Saving for my kid

Until parents realize they need a strategy for everything—including dedicated savings accounts for their kids—we’re going to keep seeing these comments where everyone calls everyone else a crook or a thief. But has anyone stopped to consider that you might be the one doing it? You're essentially using your child just to squeeze out an extra percentage point of interest for yourselves. 🙂 i Marlea laid out some great points about why people do this and how there are plenty of valid reasons, since every parent is different. Being a "bad" parent isn't just limited to those struggling financially.
Just as there's planning for a child's college fund, there's also planning for emergency funds, family risk protection, active personal wealth management, and so on. In the US, things still feel far too reactive and disorganized. It's a perfect reflection of how this entire country is run. Ultimately, the people leading our nation are just a mirror image of ourselves... after all, we're the ones who voted them in. 🙂

crimsonseal13 said:Until parents realize they need a strategy for everything—including dedicated savings accounts for their kids—we’re going to keep seeing these comments where everyone calls everyone else a crook or a thief. But has anyone stopped to consider that you might be the one doing it? You're essentially using your child just to squeeze out an extra percentage point of interest for yourselves. 🙂 i Marlea laid out some great points about why people do this and how there are plenty of valid reasons, since every parent is different. Being a "bad" parent isn't just limited to those struggling financially.
Just as there's planning for a child's college fund, there's also planning for emergency funds, family risk protection, active personal wealth management, and so on. In the US, things still feel far too reactive and disorganized. It's a perfect reflection of how this entire country is run. Ultimately, the people leading our nation are just a mirror image of ourselves... after all, we're the ones who voted them in. 🙂

Preach! ☕

Look, let’s be real—not everyone is some Wall Street wizard or a math genius. At the end of the day, the big banks are the ones pulling the strings anyway. They'll offer you a measly 4.5% on your savings account while charging you over 10% the second you take out a loan. Who wouldn't try to squeeze every last cent out of their paycheck? Even if it feels pointless because inflation is eating everything alive faster than the interest grows. And honestly, who knows what things will even cost in eighteen years when my kid hits adulthood? Probably nothing we're doing now will even matter. Personally? I think it’s better to just dump everything into hard assets—real estate, stuff you can actually touch—and keep just enough in liquid cash to cover maybe 6 to 8 months of living expenses. Of course, that number looks different for everyone.

Nicholas Wilson2 said:Look, let’s be real—not everyone is some Wall Street wizard or a math genius. At the end of the day, the big banks are the ones pulling the strings anyway. They'll offer you a measly 4.5% on your savings account while charging you over 10% the second you take out a loan. Who wouldn't try to squeeze every last cent out of their paycheck? Even if it feels pointless because inflation is eating everything alive faster than the interest grows. And honestly, who knows what things will even cost in eighteen years when my kid hits adulthood? Probably nothing we're doing now will even matter. Personally? I think it’s better to just dump everything into hard assets—real estate, stuff you can actually touch—and keep just enough in liquid cash to cover maybe 6 to 8 months of living expenses. Of course, that number looks different for everyone.

Well, obviously banks turn a profit. Making money is the entire reason a company exists—including a bank. It isn't some charity. If they wanted to be a bit more lenient, I'm sure they could.

But when it comes to kids' savings accounts, the real winners were actually the parents. They used them as a secure savings account that offered much higher interest rates than any standard checking account. If the parents weren't getting a good deal, they wouldn't have parked so much cash—money that wasn't even meant for the kids—in those accounts.

crimsonseal13 said:Until parents realize they need a strategy for everything—including dedicated savings accounts for their kids—we’re going to keep seeing these comments where everyone calls everyone else a crook or a thief. But has anyone stopped to consider that you might be the one doing it? You're essentially using your child just to squeeze out an extra percentage point of interest for yourselves. 🙂 i Marlea laid out some great points about why people do this and how there are plenty of valid reasons, since every parent is different. Being a "bad" parent isn't just limited to those struggling financially.
Just as there's planning for a child's college fund, there's also planning for emergency funds, family risk protection, active personal wealth management, and so on. In the US, things still feel far too reactive and disorganized. It's a perfect reflection of how this entire country is run. Ultimately, the people leading our nation are just a mirror image of ourselves... after all, we're the ones who voted them in. 🙂

Absolute nonsense. For example, I'm saving up for a car seat and I can't even buy it because I have to practically ask the government for permission... what business is it of the state how I spend MY!!!! money!!!! I didn't exploit my child; the government just swooped into my account without warning. I am the legal guardian, it is MY money, and this arrogant behavior from both the government and the bank—which didn't even send a notification!!!!—is totally unacceptable. And who is protecting those kids whose parents aren't saving anything for them??

