Advice on which savings account to open

lunar

Im sorry if this has been answered to death on here I have been reading round for a few weeks to try make a decision on what type of savings account to open for my son (who is due next week). As you can see from my sig im pretty new to the concept of savings. I want to bring him up to understand the importance of living within his means and dont want him to fall into my old ways with spending and getting into debt.

I plan to put all his child benifit into an account and top it up to £100 per month, as i believe that is what you can save tax free per year.

I dont want to put the money into an account that is high risk, i know he wont get as much interest if its a deposit account but i would be too nervous to put it into an account where there is a chance he could loose money.

I also wanted to ask if all childrens accounts give them direct resopnsibility at 18? The reason i am saving the money is to provide for his future so he has it for uni or a house deposit. i remember myself at that age and imagine i could have wasted that amount quite eaily. I do hope to teach him the value of saving but i guess i would like some kind of safety net in place.

Some of the posts and articles i have read on the subject have gone way over my head and i feel completly confused over the subject now after everything i have read. Any simple advice on the topic would be greatfuly recieved. I really just want someone to tell me in basic terms the options that would best suit the things i have highlighted above.

Thanks in advance for any help.

lunar

have i asked this in the right place?

bootman

lunar I have saved mine from day 1 also. I have it paid directly into a Nationwide childs savings account which I operate. You can switch it to their name alone when they are a little older or keep it in your name, which is what i have done.

I few years back I also opened another child account but in my sons name this time, I can't remember what it is off the top of my head but it is called a ladybird account. The rate was a bit higher than nationwide when i did it. The child can hold the account in their own right, but as money is only going in at the moment it does not really matter that it's his name as i wont tell hom about it till at this rate he is 21. He is 11 and money burns a hole in his pocket!!

Every now and again I draw most of the money out of the Nationwide and send it to the other one.

The ladybird one has a ceiling of 10k in total though.

Reaper

lunar - for starters have a read of this article which has some suggestions for you.

lunar

Thanks bootman, talk about being dense about these things. i was thinking that the account would have to stay in the same place until he was 18 as it is his accounti thoughti wouldnt be able to do anything with it. It also never occured to me that i dont have to tell him about it until he is older ill definatly be using that tip.

Reaper thanks for the link, i think i did read that a while ago but it was the first thing i read and it didnt make much sense to me. I have had a re-read last night and it doesntsoundsomuchlikea foregin language.

I guess now i just need to wait till he is born and look at the best offers for deposit accounts when i open it. I definatly am not brave enough to look at the stocks and shares options right now. Saying that i dont think i would have been brave enough or bright enough to get it prior to todays problems!