Our daily blog offers selected news of interest to SmartSAVER’s stakeholders and shines a light on the creative ways that communities are promoting the Canada Learning Bond. Stay up to date, read what others are doing and share your own story.

TALK TO US

We hope our blog will create conversation and support the exchange of ideas.

We’d love to hear from you! Tell us about your CLB promotion or share tips to engage eligible families. Do you have a question for the community? Submit your stories, ideas and questions to info@SmartSAVER.org and we’ll share it on our blog.


Guest post by HigherEd Points: Parent’s Guide to Funding Higher Education

We are pleased to have collaborated with ScholarshipsCanada.com to create a new Birth-to-Graduation guide to funding higher education.

HigherEdPoints resourceThe Parent’s Guide to Funding Higher Education provides an overview of major sources of funding at each stage of a child’s life–from birth (RESPs, Canada Learning Bond) through the exploration and decision years in high school (scholarships, student loans) during study at college or university (entrance awards, bursaries and HigherEdPoints.com) through to graduation (jobs and loan repayment assistance).

Please feel free to download, print and/or distribute the guide (attached to this post) as you wish – this information will help students, grads and their families find the funding needed to pursue a higher education.

Download the resource guide.

 

Financial Literacy Tips for Starting to Save for School

Even thinking about saving for your child’s education can be stressful, but ABC Life Literacy Canada has some tips to get you started and keep you calm.

Take a deep breath, and keep in mind:

  • Research has shown that just having an educational savings account in their name increases a child’s chances of pursuing post-secondary education. You don’t need a saving plan before you open an RESP.
  • It’s ok to have questions.  If saving for school was easy, we’d all be good at it! Check in with your financial institution (or, better yet, with a few different ones) to ask questions about what’s going to work best for you and your family.
  • Education is an investment in a secure future for your child. Not only will the money you’re saving now grow by the time your child goes to school, but that education will set them up for greater employment chances and higher earnings. Every dollar you save today will have an even bigger impact for them down the road.

Start with the small and the manageable.

  • Make sure you have a Social Insurance Number for you and your child. This Government of Canada website can help you out.
  • Learn more about what an RESP is, and the extra benefits you can get from opening one, like the Canada Learning Bond.
  • Make an appointment with your financial institution to open an RESP. If you’re nervous about this, use SmartSAVER’s tool for getting the process started online. Remember to have yours and your child’s Social Insurance Numbers handy.
  • Create a spending plan to reflect on where your money is going every month. Are there ways to rearrange your spending so you could re-route some money into your child’s RESP? We’ve got some ideas for you here.
  • In lieu of gifts for your children, ask friends and family to provide RESP contributions.
  • Have school-aged kids? Start talking to them about money—including the cost of education, and why it’s important to save for it. Not only does this keep your kids informed and learning, but you can get the bonus motivation of working as a family team to save money for education, instead of feeling like you’re on your own. These activities for parents and kids can get you started.

Happy saving!

Carissa Di Gangi
Program Manager, Community
ABC Life Literacy Canada

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