Children's money

squishy_2

I've just had a baby and some people have sent her a cheque in her name - I don't know what to do with it for the best! I guess I should open a regular saver in her name and see what I can afford to put in each month, and can see which the good ones are from the main forum, but are there any decent freebies with any particular accounts?!

ihatepasswords

Put it into a Child Trust Fund maybe?

You should get a cheque from the government soon for £250 to invest for your daughter, you can top this up with additional payments.

The only drawback is the money will be hers when she's 16 (or is it 18?) when she might not be sensible enough to use it wisely..........

heppy23

Congratulations on the baby! Shop around and stick it in a decent instant access account FOR NOW. You will probably get more money now, more at Christmas, more if you get the baby christened etc.

Once you know how much you have got then you can decide what to do with it.

heppy23

Just re-read your post, I'd avoid committing to a regular saver until you know how much spare money you have - babies can be expensive!!

Also - accounts with the best freebies may not be the best accounts to put your money. You have to be hard nosed and look at the interest rate.

GeorginaAlexi

Ive opened accounts for my two girls with Chelsea childrens saving account but you're not tied to regular amounts of paying in, very good interest rate and any cheques or birthday money they get goes into it. I also pay a % of their child benefit into the account so that if they see something they want or they need an unexpected pair of shoes the money is there. They have their CTF with Nationwide and I DD a small amount £10/month in there. That way I dont confuse their money for my money, also they dont need to know about the Chelsea account if I dont want them to and I can keep using it to put some pennies away for when they want something bigger ie, car.
hth

AndyR_3

Remember, folks, to fill in the R85 form when you open an account for your kids. This means they won't be charged tax on their interest.