Do you spend or save child benefit?

When I was on maternity leave i was very fortunate that I was able to put all of my child benefit payments into a savings account for my child. Since I have been back at work part time, my wage is now considerably lower and I have found I am using my overdraft every month and have had to dip into that savings account for things like fuel etc. It got me thinking, should I be keeping some of that child benefit money for things like fuel and days out? What do you do with it? (I understand some people need it for food, milk etc and I totally understand i am in a privileged position to not need to do that but interested to see how people spend it)
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I put it into a savings account and then if he needs something throughout the month, like new shoes or something or a fun day out for him I tend to dip into it because I’m part time just now, means a bit of it gets saved but I also know I always have money there for anything he needs/we want to do with him, especially the week before pay day 😂 i just see it as his money and sometimes he need to buy himself things if I can’t that week 😂 I also top the account up when I get paid so always a good amount in it.

I put it toward nursery fees

I use it on bills as I use my normal money for treats for her through the month

I use it for activities and days out mostly, but what ever we need, it goes on. New shoes and clothes, nursery fees, food, milk. When I go back to working full time I would like to put it away but I won’t be saving it until she’s 4 or 5.

We spend it on doing things with my daughter. We have a savings account for her that we pay into monthly for when she’s older and her grandparents pay into that also xx

@Kat if you dont mind me asking, how much do you put into savings for her per month? I struggle with knowing what is a good amount.

Currently putting it towards Christmas for my daughter this year then next year I’ll be saving it for her 2nd birthday or for whenever she needs new clothes xx

We pay it all into a savings account for her. Once every three months her Lovevery subscription comes out of that account, so in effect she's paying for that herself. We don't touch the rest of it. We're planning on homeschooling, so any major things for that will come out of there too. So we're fortunate to be in a position where the vast majority of it will be saved for her once she's an adult. Or that's the plan! 🥰 We can't afford to put extra away, and we don't own a property, so it's nice to have a little something on one side for her.

We put it into an isa that can’t be touched until he’s 18

The child benefit goes into mine and my Husbands joint account, which pays for bills and the mortgage. My husband and I use our own money to pay for his clothes, toys, playgroups, days out ect. My husband puts 50.00 a month into his account and my mum does 20. I don't do any as I'm part time working. Birthday/Christmas money from friends and family goes straight into his account 😊

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