Having children is expensive, I don’t think any parent would disagree with that. There are of course the day-to-day expenses, such as nappies, food, activities and then occasional larger expenses that happen as they grow, such as changing car seats, or beds, or maybe just a school trip. Then there are the much bigger expenses that happen mainly 16+ – so, are you saving enough for your child?

Shepherds Friendly Society –  a UK friendly society and one of the oldest mutual insurers in the world, have created an infographic, asking the question  ‘are you saving enough for your child’s future?’ It contains the average price for many saving goals today and also includes a section on how to work out how much you’d need to save each month over how many years in order to reach your goal – it’s interesting OR mind-blowing stuff, depending on how you look at it, but take a look for yourself below:

So what’s the verdict? Do you think you are saving enough? Don’t forget that this is per child as well, so those of us with more than one child have an even greater saving task ahead. One way to start saving towards some of these big milestones is to open a Junior ISA. Junior ISA allows you to save for any child that is under the age of 18 and does not already have a Child Trust Fund in their name. You can open the plan if you are the parent or legal guardian of the child, and contributions can come from anyone who wishes, making it a great option for birthday and Christmas presents, as well as other gifts from family members and friends. You can also switch your child’s Child Trust Fund to a Junior ISA if you wish.

Even if you can only save a little each month, it can make a huge difference later on. Not only will your children be trilled to have a helping hand through some of these big events, but you’ll be praising yourself later in life for being so organised.

Happy saving parents and grandparents!