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

Gingham_Ribbon

We have trust funds for our little ones into which goes any money that people give them as presents and when they're older they will be expected to save some of their pocket money into it. We also contribute a small amount each month into them.

But the bulk of their savings are in my name so that we can decide when they're responsible enough to have them.

pandora205

I couldn't afford trust funds for mine but I have recently made a will leaving everything to the three children (currently 14, 16 and 19) and decided after reflection to make that at age 25. This would be a significant amount and I'd rather they studied/developed careers first.*

A colleague's teenagers are each due to inherit £200k at 18 (as their mother died a couple of years ago). This is an enormous amount - I'll be interesting to see how they spend it.

*Of course I am hoping the inheritance at 25 will be irrelevant as I'm planning to lead a long healthy life and join the SKI club (in every sense) once I retire!!

tattoed_bum

would it be possible to split the fund ,when i was younger i had one when i was 18 £2000. then again part of it when i was 21 and the rest at 25

i blew the first lot ,learned to drive and bought a car with the second lot ,used the last to pay off credit cards and college debts .

it made sense to me to pay off my cards and debts then cut them up .
only debt i have now is my mortgage ,

i think i may have got a bit wiser as i got older ( my parents might not agree lol)
but if i could do the same for my son i would .

but i also think everyone should be allowed to be a little frivolous when younger ,hence blowing the first £2000

r.mac_2

my parents had a fund for me set up when I was born - the same idea as CTF I suppose. thing is they didn't tell me about it. when I graduated from university aged 21 I had saved up to go travelling before my job started. When I went to book my flights etc my mum and dad used the money in the fund telling me it was a present for all my hard work at uni. They felt it was a trip of a lifetime and a suitable way to spent the money. they also recognised that my saving for the trip meant I was savvy enought with money by that point!!!

by doing it this way they saw that the money was well spent and they had input into what it was spent on.

vixarooni

When my nan died she left with me with some Money. My intention was for it to be spent on travelling, and while it has funded a holiday the rest got spent on rubbish while i was between jobs and that was the only money i had access to at the time. I regret it now because im 21 and lookign back i should have left it alone but the difference between 18-21 is huge. I still have £100 of it left which i will put towards a deposit for a house but it has taught me a lesson i suppose!

I think its better to wait. At 18 your life revolves around clothes, going out to parties and little else. Waiting untill 21 or 25 means you have different priorities in life, finishing uni, getting a home, getting a career ect where that money would be far more respected i feel.

onlyroz

I've set up the basic £250 fund for my boy but I'm not adding anything else to it. If you want to save money for a specific purpose (e.g. university fees) then you're best off using another investment vehicle, because with the CTF the money becomes the childs at 18 and there's *nothing* you can do if they want to blow it on holidays or booze etc.

What someone suggested on the Motley Fool was to start investing in a pension for the child - which they won't be able to get until they're at least 50. Might be a bit extreme, but it's still tax-free savings, and it might encourage them to think long-term when the time comes.

r.mac_2

onlyroz wrote: »

I've set up the basic £250 fund for my boy but I'm not adding anything else to it. If you want to save money for a specific purpose (e.g. university fees) then you're best off using another investment vehicle, because with the CTF the money becomes the childs at 18 and there's *nothing* you can do if they want to blow it on holidays or booze etc..

Very good point onlyroz - and one I hadn't considered.

cazziebo

My daughter just got hers at 18 - not a phenomenal amount only around £3k. This has helped towards her university fund and she is now spending the summer on Camp America. If she didn't have the windfall then she would probably have had to work at a job where she earned more to help her get through next year. She is having a fantastic time as a riding instructor with disabled kids so I think well worth it.

Difficult to say what age it's best to get this kind of sum. guess it's a risk whatever age...

Spendless

I don't add anything to my daughter's not a bean, not from us or anyone else. We have a seperate account for her in a parent's name, so does my son who was born before the CTF came in.

If she's totally responsible at 18 she'll access both accounts. If she isn't then the only one she can access is her CTF that will have the money she recieved at birth and when she's 7.

ameliarate

Can't argue with any of the replies. my daughter is nearly 20 and extremely sensible with money.
I do thinks children are very different, sometimes regardless of how you teach them, I taught mine to save from a very early age. I think I would go with the account that is separate to the CTF so you can have a bit more control and see how they are with money by the time they are about 16.