Where do I put long term savings?

S.Hackett

Hi,

I have one child, 8 years old and her aspiration in life is to become a doctor. Given the recent rise in tuition fees I am now really worried that I won't be able to help finance her dream.
She has a Nationwide child savings account that I put money into as and when - I'm self employed and my income varies a lot - I try to save as often as I can, putting money away on the good months. That savings account has £4500 in it.

She also has the equity stakeholder trust fund with Legal and General. She got the initial £250 & the further £250 age 7, I topped it up with a further £1200 in the first year and pretty much forgot about it. The last statement said it was worth just over £1000. Although I know it's a long term investment I am reluctant to put more into it given how badly it has done recently. Or am I looking at it the wrong way around? Is now a good time to invest in it?

I am looking for somewhere I can invest the money in her savings account and lock it away for at least 10 years.

Do I put more money into the trust fund or would I be better off finding a long term bond where I can put the lump £4500 in. But if I do that would I need to put the savings I amass here and there into a different account, or her trust fund?

The regular saver is hard for me as my income is not fixed so I really want a bond (I think!) But I am just not sure.

I know she will receive the trust fund age 18, so ideally I'd like to keep the other savings a secret until she's older. So any advice on what to do and where to invest would be much appreciated.

Thank you