Children often enrich the lives of their parents. But children should also be provided financially. Because they need food, clothing, and the training also costs money. So that saving for children can be done sensibly and effectively, we have an overview of various options from savings books to other investments for children.
Creating a financial basis for children
Once the baby daughter, son, grandchild, or godchild is born, mom and dad are known to be showered with gifts for the birth. And families also like to use occasions such as Easter, St. Nicholas, Christmas, baptisms, or birthdays to give presents to their children. As a result, some children are hopelessly overwhelmed with gifts. But it can make much more sense to start saving for children early on. Because then they will later have a good financial basis, which they will certainly be happier about. But what investment options are there and how useful are they?
Various investments to save for children
Saving options for the offspring are usually explicitly stated. If not, those willing to invest should ask the financial institutions what options are available for minors. Most of the savings options for children are designed in such a way that the savings only become available when they come of age. Follow these rules when saving for children:
- Training insurance and accident insurance are not recommended. It is only worthwhile to insure the death of the parents with term life insurance
- Housing cooperatives offer attractive interest rates for savings accounts and savings plans. In addition, they often offer the advantage of greater chances of finding an apartment at fair prices when living space is scarce.
- Direct banks usually offer more attractive fixed-term deposit rates than branch banks in your area. The disadvantage, however, is the lack of contact on-site.
- Index funds have good returns, but they also harbor risks. But if you spread the risk widely, it’s a good way to build wealth.
1) The call money account is a popular option
“Anyone who has money left over should open a money market account because it earns more interest than a savings account. But not every offer is worthwhile.” This rather controversial reference in the Hamburger Abendblatt shows two very different perspectives. On the one hand, the call money account is identified as an attractive option, on the other hand, a careless conclusion is warned against. It is therefore important to take a look at the details of the call money account:
- Looking at the level of interest is just one important selection criterion when choosing a call money account. In this context, however, the frequency of interest payments is also an important detail. If this can be done quarterly or even monthly, this ultimately increases the return. However, tiered interest rates are only interesting up to the maximum rate. There is hardly any attractive return for the investor anymore.
- High overnight interest rates should make consumers suspicious. Because behind this there is often a minimum investment amount to which the interest is also limited.
- It is also worth taking a look at the duration of the attractive interest rates. If these level out over time, there is no long-term return. Then it may even be more attractive with permanently lower interest rates than with high-interest rates that are only available in the short term.
- The daily money comparison at kontorat.de offers a good overview of the offers on the market. Interested savers can read in this article when it is worth investing in a call money account for their own household money.
2) Saving for children with the classic savings book
The savings book is the oldest investment in Germany. This is usually the first option for saving for children. Because the savings book works like a savings account and is considered safe. Even the smallest amounts of money can be deposited here. However, a savings account also has disadvantages. There is hardly any interest and offers little flexibility. Because in many cases only 2000 euros can be withdrawn per month and often you have to go to the bank with the savings book on site.
3) Savings account as an investment for children
With a bank savings plan, you can deposit a certain amount of money into a savings account on a regular basis. For this, inquire about special offers for minors at various financial institutions. You should also note the conditions here so that this option helps you save effectively. Therefore, inquire about the terms of the interest calculation. It is also important to know to what extent the deposit can be suspended. Overall, the money saved is considered safe here, although the yield is rather low. Also, note tips on handling money for children.
4) Individual ETF savings plans to save for children
ETF savings plans are not only a good retirement option for women but are also suitable for effective saving for children. An ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) is an exchange-traded index fund. Such an ETF usually contains several stocks in which you then invest your money. An ETF relies on broad diversification without an active fund manager. This makes ETFs cheaper. This can be used to build wealth if you decide to invest for a long time and increase diversification.