Do any of you have a bank account for DC?

[jent]

And if so, when did you open it?

So, I remember when I was a kid, my parents making a big deal out of setting up a bank account for me, getting a passbook and all, and seeing them stamp my new deposits on my book. So I always thought I would do the same with mine-- start her bank account when she is old enough to start learning about saving money. We started a 529 for her college savings for now.

But my in-laws are on our backs about starting her savings account. I'm not sure why it's necessary. If she gets monetary gifts, we put it in her 529. One of my in-laws main reasons is actually for practicality; DH's grandmother, who lives in another country, prefers to give monetary gifts at birthdays and Christmas by direct transfer. This is probably reason enough, but it just surprised me at first that my in-laws expected a 7 mo old to have her own bank account.

[new_mommy25]

Both children have bank accounts at our credit union. We opened them around their first year and deposit any money they recieve as gifts. Both got several thousand for their first birthday alone from gifts so we needed to put it somewhere. DD also did some modeling so we deposited her earnings into her account. We don't have 529 accounts for them (we really need to get on the ball!) so I don't know how we will do things then. Maybe DH and I will go down to the bank this weekend to talk to them about 529s...

[jhrabosk]

We opened a savings account when DD was born. Initially, it was because my ILs gave us a sizeable cash gift that they intended (and we used) for baby-related expenses during the first year and I wanted to segregate it from our everyday money.

Along the way, we started saving all of our change and depositing it a few times a year in that account. I think I would also deposit other small cash gifts there, if she were to get them.

We haven't decided yet how that money will be used, but I kind of see it as the start of the sort of passbook account you remember. Maybe to save for big-ticket items down the road...

[elliput]

We opened a savings account for DD as soon as we had her social security number, and then a mutual fund shortly thereafter. Monetary gifts are the norm from both my parents and DH's parents.

[overcome]

:wavey: Another one here who opened an account for DD when she was an infant. We deposit monetary gifts into it. It's an ING savings, so it just sits there and collects interest.

We also have a separate 529 account that we do a direct deposit from each paycheck, plus my parents occasionally make a deposit in there as well. I'm sure we won't have nearly what we need for even year of college, but at least it will be something!

[hez]

We opened a savings account for DS right around his first birthday.

My parents had savings accounts for us when we were kids. Half of any birthday/Christmas money went in, and half we were allowed to spend. The saved money paid for a few summer classes/camps my parents wouldn't have been able to afford to send me to otherwise.

[C99]

All of my children have savings accounts and 529 accounts. I opened them pretty much as soon as they got their Social Security numbers. I kind of split monetary gifts between the two accounts for each child.

[Bean606]

We opened a savings account for DS as soon as he had a Social Security Number -- all monetary gifts get deposited in there. In addition, every day, we give DS our spare change, and he puts it in his piggy bank. When the piggy bank is full, we deposit it into his account. In addition, this year, we added up all the gift cards he got for his birthday, and added that amount into his savings account. Then, I feel like I can use the gift cards (bookstore, department store, etc.) for any purpose - either for things for DS (usually) or else if I need to get a gift for someone else or even myself, I can use the gift card, and not feel like I stole the gift from DS! I am sure that will change when he is old enough to pick things out for himself with a gift card, but for now, it makes our lives easier. We have a 529 account that we fund with upromise.com contributions and a direct deposit from my paycheck.

[ThreeofUs]

We have a custodial account for DS, opened a few months after he was born. He also gets all our spare change and any bills that touch the floor. We were going to do a 529, but the plans around here don't offer many advantages. I'm sure we'll be setting one up soon, though.

[Toba]

My son also has a savings account, which we opened when he was born. We received some generous monetary gifts when he was born and they were deposited in his bank account. He also received several bonds and some gifts of checks or cash for his baptism and the money (not bonds) went in there as well. Any birthday or Christmas money goes in there (he's got way too many toys already that he certainly doesn't need to be buying more toys with gift money, IKWIM). We also empty our coin jug a few times a year and enter that as well. He's got a very large investment that was given to him by his great-grandfather that we do not touch (even though my husband's aunt (a CPA) has been bugging my husband to invest it in something else (right now it's in a municipal bond)).

[mecawa]

My DD has a bank account which we opened when she was about 4 months old to deposit money she received for her christening. When she gets money for her bday we usually put some of it away for her.

[Nyfeara]

We opened DS's account once we got his social security number. We also started his 529 around 4-5 months old. A small amount of my paycheck is deposited directly into his savings account monthly. Any cash gifts for him go into his account.

My parents did this with savings accounts for my brother & I. When we were old enough to drive, they told us we could use the money to buy a car or to continue saving. It was definitely a nice option to have and I wanted to be able to do something similar for DS.

[jent]

Thanks for all the input. I guess it does make sense to have an account to hold onto monetary gifts, though I think I will continue to invest the larger sums (with of course our regular automatic monthly contribution) into her 529.

I really like the gift card idea-- I still have a card that I haven't used for DD, it's for a dept store that doesn't actually have great stuff for kids (at least not our branch).

I don't know why the bank account idea bothered me anyway. I think it's not the idea itself but my in-laws' timing-- they always seem to ask us about it when we're really stressed over something and my to-do list is a mile long, and I work full-time and it's just not that easy to head down to the bank and set up an account.

Of course, when is the to-do list NOT a mile long? :rolleyes:

[JBaxter]

everything goes to the 529 account. My older 2 have savings accounts but Logan works and puts 50-75% of his paycheck in the bank to cover car insurance/ maintence. We also do direct deposit to the 529 which is getting more interest than sitting in a passbook savings

[jamsmu]

We opened accounts for both boys: DS1 was 3 and DS2 was 2. I was on DH's back about it. Our 529 is pretty much maxed, and the kids were getting small checks from grandparents and from their stock dividends, so we needed a place to deposit. Now they love emptying their piggy banks and depositing at the bank (in exchange for a lollipop, of course!)

Its already a big deal to them. Carson's really proud whenever we visit "his bank".