Should I continue to save for kids?

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Hi,


I've been looking at my finances and think my children have ALOT from me (money wise), so I'm not sure whether to carry on saving for them. In reality - I can afford to put money away for them.


DD1 gets £159 which is made up of savings into her bank and various activities she does (horse riding, brownies, swimming) as well as pocket money


DD2 - £101 which is made up of savings into her bank and various activities she does (horse riding, swimming)


When DD2 is old enough (she will also start brownies and have pocket money)


in comparison:


Me:
£30.00 a month for a night out
£50.00 into a savings account
£50.00 into a pension


Would you still put money away for the children, even though they do a lot of activities?


I feel horrible/guilty for even contemplating that I shouldn't save for them.

HappyMJ

Not at all. I wouldn't save anything for them. That's up to them to save for themselves. If they choose to spend every penny on meaningful activities then that's their problem. I don't have any more. As I've said many time on this forum I give them the child benefit and they choose what they do with it. If that isn't enough then that's too bad. £20 a week is quite a lot of money when all your other expenses are paid for. Unemployed people don't get £20 a week disposable income.

So I think £159 a month is a fair amount to give to them to spend as they wish...as long as you can afford it. There's no need for more.

mrssjs

I have a £50 s/o to each of my DDs, but they also do clubs which total about £150 between them, however I don't class that the same as physical savings, so will continue their s/orders and add to physical savings with birthday/Christmas/feeling generous monies

SoSilver9

I have just one daughter and from the child money one gets each quarter in EU countries I always saved for her 4 x 45 used to be in the old money and when euro came in in euro. It is a savings pot she can use when she gets to be 18 she recently turned 16.
The rest of this quarterly money is for clothes, shoes, extra school supplies, hobby, some extra fun things she might want etc
She likes non-brand clothes has a style of her own and has an allowance too ,to spend on things she buys herself like make-up or music or a game etc.
She is very good with money and plans what she spends on. A serious kid.
My partner her dad, he has a study savings plan for her separate from this.
I spend very little on myself as I am home. Pension is for me a non-issue I am too ill to ever reach pension age.

Kendall80

We save roughly 100 to 150 a month into MrsK's S&S ISA for when the boys hit 18. Depending on how they turn out we might give it to them... or we might just have a nice holiday


They'll also have a nice birthday present in their own JISAs, roughly 4-5k.


However, in answer to your question i'd prioritise the family finances here and now. Secondly, i'd calculate how much I needed for my savings / retirement planning. Then, if there was any spare capacity I'd tuck away a little for them.


Yours do seem to be getting quite a bit per month 'from my perspective' but we are all in different situations so its difficult to say if they're getting too much or too little.

missile

You love them and that is more important than giving them things. Even good kids can be terribly manipulative - don't let them send you on a guilt trip.

Westie983

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel wrote: »

Hi,

When DD2 is old enough (she will also start brownies and have pocket money)

Is your DD2 old enough for Rainbows? why wait till she is 7?

Just a thought.

robotrobo

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel wrote: »

Hi,


I've been looking at my finances and think my children have ALOT from me (money wise), so I'm not sure whether to carry on saving for them. In reality - I can afford to put money away for them.


DD1 gets £159 which is made up of savings into her bank and various activities she does (horse riding, brownies, swimming) as well as pocket money.


DD2 - £101 which is made up of savings into her bank and various activities she does (horse riding, swimming)


When DD2 is old enough (she will also start brownies and have pocket money)


in comparison:


Me:
£30.00 a month for a night out
£50.00 into a savings account
£50.00 into a pension


Would you still put money away for the children, even though they do a lot of activities?


I feel horrible/guilty for even contemplating that I shouldn't save for them.

When my four grandchildren were born, i bought them £1000 of premium bonds each , & i also do a standing order for £10 every month , the eldest is now 10 years old & i hope they spend the money wisely ! & not buy a motorcycle & kill themselves , like i would have done in my day, but i survived , just.
Thats the best i can do for them at the moment , & just hope they have a premium bond win i suppose.:)

jimjames

To me it's really down to how much you're saving and how much is activities. Doesn't tell me enough just know it's £159 when that could be £158 and £1 into savings.

It wasn't clear to me if the money was being saved separately or money they could spend. I certainly be looking to put at least some away in long term investment to get a better return. The Aberdeen plan we use starts at £30 per month.

Having said that, if £50 is your total pension contribution then I'd definitely increase that.

missbiggles1

It seems strange to me (sorry) to group activities and savings together. Paying for activities and giving pocket money is a parents' responsibility - saving is for the child herself to do if she wants more than she can buy with her pocket money.

Doing the saving for your children rather than encouraging them to do it themselves seems to me to be the loss of an opportunity.

Alikay

When our children were young we just paid for activities, school trips and pocket money out of our monthly income. The only savings they had specifically for them was birthday presents, Christmas money, and anything they saved themselves, and they were at liberty to spend it however they liked. Longer term savings for each child wasn't something we did, mainly because we couldn't afford to. We did however have general family savings, made sure that the mortgage was as low as possible, and that we had minimal other debt at the point we knew they'd become expensive...about 18-ish.

They have all been helped financially to a similar degree in individual ways, but if our lives had taken a different turn, say unemployment or disability (it happens...) I'm afraid our basic needs would've taken priority over helping them with weddings, uni costs or deposits for flat rental. Allocating a wedge of cash to a child before you know what anyone's needs may be seems very restrictive IMO.

Incidentally, DH and his sister received the proceeds of an endowment policy each from their parents at age 16: His sister blew it on a holiday and DH bought a drum kit :eek:. Maybe that influenced our choice!