Should you invest or save for your children? Best funds, best buys, kids pensions and more
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What is the best way to start saving or investing for children?
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This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Sirkus Finlandia juhlavuodenliput nyt myynnissä. Voimamiehiä, klovneja, ilma-akropatia, huolemanpyörää. Mahtava sirkusorkesteri. Suomen suurin sirkuselämys. Tuo huippuartisti tähtikupolin alle. Sirkus Finlandia viisikymmentä vuotta. Osta liput sirkusfinlandia.fi.
If you're asking me about saving, have you thought about investing? We're going to talk you through exactly how you do that and the practicals of
that. You've made the rules. It'll be a big ah-ah for me and a big hallelujah for you.
No! It's what I do. It's what many people who work in the industry do. If the world economy is growing, then your ETF should grow. It's Martin's world. We all live in it.
Hello, I'm Martin Lewis and this is the cunningly named The Martin Lewis Podcast. Do you wonder what that's going to be about? I don't really know. And this is our big topic episode where each week we lead on one main subject to help you save. Usually most of it comes from my BBC Radio 5 live show with Adrian Childs, but there's also bonus money-saving tips and tricks for you lucky, lucky podcast listeners. In today's episode, everything you've ever wanted to know about putting money away for under 18s. Is it best to save or to invest? Spoiler, most people should be considering investing. How do junior ISAs and child trust funds actually work? What are the best buys for both of them? What are the best funds to invest in?
Are premium bonds still good for children? And we'll even go into the little talked about but really important children's pensions. I'm joined by an investment specialist to go through it all, and we're going to cover every single bit of it. Then this week's tellers, when did checking a bill or invoice properly save you money? What did you spot and how did you save? We'll hear from somebody who used AI to cut £1,000 off a wrong rental bill. The Mastermind this week is a fascinating question. What are your legal rights if you buy something and the shop puts it on sale the next day? And finally, if you listen to the end, there's a special tip for an easy way for 13 to 17-year-olds to make a free 50 quid.
Play the theme tune.
So
is there anything you generally want to say about investing for children, saving for children?
The big topic, the big point I want to make today is, especially with a junior ISA, far too many people go for the cash option. So, I mean, let's just talk about why. I'll come into what a junior ISA is, but the basics, it's a tax-free savings account for children. We'll go into a little bit more details later. But the most important thing to understand is a junior ISA is a product where you lock money away until the child is 18. Most people put money in when the child is young, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. So, the two sweet spot rules for when it is right to invest money over save money is, number one, it should be money that you do not need to use for right now. Well, if you are putting it in a junior ISA by definition, unless they're nearly 18, you do not need to use it for right now.
So, bing! That one is ticked. Number two, it's money you're putting away for the long term. So over five years. Well, if you're putting money in when the child is five and they can't get the money out till they're 18, bing! So you fall into those two ticks. And yet the huge demand is where's the best place to save in a junior ISA? Grandparents ask it. Parents ask it. And we are too risk averse on this. Now, I'm not suggesting you put your kids money in a single share. That's highly risky. I'm saying that if you look on a broad spread of investments, you know, we've got an investment advisor on later. But let's say a global tracker fund, something that invests in a thousand different resources. big worldwide companies where you get a sort of a graduated average, weighted average of their returns, then on the huge balance of probabilities, over a long period, that will smack the pants off savings unless you're very unlucky.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the best way to start saving or investing for children?
0:00–9:32
2
How do Junior ISAs work and who is allowed to open them?
9:32–18:37
3
Which investment funds are best for long‑term growth in a Junior ISA?
18:37–28:04
4
Are premium bonds a good choice for children’s savings?
28:04–36:38
5
What should I do with a Child Trust Fund when my child turns 18?
36:38–44:36
6
How can I set up a children’s pension and is it worthwhile?
44:36–52:11
7
What rights do I have if a product’s price drops the day after I buy it?
52:11–1:02:11
8
How can teenagers earn a free £50 with a kids‑savings account?
1:02:11–1:12:02
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The Martin Lewis Podcast
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