I Really Must Sort Out The Savings Accounts For Our Children

I have just written a news article for MoneyHighStreet readers on the new higher interest rate on the Lloyds TSB children’s savings account and got hit hard in the face with a reminder that I still haven’t sorted out the savings accounts for our own children….. and I really must!

Our children both have savings accounts. That’s the good news.

The second piece of good news is that both of them are encouraged  to save. Whenever they get money given to them, perhaps as a birthday or christmas present, they save some of it – in fact they enjoy and feel rather grown up standing in the queue at the building society or bank, handing over their cash or cheque and then seeing the amount added to their balance.

Invariably there then follows a discussion about how come the older one has a balance that is less than the younger one.

Each time I have to explain that whilst both of them have an account at the Nationwide, the older one also has an account at Britannia. Some of her money therefore is in the Britannia, meaning that she has less in the Nationwide.

Why do they have different children’s savings accounts?

I’d like to talk about them having accounts with the best interest rates but if that is true sadly it’s not by my doing. Quite simply the accounts were opened for convenience!

At the time of opening our first child’s savings account I used to work for an insurance broker in the City of London and there was a Britannia branch near the office – so in I popped to open an account.

Having just had our second child I was on maternity leave, not travelling into the City, and needed a savings account in a bank or building society that had a branch in our local high street – this time Nationwide fitted the bill.

Are they the best savings accounts?

In all honesty I haven’t checked what interest rates are being paid on any of the accounts or indeed even looked at the Britannia one for several years.

So I am now going to dig out the passbooks and any paperwork I can find to see just how well or bad our children are doing with the savings accounts they have. We can then decide whether we need to move the money or leave it where it is.

Do come back to my blog soon to find out how I get on – or sign-up to our newsletter to make sure you keep up to date

I have got the bit between my teeth and I am taking action!!