Peter,
My wife and I have decided to do the following:
1) We have a portfolio that we manage, that is in our names, that we will use to fund our children's education, be it college or starting a business, etc. As far as I'm concerned they will never see this account, but as we help them finance their education we will use this account to fund it. If we are lucky, of course, they will have full rides at school and won't need the money, then we can use it for something else!
2) We have a savings account for each child. They both have a piggy bank (courtesy of our local credit union) and the eldest one (18 months) already loves putting coins into it. All holiday money and the like gets put into this account.
3) As mentioned, I'm going to be putting money into stocks for them too.
For us, the hope is that by the time our children are of age, they will be responsible with money and will know how to handle the windfall. The reality, of course, is that they might choose to blow it all on a new Camaro. I believe the key is being accepting of that fact, and treating any money that goes into an account in their name in the same manner one should approach your wallet when going to Vegas - prepare to lose it all!
I have a younger brother and sister. My Dad used to say, "If I gave $1 to each of my children, John would save it, Jill would spend it, and Brian would lose it." I hope my kids will be savers like me! :-)
-jsc |