If it’s your money, why bother keeping it in a child's account? I keep my own funds in my own account.

wearynomad122 said:Absolute nonsense. For example, I'm saving up for a car seat and I can't even buy it because I have to practically ask the government for permission... what business is it of the state how I spend MY!!!! money!!!! I didn't exploit my child; the government just swooped into my account without warning. I am the legal guardian, it is MY money, and this arrogant behavior from both the government and the bank—which didn't even send a notification!!!!—is totally unacceptable. And who is protecting those kids whose parents aren't saving anything for them??

Bolded
It isn't yours, it belongs to the kid.
And no, you didn't just deposit it yourself; the government contributed too.
I also have a specialized savings account for my child, and once the five-year term hits, I'm planning on keeping the contributions going anyway.
Basically, if you're saving under a kid's name just to use it for yourself while still claiming child tax credits, you're essentially running a scam.

It was a bad call, alright? It’s my kid’s money, sure, but life moves fast. We had all our paperwork finalized to move out of the country, and you have to get that sorted within six months or you lose everything. You can't just assume things will stay fine. Why would I leave my child's savings sitting in a bank halfway across the world? Who knows what will happen to it—it could vanish just like a collapse at Chase Bank. You think you can just show up and withdraw it later? Forget it. You try going to a social services office and you'll see how they treat you. They look at you like you're some kind of nuisance constantly bothering them, and time is something you simply don't have anymore. I would never, ever recommend this to anyone!

wearynomad122 said:Absolute nonsense. For example, I'm saving up for a car seat and I can't even buy it because I have to practically ask the government for permission... what business is it of the state how I spend MY!!!! money!!!! I didn't exploit my child; the government just swooped into my account without warning. I am the legal guardian, it is MY money, and this arrogant behavior from both the government and the bank—which didn't even send a notification!!!!—is totally unacceptable. And who is protecting those kids whose parents aren't saving anything for them??

That isn't your money—it belongs to the kid because it's sitting in their account. Honestly, I've never heard of a social services agency denying a request to withdraw funds for something as basic as a car seat, so I highly doubt they'll start now.

Jerry Wright6 said:It was a bad call, alright? It’s my kid’s money, sure, but life moves fast. We had all our paperwork finalized to move out of the country, and you have to get that sorted within six months or you lose everything. You can't just assume things will stay fine. Why would I leave my child's savings sitting in a bank halfway across the world? Who knows what will happen to it—it could vanish just like a collapse at Chase Bank. You think you can just show up and withdraw it later? Forget it. You try going to a social services office and you'll see how they treat you. They look at you like you're some kind of nuisance constantly bothering them, and time is something you simply don't have anymore. I would never, ever recommend this to anyone!

well then don't put the money in the kid's account
but obviously, once it's in their account, the returns are way better than keeping it in yours
and if you're genuinely worried about a bank collapsing like Wells Fargo, then maybe you shouldn't be opening a savings account for a child in the first place

Steven Reed said:That isn't your money—it belongs to the kid because it's sitting in their account. Honestly, I've never heard of a social services agency denying a request to withdraw funds for something as basic as a car seat, so I highly doubt they'll start now.

I can pull a thousand bucks a month without needing any permission from the state, so buying a car seat isn't even an issue

Alright, finally managed to shuffle my funds from that tiny little Venmo account over to a decent Chase checking account. Now I just gotta figure out my next move, but obviously, I'll be doing it under my own name 😁

Nicholas Wilson2 said:Look, let’s be real—not everyone is some Wall Street wizard or a math genius. At the end of the day, the big banks are the ones pulling the strings anyway. They'll offer you a measly 4.5% on your savings account while charging you over 10% the second you take out a loan. Who wouldn't try to squeeze every last cent out of their paycheck? Even if it feels pointless because inflation is eating everything alive faster than the interest grows. And honestly, who knows what things will even cost in eighteen years when my kid hits adulthood? Probably nothing we're doing now will even matter. Personally? I think it’s better to just dump everything into hard assets—real estate, stuff you can actually touch—and keep just enough in liquid cash to cover maybe 6 to 8 months of living expenses. Of course, that number looks different for everyone.

