I remember the birth of my two kids as if it happened yesterday. I remember their first words, their first steps, and their first birthdays. I also remember the words of our parents from the beginning, telling us to enjoy every moment with our kids because life goes by so fast.
As sad as it is to say, they were right.
I can't believe in a few months my son is going to be five, and my daughter is going to be two. Before we know it, they'll be in high school, and then off to college or university. It not only makes me sad just thinking about it, but it also worries me about how much it's going to cost us.
Thinking about our kids' future and education really stresses me out. We obviously want the best for them, and to help them out in any way we can. Tuition today is pretty expensive; who knows what the cost will be when my little ones actually go?
When my husband and I went to college, we were both fortunate enough to have our tuition paid for by our parents. So many of our friends are still to this day paying off their student loans. Maybe we didn't realize it then, but looking back on it now, we are so thankful that our parents were able to do that for us. It's because of this we don't have any student loans to pay off. Now we want to follow in their footsteps, and do the same for our kids by contributing to their Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to help pay for post-secondary education.
The first thing we did in order to make that happen was to open up a bank account for them. Now, any money that we wanted to give to them, or any money they receive as a gifts, goes straight into their account. That way we can keep track of what they have and, at the end of the year, put it towards their RESP. In addition, we have a certain amount withdrawn from our bank account automatically each month that goes straight into the RESP account...just a little something extra we worked into our budget to help contribute more. By doing all of this, though, we still aren't contributing the maximum of $2,500 per year, per child, to receive the full Canada Education Saving Grant. However, I just got a great tip from Heritage Education Funds to use our tax return to contribute even more to our kids' RESP! Isn't that smart?! What better way to top-up than by using money that you weren't expecting?! I really wish we had thought of this option when we first started, because I would have done it. Who wouldn't want to take advantage of getting money from the government right?!
Usually at tax time, we get money back and just put it right back into our account but by using our tax return and contributing to our RESP just makes more sense. Every little bit counts!
If you want more information about setting up a RESP for your child, visit the Heritage Education Funds website HERE and click on "Live Chat". They have agents who can answer any questions you might have. Or if you are a current Heritage Subscriber, you can contact your registered Dealing Representative directly.
As sad as it is to say, they were right.
I can't believe in a few months my son is going to be five, and my daughter is going to be two. Before we know it, they'll be in high school, and then off to college or university. It not only makes me sad just thinking about it, but it also worries me about how much it's going to cost us.
Thinking about our kids' future and education really stresses me out. We obviously want the best for them, and to help them out in any way we can. Tuition today is pretty expensive; who knows what the cost will be when my little ones actually go?
When my husband and I went to college, we were both fortunate enough to have our tuition paid for by our parents. So many of our friends are still to this day paying off their student loans. Maybe we didn't realize it then, but looking back on it now, we are so thankful that our parents were able to do that for us. It's because of this we don't have any student loans to pay off. Now we want to follow in their footsteps, and do the same for our kids by contributing to their Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to help pay for post-secondary education.
The first thing we did in order to make that happen was to open up a bank account for them. Now, any money that we wanted to give to them, or any money they receive as a gifts, goes straight into their account. That way we can keep track of what they have and, at the end of the year, put it towards their RESP. In addition, we have a certain amount withdrawn from our bank account automatically each month that goes straight into the RESP account...just a little something extra we worked into our budget to help contribute more. By doing all of this, though, we still aren't contributing the maximum of $2,500 per year, per child, to receive the full Canada Education Saving Grant. However, I just got a great tip from Heritage Education Funds to use our tax return to contribute even more to our kids' RESP! Isn't that smart?! What better way to top-up than by using money that you weren't expecting?! I really wish we had thought of this option when we first started, because I would have done it. Who wouldn't want to take advantage of getting money from the government right?!
Usually at tax time, we get money back and just put it right back into our account but by using our tax return and contributing to our RESP just makes more sense. Every little bit counts!
If you want more information about setting up a RESP for your child, visit the Heritage Education Funds website HERE and click on "Live Chat". They have agents who can answer any questions you might have. Or if you are a current Heritage Subscriber, you can contact your registered Dealing Representative directly.
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