The sooner you start saving money for your children, the earlier habits develop and the more your children's savings will accumulate and increase. But it's not always easy to find spare money to add to your children's savings, especially in today's economic climate. So here are three simple tips to help you start saving money for your children's future.
1. Open a children's savings account as soon as possible. Most banks and mortgage companies offer them and, at the time of writing, offer interest rates of up to 5% gross with instant access. This means that the money you save is not sitting around doing nothing, it is making more money!
2. When a child's birthday or Christmas arrives, ask your friends and family to donate money rather than buying gifts. Of course, this does not mean that your child does not receive gifts just money. Maybe you could ask half of your friends and family to donate and the other half to buy gifts? Or maybe you could ask them all to donate and buy gifts on their behalf, saving some of the money to add to your child's bank account? It may sound a little cruel, but in the long run, your child will benefit and, really, how many toys do they need?
3. Get a piggy bank for your child. Adding your spare brass and small change to a piggy bank will make very little difference in your perception of the amount of money you have and can really add up very quickly. Having a fun fancy piggy bank can encourage your child to start adding pocket money or change to the change. When it comes to cashing your piggy bank funds and depositing them into their bank account, don't be lazy. Do not use any of the automatic counting machines available in most supermarkets these days. They can be practical, but they make a profit by taking a percentage of the money you pay, usually around 10%, which is really astronomical. Are you sure you want to pay 10 pence for every pound you save just to save yourself from having to count? Take bags of money from your bank and do it the old fashioned way.
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