If you told most professional investors that there was a way to get a tax-advantage automatic return of 20% on their money they would quickly jump on it and be hailed as some of the greatest investors on the planet for doing it.
If you have children in Canada you actually are being offered this deal every day. The Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) program is one of the best opportunities Canadians have to help their children out and yet so few take advantage of it.
In order to help us remedy this injustice our good friend Mike Holman is joining us today on the podcast to shed some line on what the heck RESPs are and how they are best used. In addition to running one of Canada’s top personal finance blogs Mike has become the unofficial guru of RESPs as he literally wrote the book on them (and so far is the only one to do so from what I understand).
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Here’s a quick breakdown of what Mike and I chat about:
- What the heck is an RESP?
- The government wants to give me free money?
- How do you open an RESP account (*Hint* It’s easier than you thought)
- What investments can be put into an RESP?
- What are the rules around using an RESP
- Do I lose my money if my child doesn’t go to school?
- More than just parents can contribute to an RESP plan (I now have new baby gift ideas).
- What if I go to aviation school instead of university? That’s ok!
- Why do only one-third or less of Canadians students have an RESP for them.
- The Canada Learning Bond (CLB) and why it’s awesome.
- Why sooner is better than later when it comes to RESPs.
- The Anti-Hockey Scholarship
- How a two-hour time commitment can make sure your child has thousands of dollars extra dollar when it comes time to head off to school.
- Mike’s book and associated blog.
For more information on RESPs you can check out Mike’s website and his book, as well as taking a peak at the following RESP-related articles on My University Money:
Buying RESPs – What Parents Don’t Understand
CESG – The Canada Education Savings Grant
Investing Series – RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs
RESPs – A Great Graduation Gift
RESP Rules – Not Exactly Tax Free – But Close
RESP – An Investment for the Future