Martin stirring the pot on children's savings (again)

artyboy

I see today's poll is once again pushing the notion that it can be ok to raid money out of savings accounts in your kids name.

Save for them or don't, but please can we stop rationalising theft, whatever the perceived justification? Martin might as well say it's ok to nick food from the supermarket if you're hard up and hungry. 

Aside from the dodgy morality, it also perpetuates the notion that 'parking' money with your children to save on tax is fine. And yes, I know about the £100 interest rule, just as you all know how easy it is to get around...

Sg28

Where is this poll?

eskbanker

artyboy said:

I see today's poll is once again pushing the notion that it can be ok to raid money out of savings accounts in your kids name.

Just had a look around but can't find what you're referring to in places like https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/poll/, can you share a link please?

artyboy

He does daily polls that show up on Twitter/FB - this is the one...

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/G93CL1MWaJw9zB9u/?

eskbanker

Not sure it's 'pushing' any 'notions' as such, just asking the question in a reasonably balanced way, or do you feel that even the act of asking the question is implicitly countenancing something that you don't consider acceptable?

If parents are struggling with high interest debt, is it morally acceptable to withdraw money they'd previously put in their four year old's savings to help reduce what they owe?

Kim_13

I suppose the problem is that most would consider it acceptable if the money were replaced (perhaps paying the same interest as the bank would have so that the child hasn’t lost out), but it might be a slippery slope as if you really need to raid your child’s account, is it really likely that you’ll ever succeed in putting it back? That the debt is high interest suggests that the parents’ credit isn’t great, and barring things like illness/job loss, it would suggest a tendency to live beyond their means. 

Savings should be part of the household budget so that the money isn’t missed and the question of taking it back from the child doesn’t materialise. Most children will also have money in there that wasn’t given by the debtor. I would say that’s another level of unacceptable - how good are their records so that they don’t touch those funds? 

Zoe02

The poll on twitter.
Lending and repaying it back not bad but then again some people are really struggling.

CrickJon

artyboy said:

I see today's poll is once again pushing the notion that it can be ok to raid money out of savings accounts in your kids name.

Save for them or don't, but please can we stop rationalising theft, whatever the perceived justification? Martin might as well say it's ok to nick food from the supermarket if you're hard up and hungry. 

Aside from the dodgy morality, it also perpetuates the notion that 'parking' money with your children to save on tax is fine. And yes, I know about the £100 interest rule, just as you all know how easy it is to get around...

While I disagree with parents raiding their kids savings in hard times, I've fortunately never been in that position to know how desperate I might feel.

If these parents have built up the savings for their kids themselves, it is far too strong to label it 'theft' in my eyes however.

masonic

As the above posts suggest, it isn't black and white. Parents ought to be acting in the best interests of their children. Sometimes that may involve using their money to protect the family unit from greater threats, such as falling into problem debt, which might be avoidable through temporary use of the funds. Circumstances can change, emergencies can happen, and not everyone is financially secure enough to weather everything that could be thrown at them. Though putting money into a child savings account with no intention of it being used to benefit the child is a very different matter.

You're not doing social media right these days if you aren't posting things that provoke angry reactions. So it would seem the poll in question was on point.

jameseonline

There's some decent child savings accounts these days aren't there?, I wouldn't have any issues with people getting them especially as cost of living etc is a thing.

There's also poopy child savings accounts, Nationwide show me a Flex savings account in their app, yet I have no kids and nearly in my 40s😏🙄😒🤔😌

Agree about social media, there is a need to do something to make people think, engage, react etc, so a video, a poll, whatever.

Child accounts aren't new things, but hey let's combine it with an up to date thing, oooh cost of living, BOOM you got your social media thing for today.

Also it might not provoke a bad response, could be a good response, could be both, that's social media for you.

eskbanker

masonic said:

You're not doing social media right these days if you aren't posting things that provoke angry reactions. So it would seem the poll in question was on point.

jameseonline said:

Agree about social media, there is a need to do something to make people think, engage, react etc, so a video, a poll, whatever.

Child accounts aren't new things, but hey let's combine it with an up to date thing, oooh cost of living, BOOM you got your social media thing for today.

Also it might not provoke a bad response, could be a good response, could be both, that's social media for you.

To me, this thread is essentially the same as plenty of such social media posts, i.e. posted specifically to stimulate debate rather than simply to ask a question or to share news - I don't mean that in any critical way, but just consider the boundary between this discussion forum and what's normally considered to be social media to be fairly blurred in many places....