Do you have questions on financial planning for your children’s future? £200 voucher to be won

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Created for OneFamily

Please note we are no longer taking questions on this Q&A. You can view Nici's answers here

It can be difficult knowing where to start when planning financially for your children’s future. We’ve invited Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, OneFamily Chief Commercial Officer and expert in child and family savings to answer your questions.

• Everyone who shares a question below by 1 March will be eligible for the prize draw.
• One lucky Mumsnet user will win a £200 voucher from a store of their choice
• Nici will be back online in a couple of weeks to answer a selection of your questions.

About Nici Audhlam-Gardiner

Nici is passionate about empowering families to make money work for them, from driving OneFamily’s volunteering efforts with local educational charities to improve life chances, to making sure OneFamily products are accessible and easily understood by all. As a mother of two teens, Nici has navigated (survived!) the early years of juggling work and child care, putting the right financial foundations in place for her children, and is now knee-deep in negotiating monthly allowances and post-exam incentive schemes!

Here’s what OneFamily has to say

'As a member-owned business, we are interested in helping create a better financial future for Britain’s young people. From providing accessible, easy to understand products to awarding education grants and giving extra support to customers who need it, we are focused on Inspiring Better Futures.'

So whether you’d like to know the best ways to invest for your children, how much they will need when they turn 18, or you’re after advice on how to support them to become financially savvy, post your question on the thread below.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ
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Ooh great topic.

So I’m wondering if I’m better off saving for the children in ISAs in my and my husband’s names rather than ones for my children. We don’t manage to save our own ISA allowance and this would let us keep control of the money. Any pitfalls to consider?

Following with interest defiantely

Where would you recommend saving around £80 per month for a young child?
Bank savings account? ISA? Premium bonds?

If I open a savings account in my child's name, can I later withdraw the money (when they are still young) and put it back in my own account, or does it have to stay in their name forevermore?

How do I help to ensure they can save for a property?

Where would you invest £5k for a 16yo, with a further £5k to follow in the autumn?
Currently has around £9k in an investment CTF, approx £1k in premium bonds and approx £2k in current account although imminently going to spend approx £750 of that.

What advice should I give to a 17yr old and 13yr old who each have around 3k to save/invest? Currently in lrwmium bonds and they never win, so it’s being eroded by 5% inflation.

How can I encourage the kids to be interested in budgeting and saving and what is the right age range to be working on this please?

High outgoings (I'm looking at you childcare) and a lack of savvy mean I haven't started saving for my 3 DC but feel overwhelmed by all the information out there.
What is your number one tip for anyone wanting to start saving for their children's future?

I have 2 savings accounts for my DC. No idea if they're getting the best deal though. Is it ok to leave the savings accounts as they are or should I be shopping around every year for the best returns?

If I have a large amount in a bank account, and my child does too, how would we be impacted if the bank goes bust?

I know that £ is protected by the government up to £80k, but is that per person, or would my child's investment be counted in my pot too?

Not that we have £80k by any stretch, but we are about to receive an inheritance and considering putting a chunk in DD's name.

Is it possible to have multiple saving accounts for children with the same bank? (My parents regularly pay into a savings account each for the kids, but I would like the children to have their own accounts they can add and withdraw money from as they want.)

With interest rates so low, how much of an increase would make it worthwhile switching accounts?

How do Premium Bonds compare in performance against other child savings accounts at the moment.

What would be the best thing to do with an annual gift from grandparents (£500-750), where there’s an element of protection eg if the child is “off the rails” at 18, it can be withheld to 21/25?

Brilliant topic thanks for this.

We would like to save for our kids so they have the option to go to university debt free. Savings currently are in premium bonds and savings accounts but the growth is minimal.

What are the best options for investments of 5 plus years and are they available without having to talk to a financial advisor and pay fees etc.?

Would you pay for a private education or invest the money?

How much is needed for university these days (in case they go) please? mine are older primary/early secondary age now.

I want to start an account or investment for my 6 month old baby that she can use later in life. What is the best way to go about this?

How to explain if there is huge devides in wealth around you,and how to be aware and compassionate about that. Especially when those arpund are getting bought endless material possession and some families juat cannot afford the bare minimum.

If you put money in a child's account can you take it back before they are 18, to move to a different account for example?

I want to start putting £10 a month into saving for my 8 year old, plus a lump sum to cover all the monthly £10s they've missed since birth.

I am fairly risk averse when it comes to finance. What options are there apart from a junior ISA and what potential problems do I need to look out for?

Where can my dd move her soon to be available child tax fund? How does she access it?

What the best way to help children save for they are 21 or 25?
What can the government do to help those who can’t save? Eg a account similar to help to save for lower incomes with more money provided by the government than by parents?

If a child holds money in a savings account, is this means-tested when they apply to Social Work England for a maintenance loan or is it just parents' finances that are