Your kid doesn't need $100,000 for school!

First and foremost, how cute is Quinn?! She was just about two in this photo and it is one of my all-time favourites.

She's cute. I love her to death. But she does not need $100,000 to go to school with! Hot takes on RESP savings below...

RESPs are great – taking free money from the government (via grants) is never a bad idea, but not at the cost of your financial security and retirement planning.⁣

1. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮? the answer I get more than anything is ‘nothing’ or at least some sort of variation of ‘some, not all’. You did okay, right? Why are we planning for our kids to have $100,000 for an undergrad degree?⁣ ⁣If you are maximizing the Canadian Government grant, you will be saving just over $200 per month per kid. You would be amazed at what that turns into after 17 years of contributing, government matching and the magic of compounding interest.

2. 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟? Are you maxing out your TFSA? Do you have unused RRSP room? Maxing out the kid’s savings is a wise decision, but not at the cost of your retirement and financial safety.⁣ ⁣ General rule of thumb for me is TFSA first, RESP second, and RRSP third. TFSA savings can be used for anything and are completely liquid - the other two come with disclaimers on how you get them out to spend them.

3. 𝐈𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬’ 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞? Four years at a local university while living at home? Any school in Canada with room and board, a meal plan and books? Who knows, you may already be on pace to meet your goal of how you want to help your kids and can start saving for your new boat instead!⁣ Know your goal for them and work backwards to find out how much you should be saving.

Got kids? Need help? Lets talk!