How can I give him some cash?

debtfighter_3

Hope somebody can help me with this. My son turns 21 this year and I've managed to save a bit of money (only £1,000 but every little helps…) and want to give it to him on his birthday.
I thought I'd be able to buy him Premium Bonds or open an ISA for him but it appears I'm not allowed to do that.
I don't really want to give him the cash as it will probably disappear over the nearest bar. Can anyone give me any ideas ?

tara747

Open an account in your name (but don't touch it) and then give it to him when he needs it e.g. for a house deposit?

atush

Not sure you can open an acct in someone else name that age (can when they are kids).

you could try to buy the premium bonds by filling out the form in his name and getting him to sign it (w/o showing or telling him how much)?

CLAPTON

trust him................

innovate

Keep the money in an account in your name. Give him an IOU - e.g. " I will give you £1,000 once you have saved up £3,000" or some other achievable goal.

Aegis

innovate wrote: »

Keep the money in an account in your name. Give him an IOU - e.g. " I will give you £1,000 once you have saved up £3,000" or some other achievable goal.

This is a simple and elegant solution. Keeping the money in your name means you have absolute control over when and how it is spent, and you always set certain requirements before the money is available.

Mint1955

Both ours were given savings at 21 from their nan who had been putting money away since they were born and they both blew it.

May have only been 1200 but it was loads to her and she was heartbroken that they didn't do something sensible with it.

cloud_dog

debtfighter wrote: »

.... (only £1,000 but every little helps…) and want to give it to him on his birthday.

I don't really want to give him the cash as it will probably disappear over the nearest bar.

Aren't these two statement contradictory?

You want to give it him on his birthday but you don't want him to have it because he will 'expletive' it up a wall (EDIT: enjoy himself).

If you can't trust him / he's not sufficiently mature to manage it then don't give it him BUT, at what point do you think a young male will be sufficiently mature to receive it? He may be 25 with a new girlfriend that you may not be too fond of and worry that he will waste your hard earned money (and I believe you that it has been hard earned) on her.

atush

Mint1955 wrote: »

Both ours were given savings at 21 from their nan who had been putting money away since they were born and they both blew it.

May have only been 1200 but it was loads to her and she was heartbroken that they didn't do something sensible with it.

Gave my 3 sons access to 2K at age 18, and all at uni, 2 made it last 2 years, the other 1.

Then I gave the eldest 3K on graduation at 22, and he hasn't touched it.


Not sure where I went wrong?

tell_it_how_it_is

How about giving him £500? Then decide what to do with the other £500 dependent on that?

stardust09

Well, I'd say don't give it to him for his birthday if you don't trust him with it. Follow your gut instinct and invest it in an account in your own name. I'm sure he'll appreciate it more when he's older and mature than he will now, for example when he's scrimping for a house deposit in his early 30s - and he'll be thanking you for your wisdom of not even letting him know it exists.

And don't waste it on premium bonds. I had some bought for me about 25 years ago and they haven't won a single penny - so haven't grown in size at all. You'd be better investing in the best interest savings account (even if the interest is low) than in premium bonds, in my opinion!

Keep large sums of money away from 21 year olds! Both my sister and I got about £5000 each in our early/mid 20s when our childless great aunt died. As I've always been moneysaving savvy, I used mine to buy a second hand car (which I'm still running) and saved the rest in my ISA in preparation for a house deposit; my sister however just frittered hers away and, aged 35 now, is still living hand-to-mouth with less than £500 in savings despite having had decent jobs over the years.

So, go with your instincts!