Just imagine if you had, say, $100k eighteen years ago... would that amount even mean anything today?

Nicholas Wilson2 said:Alright, finally managed to shuffle my funds from that tiny little Venmo account over to a decent Chase checking account. Now I just gotta figure out my next move, but obviously, I'll be doing it under my own name 😁

I went into a Chase branch in San Diego with the same plan the other day. They told me transferring from savings to checking is fine, but we still need Social Security verification if we want to withdraw more than $387 since the kid is only 13. Did you manage to do it without any issues? 😕

What kind of setup would you guys suggest for saving up for a kid while throwing in some insurance coverage?
I’m looking at putting away roughly $67 a month, but the main thing is I want to make sure if anything happens to the little one, they're actually covered.
Hey, does anyone at USA have something like this in their portfolio?
I’m just having a hard time digging up the specifics—like, out of that $67 monthly chunk, how much is actually going toward savings versus how much is just paying for the insurance side of things?

Steven Rivera76 said:I went into a Chase branch in San Diego with the same plan the other day. They told me transferring from savings to checking is fine, but we still need Social Security verification if we want to withdraw more than $387 since the kid is only 13. Did you manage to do it without any issues? 😕

I just did mine through the online portal and moved it straight to my checking—zero issues whatsoever. Honestly, if you're trying to do it face-to-face at the bank, you might run into red tape (though, let's be real, it probably just depends on which teller you get. That's my take, anyway). 👍

So, look, I work over at USA, so I’ve got a bit of skin in the game when it comes to saving money. Not trying to be a walking advertisement here or anything, but you really gotta save—it's just a given. Personally, I think those private retirement accounts are the way to go; they're easily the best deal since you get a guaranteed 25% return on top of the fund growing by another 6-10%. Or even just setting up a college fund for the kids.

Nicholas Wilson2 said:I just did mine through the online portal and moved it straight to my checking—zero issues whatsoever. Honestly, if you're trying to do it face-to-face at the bank, you might run into red tape (though, let's be real, it probably just depends on which teller you get. That's my take, anyway). 👍

It really does depend on the employee. If the teller isn't up to speed on the current regulations, 🙄 they won't transfer it to that account; instead, they'll just hand you the cash.

Jamie Foster79 said:So, look, I work over at USA, so I’ve got a bit of skin in the game when it comes to saving money. Not trying to be a walking advertisement here or anything, but you really gotta save—it's just a given. Personally, I think those private retirement accounts are the way to go; they're easily the best deal since you get a guaranteed 25% return on top of the fund growing by another 6-10%. Or even just setting up a college fund for the kids.

What exactly is that 25% referring to? And since when does a retirement fund offer a guaranteed return like that?

Jamie Foster79 said:So, look, I work over at USA, so I’ve got a bit of skin in the game when it comes to saving money. Not trying to be a walking advertisement here or anything, but you really gotta save—it's just a given. Personally, I think those private retirement accounts are the way to go; they're easily the best deal since you get a guaranteed 25% return on top of the fund growing by another 6-10%. Or even just setting up a college fund for the kids.

If you're banking on those government matching incentives at 25%, first off—the feds slashed that down to 15% annually—and second, they could pull the plug entirely whenever they feel like it 😉. So, there's no such thing as a "guarantee" 😉
and since fund returns depend entirely on market performance, that 6-10% figure isn't set in stone either 😉. I personally use and contribute to my own retirement funds, but people need accurate data—not this kind of guesswork 😉

coastalmarlin64 said:What kind of setup would you guys suggest for saving up for a kid while throwing in some insurance coverage?
I’m looking at putting away roughly $67 a month, but the main thing is I want to make sure if anything happens to the little one, they're actually covered.
Hey, does anyone at USA have something like this in their portfolio?
I’m just having a hard time digging up the specifics—like, out of that $67 monthly chunk, how much is actually going toward savings versus how much is just paying for the insurance side of things?

Since you're looking for that insurance component, you're really talking about life insurance products specifically!!!
As for how much goes to savings versus premiums... there isn't a simple answer to that. In the beginning, a bigger chunk of your money goes toward the insurance cost, but once you pass the halfway point of the term, more starts going toward the actual savings side. Honestly though, my two cents? It might be smarter to insure the person taking care of the happy child, but set the beneficiary as the kid. There's a much higher chance that something could happen to a parent, and then having those funds available to help the kid out is huge... Hope that makes sense—just remember that the kid won't be able to touch any of that money until they hit adulthood...