As a parent, we are given a responsibility to care for and teach our children with many of life’s experiences, challenges and survival. Sometimes we may even spoil them a little! Thankfully we all get an opportunity to bring up our kids how we want (at least for the most part), or maybe how we were brought up, and sometimes we don’t get everything right.
The Choice is Yours
Did your parents pay for your post secondary schooling, or were you left to save and pay for that on your own? Did this reflect how you provided, or didn’t provide for your kids as they completed high school? The good and bad thing is that there is no right or wrong answer and any parent gets to make choices that are important to them and their situation.
The Run Down
RESP (registered education savings plan) is a tool that is available to us to help put away some savings for post secondary. This often is utilized by parents or a child’s grandparents. The government provides some additional money on contributions made into the RESP through grants and possibly bonds which can help the value to grow. As tuition costs continually increase, a RESP is a tool that may be utilized to assist your young adults and their education needs.
Don’t Forget About You
Sometimes, I talk with parents and they have been diligent with saving for their kids’ education so that their children don’t have financial worries and can get a good education. This is great! However sometimes these same parents have given so much to care for their kids that they forgot about themselves and put away savings for themselves. Retirement savings is one place where a parent may see a lack of resources and they are concerned that they won’t be able to retire or at least comfortably. Later in life, will this create a financial responsibility on their kids, who are attempting to save for their retirement or children’s education?
Your Needs
Again, no right or wrong answer here, but it is a good idea to decide what is important to you. Then allocate some money to one or a number of these items, so there can be some preparation for the things that you value. Utilizing a RRSP or TFSA for your own financial goals may be a good option for you and your family.
If you are looking for assistance to see into your financial future and what you may need to do to care for yourself and potentially help your kids along the way, talk to our office to set up a meeting and discuss your financial plan and if you are on track to meet your goals.
