Saving For My Children

Ah, kids. They are expensive BUT we love them anyway!

According to MoneySense.ca, the average cost of raising a child to 18 is an incredible $243,660. That breaks down to more than $12,000 per child, per year, or just over $1000 per month. AND.....that is before you send them off to University!
 

So, want to know how much University might cost you?
Well, the cost of a four year university degree for a child born in 2013 could rise to more than $140,000. Right now a four year university degree can cost anywhere from $40,000 to $60,000.  Frankly, that number just freaks me out. What about you? 

Well, I think I can honestly say that I am not doing enough to prepare. I have stashed some money away in a few accounts. The money there is not working very hard in all fairness. It has been mostly stashed in savings accounts or Tax Free Saving Accounts. I will admit it here that I have yet to set up an RESP. I don't really know what is holding me back. I got my girls their social insurance numbers. They have passports. I have all the identification I would need to open an RESP for them but haven't done it yet. My children are ten and eight years old. I know there is time but not a whole lot of time left to make the money necessary to send my girls off to an institute of higher learning. I think what might be holding me back might be my lack of knowledge when it comes to investing. It is a bit scary. I have never been great with math and numbers, so thinking about investing, saving and anything financial is a bit intimidating.  

Sound familiar? If you are like me it can all be a bit overwhelming. There is so many sources of information online. One great place to go for information is RBC.

As part of this Mom Central campaign I have had the opportunity to do a little reading. I have started to educate myself on what it would take to make sure that my children get the education they deserve without going deep into debt. That is the thing about an RESP really (in my opinion). I want to make sure that my children can go to college or university and not have to worry about how to pay for it or have to borrow money just to go. It just takes a little time and effort to make sure that we have the money to cover the cost of post secondary education. I think about it this way....for what it costs me to buy my favourite cup/cups of coffee a day I could be stashing that same amount of money away AUTOMATICALLY in an RESP. Over time it will add up!

You can find more great tips on saving for your child¹s education here:

Campaign page: 
Rbc.com/education 

Our product page: 
http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/resp/index.html 

RESP-matic: 
http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/resp/resp-matic.html

Disclosure: I am part of the RBC RESP blogger program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.