Looking back over the years I wish I had put a little away for my children’s education. A little very month would be so much easier than having to worry about large sums of money when it comes to time for post secondary school education. It seems like every job now a days requires college or university to apply. For many not attending is not an option.
I currently have a daughter who is in college. Having three other children at home we were unable to help her with her school fees. She has had to get a job and a loan to cover all the expenses associated with attending college. Not a day goes by that I do not wish I had something set aside to help her. Now our teen son is looking at post secondary school education as well. He still has a few years but is also a contender for an athletic scholarship. I am so thankful his talent and abilities is going to be able to make his life a little less stressful financially.
We still have two more children to go to school after them. The cost is going to be even more as time goes on. Luckily we still have time to plan. Time to prepare and time to help them save for their future. We have started looking into RESPs
RESP: Registered Education Savings Plan
A Registered Education Savings Plan, or RESP, is a special savings plan to help you save for a child’s post-secondary education. With the rising costs associated with sending a child to college or university, an RESP can really help because the government provides grants while the savings grow tax-deferred until withdrawn. When the student withdraws the funds for educational purposes, the withdrawals are taxed in the student’s hands, typically at a lower rate.
What are the benefits of RESPs?
1. Government grants helps the savings grow
To encourage saving for higher education, the federal and provincial government offers grant and tax incentive programs – without impacting your contribution room.
2. Tax-deferred growth
You can contribute up to $50,0001 per child and there are no taxes payable on the money earned in an RESP until it’s withdrawn. When RESP grants and earnings are withdrawn by the child for educational purposes, they are taxed at the student’s generally low tax rate.
3. The sooner you start, the more you save
All a child needs to become the beneficiary of an RESP is a Social Insurance Number (SIN). Look at how much more can be saved for a child’s education by starting a savings plan sooner.
For my American neighbors down south, the equivalent of Canada’s RESP program can be found in what is referred to as a 529 College Savings Plan. The plans and tax incentives vary from state-to-state, but a variety of online tools can be found here that can help figure it out.
You can start saving now for your children’s future no matter how young or old they are. Check out the RESP calculator to see how much you can save. The calculator will help you figure out how much you need to set aside each month to save for post secondary education. Have a look, I bet you will be surprised how easy it can be to save for their future.
Have you started saving?
I got both my kids resp's from various companies when they were born – didn't put a lot into them, didn't ever have the money (have always been self employed or worked for min wage) I DID , however, put the gov family allowance (I forget what its called now lol) into the RESP's. My son is the same age as your daughter and he's in his first yr of school (2 yr term) and he got enough from resp's for two years tuitions and books (but lives in the city now, so his monthly rent of $1000 is a student loan)