Giving Your Child The Best Start

Thinking about the future

Every parent would like to give their child the best start to the future. However the current economic climate is unstable, the job market is tough and concerns about whether this will improve in the near future. Opportunities for the younger generation are becoming scarce and the opportunities which do arise are much more competitive. This has created a situation where education is more important than ever. There is more pressure on students to attend a top institution and achieve top grades.

With tuition fees increasing at the end of this year to £9,000, parents need to be more proactive in setting money aside for their children and the plans they choose to carry this out. Many households are looking at reduced financial budgets, but this should not deter them from saving money.

Importance of saving

It has never been more important for parents to look at the various children’s saving schemes that are on offer. This will allow their child to have the financial power at a point in life when it will be required. It was at the end of last year that the Coalition Government launched their answer to the children’s saving crisis, it came in the form of the Junior ISA.

Originally the Labour Government’s Child Trust Fund held the top spot in the children’s saving market. The product was created meant to allow the Government to contribute a small amount of money into the Child Trust Fund account. In order for the parents to open an account, the child needed to be born between September 2002 and January 2011.

It was announced in the May 2010 budget that the Child Trust Fund would be removed as an option for parents, and late last year the Junior ISA was introduced into the market. Among other bank accounts and savings plans that are on offer, parents have many choices to begin their saving journey for their child. The options which are wide and varied allow the eventual choice to be affordable to the finances instead of a drain.

For parents that under the illusion that they need to save in big quantities on a regular basis, they would be happy to hear that although this is true in part, saving in smaller amounts regularly should not be overlooked. Figures have shown that parents saving into the Junior ISA over an 18-year period with an average accrual rate can amass more than £100,000 by saving in affordable amounts.

Karen Watts from www.myeggnest.com writes about of children's saving schemes including Junior ISA