Parents of 18 year olds...can I pick your brains please

lady_stardust

We are setting up a child trust fund for our dd due in September. With the CTF, they can access the money when they turn 18 and it is theirs to do as they please with.

What I want to know is....would you let your 18 year old loose with a large sum of money?

My parents set up a savings account for me when I was born and when I could access it at 21 I used the money to learn to drive and also go travelling for a few months. I have always been good with money and knew I wouldn't get many windfalls like that in life, so I wanted to buy important things with it (I hope you can understand the difference between going travelling and going on a girl's trip to Ibiza!). I would like to give my daughter the same responsibility for her decision - but I hope I won't regret it!

Sharra

I know a couple of guys who recived large sums of money when they were 18 - it got blown on beer and parties.
You don't say whether its a boy or girl but I would def wait till 21 - especially if its a boy - maybe even 25?

mary43

I would say 21.............unless there's a way you can specify what its to be spent on, i.e. help with university, travelling , car/driving lessons, deposite on flat (depending on how much money you're thinking of)
At 18 young people can still be quite wasteful and those extra few years make a lot of difference to their growing up

lady_stardust

shame the CTF isn't held back until they're 21 by the sounds of it!

aliasojo

Most 18 year olds are more concerned with the here and now and whatever they want at the present time will be the most important thing ever to them.

Even if they do something relatively sensible like buy a car, most of them will buy something for it's looks rather than it's reliability or value for money.

Let her fritter away her own money if she wants to and keep the 'safety net' money until she's 21 or 25 depending on how sensible she is then.



Edit: I should add that I blew 3 grand at age 18/19 and a further twelve and a half at age 24. My son is 19 now and is working and sees no reason to save for the future at the moment as he is only young once and he wants to enjoy himself whilst he can. (His words not mine). He's an apprentice and figures he will be on decent money when he's fully qualified and will save then, get a mortgage etc. The thought that perhaps he will not always be in work isn't even worth considering in his eyes....although it is in mine. The young are obviously invincible.

I've reconsidered....dont let her have it until she's 30. :rotfl:

BillScarab

We set up funds for our children when they were born (pre CTF) and set them up to finish when they are 21 as them if they go to University it will give them a head start when they finish. I'd hate to give a child a largish sum of money at 18. I was pretty sensible when I was that age but I'm fairly sure I would have spent it on an unsuiatble car.

mooma_2

To be honest, you can't really predict how your child will turn out when they are 18. You have just got to hope they will be sensible with the money.

From my experience - I inherited £20,000 when i was 19. All it was spent on was going on a few holidays and buying a fantastic new computer, loads of clothes and going out clubbing & drinking, etc. I did give some to family members too though.

Obviously now @ 23 i regret spending it like that as I still can't drive (to think i could have learnt AND got a car!), and I do think i wasted it - But i did have a load of fun in the process!

I was and still am actually a sensible person, but when you have all that money in one go it's amazing if you aren't used to it. I think i spent it the way i did as I was bought up with hardly any money (one of 3 kids, with a single mum on benefits) and never really got to to anything or go anywhere. My mum has always been great with money and taught us to look after money and be sensible.
But like i said - when faced with a lot of money people can behave differently to what you expect.

Even though i wasted all that money i got, i still opened a CTF for my daughter and i'll teach her to be good with money and just hope she doesn't waste it all!

ukjoel

Good question,
We are not putting very much into our daughters CTF for this reason.
All cash gifts she gets go in there but our concern is if we max it and there is 20k plus in by the time she is 18 it could just go.

I dont mind her spending a few grand on travelling the world or a car but the concern for me is easy come easy go and if as an 18 year old I just got 20k I would be the same.

Think the govt got it wrong by putting in age 18.

AJ1982

There was a similar post on this a while ago, it was focussed on encouraging the children to be more carefull with monies and learning responsibility.

I had a similar fund from my Grand Pops, couple of k's but my dad fought for me to get it as 18, as opposed to 21 (All pre my being born/able to communicate). 18 is a reasonable figure.

katym79

i've opened a CTF for my DD whos 10 months. However, i'm only saving £10 a month in it, plus the voucher. This way she will have a little money at 18 that she can do what she pleases with. I am opening another account in my name to save for her, hopefully i can assess when shes of age, whether she can have the money or not - uni or travelling, car or deposit on house. There is no way i'm putting all the money in her name, that i have to work for for the next 18 years, so she can spend it all on clubbing!

Alikay

It depends on the child. My 2 eldest are 17.5 and nearly 20. They haven't been given any money, so they've had to save birthday money or earn it. DD has got 4K saved from working and now she's at uni she saves from her bursary (£6K as a student nurse)...mind you she's all loved up so she and BF want to get their own place, which is an incentive! DS1 kind of "speculates to accumulate". He has his own sports equipment business so DH and I gave him a loan (he can't get Princes Trust loan til he's 18). All his money goes into more equipment to sell, plus his other costs...He keeps just about enough to pay for his sports, couple of cheap nights out a month and haircuts.

We do have some savings which was ear-marked to help with uni costs, but haven't offered it so far as they haven't needed it. It IS for them, and they WILL get it, we just don't see the point of giving before its needed in case it stifles their drive,

DH's parents gave him the proceeds of an endowment policy when he left school....he spent it on a drum kit. No, his name isn't Phil Collins, and it was swopped for an air rifle when he realised the extent of his musical talents :rotfl: