Your kids money

ready-or-not

I don't know how to create a poll on mobile, so I'm just asking....What do y'all do with money that your kids receive as gifts?

We have a couple OOT family members that send our kids money for birthdays & Christmas. My older girls both ended up with close to $150 in cash money, & the 2 little ones close to $75.

For a long time I made the girls put half of any cash gift into their savings account & they could keep the other half to spend as they wanted. I've kinda got away from that as they've gotten older & their "wants" have changed from toys to actual stuff, but I'm thinking about going back to that.

ready-or-not

Yea I've always took them to the bank & let them do the deposit. They love it!

DD1 wants to spend it all on clothes & makeup. We are currently in negoations.

DD2 wants to save it all & spend my money lol

DSs will go into savings bc theres nothing he needs at the moment

DD3 will probably go towards diapers & formula this time

JNerd

The kids don't really get money right now, but I view it as theirs and not mine, so it goes into their savings accounts.
We also get $$ each month from the gov and that goes directly to their savings accounts too.
I have a boatload of student debt and want to help them avoid that as much as possible.

The only way we would ever touch that money is if we needed it to provide for our basic needs and had no other savings left.

Beevol

Our DDs are too young to understand money, so they each have a savings account that it goes into. As they get older we'll probably do the portion to do with as you please and a portion to save with a discussion of how money works, etc.

klondikebar

My kids decide how much to keep on hand and the amount they want deposited. We've been pretty good about talking about money and budgeting with our kids. The boys end up depositing most or all of their checks. They have registers to keep track of their balances. DD has her own accounts that she takes care of by herself.

thebanich

When my kids were infants we used gift cards they got to buy diapers, wipes etc. it's not like they give a shit.

ready-or-not

ChickenOnSunday said:

You are going to use DD3's money to buy formula and diapers? I wouldn't feel right using my child's birthday/Christmas money for necessities unless it was an absolute dire situation.

Its not something I make a habbit out of but this time around, yes, thats what the money will go towards. Its not like I'm using her money to treat myself to lunch.

ridesbuttons

My kids are 7 and nearly 6 years old.

To this point, I have put every penny they have received as gifts into savings accounts.

When DS1 turns 8, should he receive any money, I will give him up to $25 to spend as he wishes and put the rest into his savings account.

pepperedmoth

I don't understand the judgment about using the kid's money for kid-related purchases.

I mean, unless the memo on the check says "for college," isn't the whole point of giving a check to a child to contribute to the general welfare of the child?

Every time I get a check from a relative it's in the context of a note saying something like, "I don't know what he needs right now, but here's a check!"

Sometimes I've used money like that to buy something nice for A that I otherwise wouldn't have. Then in the thank-you note I say, "thanks so much for that check! We bought A (whatever) with it, and he loves it!" I've never used it for necessities because I've never had to, but I don't see the problem with it if someone does need to. Or even if it'd just really help that month.

OP, right now we put all A's money into a savings account (unless we're going to buy him something special, as above), but for when he's older I definitely like Privacy Wanted's idea of the divided piggy bank. I've seen those around and think they're great!