University costs have been rising at a higher rate than inflation for decades now, and the trend doesn’t show any indication of slowing. Post-secondary education is more important than ever.
It also makes saving for university imperative. Here are three easy ways parents can maximize the amount of cash they put aside.
First of all, everyone should be using Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs), just for the Canadian Educational Savings Grant alone. That’s worth 20% of the amount invested, up to $2,500. This means parents can get up to $500 in free money each year. There’s a limit of $7,200 in total Grant benefits over a child’s life.
Where can parents get the extra cash to invest in the first place? One easy solution is to invest a all or most of the cash received by junior on their birthday, Christmas, etc. This can easily add up to a few hundred dollars per year, which won’t amount to much on its own, but is a nice way to maximize other methods.
Finally, parents can hit up the government in a different way. Most Canadian families receive a few hundred dollars per month from the government in the form of Canada child benefit payments. Families with children under six are eligible to get up to $6,400 per year per child, while older children will get their families as much as $5,400 per year.
Combine those payments with the Canada Educational Savings Grant, and you’re getting free money on top of free money. It doesn’t get much better than that.
