularly but its not always possible, and i wish we were able to save more for our son, as it seems young people start their lives in debt if they want to carry on studying! I feel our young people have a raw deal!

We save for our children, I would love be able to get them to go to university or get them a deposit for a house. I don't want them struggling like I did!!

We put in a little each month to a savings account for the little one. the interest rate is quite good. hope to save enough to make it worthwhile one day

Tricky one this! I say put in a bank/building society JISA and don't take risks; OH says as it's for the longer term, invest in a unit trust as it will outperform. The jury is still out in our household!