moral dilema, should i borrow off my 5year old?

doodledoodle24

Hi all,
Im in such a dilema, a have a vanquis cc, balance standing at £1300 and paying on average between £46-£50 per month in interest.

My son (5yrs old) has £1500 in his savings account, i am currently repaying vanquis at £100 per month on DD, but obviously only 50 is coming off the actual debt!

Do you think it would be wrong of me to take the cash out of my sons account, pay off the CC and set up the £100 per month back into his account?

His money is not used for anything, i think he is too young to know about it, i was keeping it all to just hand over to him when he hits 18yrs.

I feel so awful for even considering it, but i am paying so much in interest!

Any answers would be helpful.

xx

Crap_with_money.com

Where did your sons money come from? Was it a gift etc or is it money you've saved yourself?

xx

doodledoodle24

its a bit of both, some money from bdays but mostly money i have saved myself.

incher

I wouldn't have a moral problem with it - as you say, your son isn't aware of the money and isn't going to be spending it anytime soon.

But I would definitely set up a s/o to pay back the amount, so that you can't forget!

stephane_2

There is no doubt about it, your saving account is certainly not paying £50 per month in interest, so you are actually worse off by not paying vanquis. Pay the credit card, do you best for not using it or pay the balance monthly to avoid any interest then set up a standing order onto your son saving account and within a few month you'll have his saving more or less back to where it was

Eydon

My own personal feeling on this would be yes - the proviso though is that you have to make sure you pay him back. Don't take this the wrong way, but if you are even remotely uncertain that you'd pay him back, in full and with a bonus, then don't do it.

If you are confident that you will pay him back then I'd borrow the £1300 you need to clear your card. Then use your £100 that would have gone onto your credit card to pay your son back, but pay back £1400 instead of the £1300 you borrow. That way, your debt is paid off, and your son is £100 better off than he would have been if his money had just been left in an interest bearing account.

chattychappy

No, you shouldn't. It is a breach of trust. The money is his and in his account. Your access to it is in your capacity as a parent, to handle that money like a trustee and in his best interests because he is a minor.

On the other hand, if you've been saving money yourself with the intention of giving it to him when he is older, that would be different. It would then be still yours. But it sounds as if we have passed that point. You've given him the money - but now would like to use it for your own purposes.

I also appreciate there is no dishonest intent - hence your care in asking the question. I know you intend to repay it. But that is beside the point. He cannot consent because he is a minor, and you as his parent can't consent on his behalf because you stand to benefit, ie there is a clear conflict of interest, even though there might well be "no harm done" and the family could benefit in the long run.

stebiz

I think you would be doing the right thing. It does make sense. Perhaps even pay in a bit more:)

adouglasmhor

stebiz wrote: »

I think you would be doing the right thing. It does make sense. Perhaps even pay in a bit more:)

this ▲▲▲, but do make a standing order or even a contract witnessed by a friend or CAB worker or something if you can.

aliasojo

No brainer as far as I'm concerned. Don't let foolish emotional kneejerk feelings interfere with good old fashioned common sense.

Use it, pay the card off, close the account and save for whatever you need in future. As long as you pay your son back including the equivilant of the amount he's lost in interest, then it would be stupid not to. Imo.

paulmcerlean

chattychappy wrote: »

No, you shouldn't. It is a breach of trust. The money is his and in his account. Your access to it is in your capacity as a parent, to handle that money like a trustee and in his best interests because he is a minor.

On the other hand, if you've been saving money yourself with the intention of giving it to him when he is older, that would be different. It would then be still yours. But it sounds as if we have passed that point. You've given him the money - but now would like to use it for your own purposes.

I also appreciate there is no dishonest intent - hence your care in asking the question. I know you intend to repay it. But that is beside the point. He cannot consent because he is a minor, and you as his parent can't consent on his behalf because you stand to benefit, ie there is a clear conflict of interest, even though there might well be "no harm done" and the family could benefit in the long run.

Breach of trust my !!!!.

You should use the money to pay off the huge interest card. If you have managed to save the money to give him, you can do it again via a S/O.