Kids Given Over £130,000 Throughout their Childhood

The average child will receive £131,832.94 by the age of 25 – more than enough to step foot on the property ladder, according to a new study from HSBC.

Researchers examining the total income received during each year of a child’s life, discovered that it IS possible to save the required average house deposit of £32,000 IF parents are savvy with cash from birth and save 25 per cent.

The HSBC Deposit Dash study looks at all aspects of income from pocket money, tooth fairy donations, gifts for special occasions, odd jobs, part time jobs, selling unwanted items, money given for encouragement and rewards.

During the first year of its life, a baby will receive gifts, savings and treats to the tune of £1,325.88.

By their twenty fifth year, the same child can expect to bring home £14,457.12 worth of income from full-time and part time jobs, handouts from mum and dad, selling unwanted items, and rewards.

Tracie Pearce, HSBC UK’s Head of Mortgages which conducted the study of 1,800 parents of 1-18 year-olds and 2,000 18-25 year-olds, said: “The findings are really quite astonishing. Through our Deposit Dash study, we have shown that it is possible to get onto the property ladder reasonably quickly, even by the age of 25.

“For parents, the key is to start saving for your child and to encourage a savings habit so when they are old enough to make financial decisions by themselves, they can see the benefit of saving towards their first home.”

The study shows that during the first five years of life, the average child will be lucky enough to receive £8,759.22 in the form of Birthday and Christmas presents, savings made by mum and dad and their parents selling used toys, clothing and furnishings.

By the age of 10, this figure will have reached the dizzy heights of £22,004.99.

During their early teens children will have started completing odd jobs around the house and neighbourhood, and holiday jobs to earn themselves some money to spend.

Pocket money also rises slightly at this stage, as does the amount spent on gifts. As such, by the age of 15, the average child will have enjoyed gifts and cash to the tune of £37,932.20, with an additional £48.80 from the tooth fairy, taking the figure to £37,981.00.

Age 15 to 20 is a time of change for many young adults, who either spread their wings and enter further education while balancing part time work, or leave school and embark on working in the real world for the first time.

Receipt of income makes a notable leap when a child turns 19, with income rising from £4,912.15 in their eighteenth year to £7,568.64 in their nineteenth as the youth suddenly takes more earnings from a job.

This means income reaches £68,088.07 by the age of 20, and as earnings increase year on year, a staggering £131,832.94 by the age of 25.

Which means that if all gifts and money received from family members, friends, and employers were saved instead of spent, these young adults would feasibly be in the position to step foot on the property ladder.

HSBC’s Tracie Pearce continues: “We’re not suggesting that children and young adults shouldn’t spend any of their pocket money or enjoy themselves, but they should be aware of what money they have and receive, and regularly save some of it. It’s interesting to see that many young people don’t think they’ll ever be able to afford to buy their own home, however by financially planning early on, home ownership is a realistic and achievable aspiration.

Interestingly, 63 per cent of the 1,800 parents polled don’t think they currently save enough money for their children’s future.

And while 67 per cent worry about their children being able to get onto the property ladder, the same percentage have no financial plans in place to make this possible.

For those 18 to 25 year-olds who answered the survey themselves, a fifth don’t think they’ll ever be able to afford to buy their own home, while 31 per cent say it will only be possible with a lottery win.

Just four in 10 people aged 18 to 25 are currently saving for a deposit for a house – 35 per cent are saving for a holiday, 21 per cent want to buy their own car and 23 per cent are just putting money away for a rainy day.

HSBC has teamed up with Olympians turned property coaches, Steve Backley and Roger Black, to guide young Brits financially plan in order to become homeowners. Together, they have built their own property business by applying their sporting skills to the field.

Roger Black commented “The psychology behind saving for a mortgage deposit is the same as the psychology needed to achieve any big life goal. You need dedication, determination and the right attitude.”

Steve Backley said “Having made the move into property myself, many of the skills and discipline I developed in sport are exactly what you need to reach homeownership success.

“It is achievable, but it’s about adopting good spending and saving habits early on, sticking to a plan and keeping the end goal in sight.”