I have written previously about my 4 best investments, but I feel it is important to update and follow up on that statement. I now feel I have 5 best investments that I can boast about.

Last week one of my daughters graduated as a Chiropractor, so now my 5 best investments are

• Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University
• Bachelor of Kinesiology from Acadia University
• Bachelor of Science from Trent University
• Teaching Certification from Queen’s University
• Doctor of Chiropractic from CMCC

The last 2 investments I didn’t actually spend that much on, but the previous three I feel were mostly my investments. I did have a rule that I pay for the 1^st degree (and if I pay for a degree I don’t pay for a wedding). As with all rules they have not been adhered to verbatim.

My parents invested in my education, and for that I am eternally grateful. I have had folks comment that if a child pays for their own education, they are more invested in the process. In my case, letting my parents down was actually a strong motivating factor, so I think that is a wash in terms of arguments.

I like the fact that it wasn’t a foreign investment either. I don’t think I could have afforded sending my kids outside of the country, it was expensive enough out of the city.  If you are planning on helping your kids, an RESP is where you should start with your plan, and then look into CO-OP programs, OSAP and the Scholarships out there (and there are many).

Regrets?

My guess is if I hadn’t put the money away that I used to help my kids’ educations I would have blown it on something stupid, so I am glad I can point to something tangible for where the money went. It has also been pointed out that I didn’t do any of the work (aside from repairing a few computers). Why is this a good investment? I have always relied on the good works of others.

If you are planning on trying to help your kids out with their University costs (or other post-secondary ideas), an RESP is a must (just for the free money), however, that is not the only way to ensure you can easily help out your kids reach their educational dreams (or your dreams for their eduction).

I have learned after 8 years of paying for children’s expenses for school, that the most debilitating university costs are not tuition, it is the cost of accommodation. At one point in the 8 years I was

• Paying the mortgage on my house
• Paying rent of 3 separate apartments across Canada

When did I become so rich that I could afford this (you might ask)? (sarcasm alert) I most assuredly did not, the RESP money helped somewhat, but these kind of costs can almost double your family living expenses. Living expenses for your kids at school really do add up.

There are remedies for this kind of expense (luckily):

1. Do not allow your child to move away from home while they are going to University. Whether you really want to inflict this on yourself, is a question you must ask, but that will eliminate many of the living expenses. I know at least one set of parents that said, “I will pay for your tuition, and give you a car to use, if you stay at home. If not, it is all on you.”
2. Pay off your house before your kids get to University, that way you are rich enough to be able to pay for the rent on “N” different apartments (or residence rooms) (where N is greater than 1).
3. Make your kids pay for their living costs.
4. Make your kids pay the whole shot. They want an eduction, time to learn about money at the same time.

Option (2) on the list is a very good target to try to hit, but kind of hard if you are maxing out your RESP, TFSA, and RRSP savings targets as well, but still something to keep in mind!

Options (3) & (4) sound heartless, but I know plenty of folks who paid for their entire University career, because their parents couldn’t help out, and they seem to have survived.

Keep in mind, University costs are not just tuition costs.

For those of us who have kids about to return to University we are about to see the onslaught of fees that are charged by all Universities (in Canada). University fees continue to be become more and more intricate, complicated and expensive.

There are many fees being charged, but the two that caught my eye (on my daughter’s university fees bill from Queen’s University) were:

For those who do not want to do the arithmetic, that is $500 for 4 months.

Remember that if your child is in school your health insurance plan covers both Health & Dental (if you are covered that is), so you really don’t need to pay this fee, and most universities will allow your child to opt out of the charges (which seem quite high to me). I have checked with our friends at LSM Insurance who think the fees are a little high, but not too bad. Another factor to take into consideration is that a lot of Health Plans have positive enrollment clauses (I am with SUN Life for health insurance and that is the case), where you must every year (after a child turns 19 I think) go to the Insurers web site (or send in a form) stating that your child is still at school, or the child loses their coverage under the plan.

How easy is it to opt-out of the health and dental in the university fees schedule ? At most schools, not as simple as you might think, and deciphering which fees are optional, and which are mandatory is a real quagmire of data.

