Banking/Saving for Babies??

[Seraphim]

...is there such a thing??

I'm guessing with money laundering prevention the idea of bank accounts for babies might be silly I just wondered if there was anything for little ones? Post Office accounts? Government supported ISAs?

I'd like to ringfence some money for bubs, and I'm sure grandparents will want to help.

Any ideas?

 

[alio]

i have a savings account for my son with barclays. just a standard account.

 

[Always&4ever]

Jasmine has an account with nationwide, which is a smartbook account, not had any problems with them

 

[polo_princess]

We've got out CTF with Nationwide and Brooke has her own childrens account with Barclays which i manage alongside my own.

 

[Seraphim]

Is there a minimum age?

It might sound crazy, but I was hoping to set something up before bubs arrives

 

[polo_princess]

No there isnt a minimum age but you do have to wait until they are born as you need to provide birth certificate as proof ... perhaps put money into a piggybank for the time being or something until they are born ... your not going to earn much interest atm anyway, think i get about 3p interest per month on £1,000 worth of savings atm

 

[maloner]

A CD (certificate of deposit) would be a great savings vehicle for the little guy. It will earn more interest than a standard savings account with no risk. Of course, you would only have access to the money once every year, but that would just encourage more savings.

 

[MummyMummy]

for 3year old we have the child trust fund voucher in lloyds tsb which we don't ever put money in, we just basically forget about it. and we have a premium bonds account in his name too. which we put money into several times a year.

xXx

 

[Seraphim]

Lots of good ideas

I'm not looking at investment or interest at the mo - just setting aside a lump so I don't lose track of what we've spend

And so I can feel free to buy the odd big thing, but know I'm staying within a reasonable budget

 

[xJG30]

I've got a kidsmart account with halifax, limits you to £5,000 though and then you have to upgrade

 

[mrso]

I opened up a standard saving account with me as the primary and my son/husband as secondary. We started off with a piggy bank when I was pregnant and continue to add our pocket change. Every few months we drain the piggy bank and deposit it. We are saving the money for when my son graduates college and the money will be for a downpayment on a house. By the time he is 22ish there will be a good chunck of change.

 

[JayDee]

For now, I'd set something up in your own name. Once bubs comes along you'll get £250 child trust fund voucher which you have to put into one of these special accounts, a bit like an ISA, can be cash + interest (slow, steady return) or stocks and shares (potential higher return but more risky cos it can fall in value as I imagine they have done over the past year).

You are limited as to how much you can put in each year, and the kid can't get the money till they are 18 but they are good interest rates (about 3% compared to next to nothing on most accounts).

Check out your own bank's saving account offering. If you don't want to be able to get the money that quickly/frequently there are some good deals around (eg I'm with nationwide and they have an e-savings plus account that, as long as you make less than 3 withdrawals a year, you get about 2.5% interest I think. You need one of their current accounts to get it though...).

 

[Vickie]

well things are different here but I opened an education savings account for Hannah. We contribute X amount every month and it accrues interest

 

[trainingdoc]

If you're in scotland, once bubs arrives try a childrens regular saver, currently 8%, defintiely a good buy. You do have to put between £10 and £100 a month, and can't make withdrawls for a year, but it's worth it for the interest rate, and also makes you keep pushing to save a ltitle without having access!

 

[Sarahkka]

Canada has a very decent Registered Education Savings Plan that provides matching grants. You can earn up to $800 per year. It really encourages saving and it has alls sorts of tax benefits. Plus (evil mother cackling here) it has to be used for education. I love it!

 

[tasha41]

I put money in Elyse's piggybank right now to save it, I throw the majority of my change in there when I come home from shopping and stuff, even pennies, then I roll the pennies when I get enough. Every little bit counts! This is strictly saved money for HER, not for her education, we have an RESP set up for that, automatic deductions come out of my account for that monthly.

I will open a child bank account for her when I get around to going up to my bank, I'm at a credit union so it's essentially free, no service charges, etc.

 

[Sarahkka]

Out of curiousity, what sort of things are people saving for in Baby's name, other than education?

 

[Vickie]

we're just saving for education. Nothing else really....we don't want our children burdened with student loans like us but I do think she needs to learn to work for things she wants in life.....

 

[tasha41]

Out of curiousity, what sort of things are people saving for in Baby's name, other than education?

I'm not really saving up for anything specific I guess just so it's easier when expensive things pop up when she gets older. So she has a bit of $ for a car, or maybe a piano if that's what she wants, a vacation, etc. Think I might give it to her after she graduates high school.

 

[FierceAngel]

luisa has been a nationwide member since she was 4 days old lol

so far we have only put the odd amounts of cash we recieved in her baby cards in but we are looking to add to it weekly even if its just with a couple of pounds each week...

have also invested her ctf voucher with the nationwide which the grandparents would like to top up for her