Canadian Personal Finance Blog

As a nice early birthday present for my daughter she has been accepted (early) at her #1 and #2 University choices. She is very proud of this, as am I, but now comes the interesting questions about how is this all going to get paid for?

Every University that she has applied to has asked very specific questions about my income, to see whether she qualifies for any kind of financial assistance. When I say specific, they ask for actual values from specific lines in my income tax return, which is about as specific as it gets. Never looked closely to see what rules all this information was being held under, and how safe it all might be, maybe I’ll check into that.

Her #1 choice has already offered her a small first year scholarship, which may grow, simply due to her good grades (and if her final grades are higher, an even higher amount might be available). This is nice to see, and they also sent a preliminary budget of what they think the costs for first year might be (gulp), so that needs to be looked into as well. We also need to investigate what other possible scholarships or bursary programs might be available.

The most interesting thing I need to check into now, is what to do about her RESP. I know that once I start drawing on it, the CESG stops coming in, if I put more money in, but what if she is at school and I don’t draw from it? This question vexes me still, and I must investigate further.

More financial scrutiny and diligence is needed in this area (and any helpful comments or suggestions would be great from my readership as well). I will keep you all posted, as I suspect I am going to make a few interesting mistakes that others might benefit from learning about.

A special Friday this week, given it is February 29th, the bissextile day, an extra day for our year, so enjoy this extra day. Have a Leap today!

• With this extra day you have today to finish up your 2007 RRSP purchases if you wish.  Given how down the markets have been, you might find some deals (or you might be buying tainted meat too, I can’t tell).
• Tomorrow is Saint David’s Day (the patron Saint of Wales). Buy a leek and watch a Rugby game.
• You are supposed to have received all of your relative tax forms by now as well (T-4’s and such) so you can now do your taxes. My employer waits until the very last day before sending my tax forms out.
• The Federal Budget passed a confidence motion yesterday, so TFSA’s are a step closer to coming into laws.
• CIBC took a massive write down from the Low Rate Mortgage scandal in the U.S., which means their stock is tanking even further. TD on the other hand announced a tidy profit and an increase in their dividends. A tale of two Banks?
• I am attempting to get back on the horse and STOP spending money at work again, due to another announcement this week.
• I continue to fill in my net income on financial aid questionnaire’s for various universities, which makes me wonder, what do THEY do with all this information? Once they tell me, “You are too stinking rich to deserve financial aid”, do they simply shred my information? I really hope so, because they ask some very SPECIFIC questions (values on specific lines of my tax forms).

Have some mushy peas and maybe some leek soup and enjoy your Saint David’s weekend.

For those of you without 17 year old in your house, January 9th is the deadline for them to apply to Universities using the OUAC system. I remember when I applied, it was a form with 8 carbon copies and if you were really keen you went to the Library and looked up the University’s programs, but now the whole thing is on line and my daughter has a chance to make a very informed decision, which is great.

Some of the things I need to figure out in the next few months due to this application?

• RESP and whether I should start drawing funds from it as soon as my daughter starts school, or should I try to find enough cash to keep the RESP in tact for as long as possible. Why would I do that? The CESG grants stop coming after your child starts drawing from the funds (at least that is my understanding of the system, if I am incorrect, please someone correct me).
• If my child is accepted at a school away from home, where shall she live? Residence? Off campus housing? Which is the best bang for the dollar?
• Should my daughter apply for OSAP (Ontario Scholastic Assistance Program)? Will she get anything but loans (my guess is NO, her Dad is evidently far too rich for any direct help).
• What scholarships and bursaries can she get? I think I need to get her looking at that, as every dollar saved is a good thing for me.

I’ll keep my trusty readers posted, luckily I have friends who have gone through this that I will be asking questions of as well.

Go Check Your Safety Deposit Box

Just a friendly piece of advice to start your new year. What is in the box? Does it need to be kept there? Last year I took out my Air Canada shares (from the Bankrupt version of the Airline), this year I think I may take out the 12 year old Will that is in there. I need to get one of those “do it yourself” will kits from Staples, as my current Will doesn’t even take into consideration my son, or that my daughters are mostly old enough to live on their own.

University Tuition Averages

After my own brush with tuition costs this week, University Costs Holy Crap, Stats Canada has come up with a more extensive survey of Post Secondary education Costs across Canada. Worth a read to see just how little folks in Quebec pay for their tuition fees. A more startling graphic is the following that shows just why the cost of Post Secondary education has sky rocketed.

Given that post secondary institutions have been allowed to increase their fee structures at such an alarming rate, it explains why it is so much more than when I went to school 25 years ago.

Oil Futures over $90 a Barrel

Interesting that the price has gone up another 28% in the past little while and no one has said too much? This is going to make for a very interesting winter if it is a cold one, that is for sure.

We Canadians are Debt Junkies

At least that is what the Certified General Accountants think, with their new report, Where does the Money Go: The Increasing Reliance on Household Debt in Canada, simply reinforces more of what you have read in other Money Blogs as well as here, get the heck out of debt however you can! Most any debt is a bad thing, and getting used to it, is not the answer. Get Rid Of It, is the answer.

This Week’s Postings

• Sunday a Day of Rest?
• Leading Indicators Still Good For Canada
• Tourism as Important as Agriculture
• Bank of Canada has no Interest (hikes)
• University Costs Holy Crap!
• Get off the Throne Will Ya?