I remember folks opting out of fees when I was at University, but typically those were the folks that were paying their own way, and didn’t want to pay for things they weren’t going to use.

What are some other fees from Queens University ? These add up to almost 25% of the tuition bill we are paying (note that residence or living expenses are not here either). Still think you won’t need an RESP to help your kids go to University? I’d also like to remind those with younger kids that there is no legislation limiting the fee levels (tuition yes) or how much they can increase.

Let me preface this, that this is a Guest Post from a group of chaps I tripped over a while ago. Sounds like an interesting idea to me teaching folks about the costs of University, they are looking for feedback, have a read and see what you think.

Feels like cheese

by Alfred Yang

For those of you who lived through the 90’s, remember that old Cheese Whiz commercial where kids are reluctant to eat their vegetables until they’re garnished the amazing product? Well, that commercial kept replaying in my head as I worked on Proliteracy.ca, a free tool that helps Canadians plan finances for post-secondary education.

I can’t help but get the feeling that personal finance education is a lot like vegetables.  We all know it’s good for you, but it isn’t that appealing, especially to young people.  I feel like our team at Proliteracy.ca is trying to create the secret sauce that makes something dry and boring more consumable.

Fortunately, from the start of our journey we’ve met many organizations and individuals who share the same passion for promoting financial literacy.  Subject matter experts in the field of personal finance, like Big Cajun Man, gave us the motivation to continue our work.   Today, Proliteracy.ca is available to all Canadians looking to understand post-secondary financing.

The secret sauce?

Despite the rapid evolution of financial technology, it has yet to change the way most consumers educate themselves about personal finance.  The internet gives us incredible access to information, but it can be overwhelming.  The Proliteracy.ca team wanted to find a way to help people filter through the noise to focus on what’s really important to their own situations.

Our team wanted to start by helping students and young parents, a demographic that is arguably the least motivated to learn about personal finance.  Ironically, most members in this very same demographic have a major financial hurdle to overcome – financing post-secondary education.  Tuition has been increasing steadily in the past two decades and according to the Canadian Federation of Students the average new grad from university owes over $28,000 in student debt.

Through extensive research, we found plenty of information on financing post-secondary education, but when considering our own personal situations, a number of questions still remain unanswered:

• If I have a young child today, how much should I be saving towards?
• How does studying in a different school or different city impact my cost?
• How much money should I set aside each month so that I am not too late by the time my child is ready for college?
• Beside savings, what other financing options are available?
• How does borrowing impact my child’s financial future?

Our Goals

Proliteracy.ca aims to help forecast the cost of education based on each student’s personal situation. We do the heavy lifting to organize data that’s freely available so that it’s more accessible and easier to understand.

First, we prompt you to answer a few questions, including programs and schools of interest, and the year of enrollment. Then we forecast the cost of tuition, books, and other expenses based on historical data. The end result is a good estimate of the financial target you or your family should be aiming for when planning for post-secondary education.

With an understanding of cost, we’re able to suggest a variety funding options starting with the least expensive options: savings, grants and scholarships.  We build awareness to great federal programs like the Canadian Learning Bond (CLB) and Canadian Education Savings Grants (CESG) and highlight the impact they have on RESP savings.  We also perform grants and scholarships matching, allowing families to take advantage of resources that are otherwise unknown to them before taking on debt.

Eat your vegetables, they’re good for you

In October, we ran a pilot program at three different high schools in the Greater Toronto Area.   We found that students and many young parents are generally not motivated to learn about personal finance. Most are not prepared for the high cost of post-secondary education.  Tuition is increasing well beyond the rate of inflation, and a child’s college or university education a decade from now could easily set a family back by over six figures.  Most individuals we spoke to admit that they are planning finances for post-secondary education too late.

Like eating vegetables, financial planning needs to start early in life.  When confronted with a significant financial hurdle like cost of post-secondary education, families need to get into the rhythm of saving, learning about funding options and understanding the implications of debt.

We need your help

Since our pilot launch, we’ve received a lot of encouragement and feedback on how we can improve. While our team is making great strides towards creating an amazing planning tool, we can get there a lot faster by working with individuals and organizations who share the same passion for financial literacy.

So, if you have any feedback at all, we’d love to hear from you.

www.proliteracy.ca