Pay into childrens savings - or not 31 January 2014 at 1:55PM in Debt-free wannabe 20 replies 2.2K views

natlie

Hi


I have 3 children 14,8 and 2 every month I pay £40 into their savings (not each this is between them) its a small payment but its something!


I am very skint, I have £14,161 of debt, I struggle through my month - I work 2 jobs - I do over 62 hours work per week between the two jobs.


I feel I should stop paying their savings to help us but at the same time I really feel that I should be doing something to help them in the future - no matter how small the gesture.


I need sensible people to give me advice on this as at present I feel borderline manic and don't think I can come to a sensible conclusion on my own
Thank you
Nat

~Beanie~

I would say not I'm afraid.

I would concentrate on clearing your debt then once that is gone you can start to build up their savings again.

Mojisola

You're paying £40 into their accounts and then paying interest on £40 of debt that you could have paid off?

dotdash79

Think about now with your children, how many hours is that £40 per month costing you that you might be able to spend with them?

Or it will pay off an extra £500 per year of debt.

his_missus

I agree with the others. Taking a few years off from paying into savings for the children won't make a huge difference to them in the long run. Once you're debt free you can restart saving on their behalf and hopefully then you'll be able to put a lot more away than £40 a month between them.

witm8

I found myself in exactly the same situation as you a few months ago. I was (and still am) putting £30 a month into my sons savings. This was gradually building up to a semi-decent amount (£1000'ish).

This was something that I was doing without anyone else knowing - not him, not my Mrs etc. We do have an 'official' savings account for him, that I also pay £25 a month into (and £25 from the Mrs) which he can't get at till he's 18 (or 21 if we so decide), I also know that both sets of grandparent have accounts for him, which are pretty significant.

When things got a little tight, and I knew that I needed to make changes I used the money that I'd accumulated in there to pay off the minimum from my Credit Cards for a good 6 months to give me some breathing space without any money actually leaving my current account.

When money was a bit more tight for me, I made the decision to completely empty his account (the one that I was doing on the quiet) and pay off a debt which I was barely able to cover the interest on, yet alone may any significant dent in.

Yes, I felt incredibly guilty, I mean REALLY terrible for a good couple of weeks afterwards, like that I'd let him down - but in the end I knew that it was for the best. It wasn't as if I'd cleared him out completely as in my scenario no one else knew that this money existed.

I've still got a direct debit from my current account into the ISA (which I was saving for him) which will gradually build up over time.

Is is bad for me to say that I'll probably do exactly the same once there's a decent amount in there and pay of another chunk of my debt.

He can have all my money, and my house, and everything else once I've gone - so he'll be alright.

natlie

Thank you I have gone with the Majority and cancelled the DD's though I still feel awful. I have their money in Junior ISA and CTF accounts so cannot access it - which is probably a good thing - thank you so much for taking time out to reply :-)
Nat

[Deleted User]

Concentrate on paying our debt. you can always pay into a savings plan for them when your finances are in a better position.

katsu

My parents didn't save for us - they met our costs as their kids and when we had problems or were poor in education they helped out as much as they could at the time.

I don't think you should prioritise saving for your children over clearing debt. Your children can get themselves jobs and save when they are old enough.

I always saved part of my earnings/gifts as a child, until I went into full-time education and used the savings all up! :cool:

ViolaLass

I think you need to focus on your kids' present, rather than their future.

theoretica

You are, of course, doing a lot for your kids' future. Education, nutrition, socialisation... a less stressed mum now will be worth more to them in the long run than a few hundred pounds later on.