Your Child's Education: The Best Time To Start Saving

If you have kids, you know the answer is always, “NOW!”

“Mommy, I need to go to the bathroom NOW!”

“Daddy, I don’t want carrots. I want strawberries. NOW!”

“Honey, that child gate needs to go up NOW!”

“NOW! NOW! NOW!”

So when you ask yourself the question as to when is the best time to start saving for your child’s education, let me help make it really clear.

NOW!

Seriously. Like right now.

If you’re still not convinced, let me tell a personal story that might just change your mind.

When I had my first daughter, I was a wreck.  I bought the baby monitor with the audio, video, and movement monitors because you can never be too safe.  Then I stressed about some stranger being able to look into my baby’s room with the damn thing.

I researched for months to find the safest, most reliable car seat for infants. Then I drove about 5 km/hour for the first year of her life, just in case.  I stockpiled homeopathic medication, baby Advil, baby Tylenol, baby Tempra, and anything else I could find at the pharmacy so I’d be prepared for my baby’s first flu.

Then I hesitated to use any of it when the time came because what-about-the-side-effects?!

But you know what I didn’t buy?

A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP).

Why?

Because I was too busy washing her clothes in only the gentlest of laundry detergents approximately 21.74 times before her first wear, sanitizing her bottles by both boiling them and then using the sanitizer just to be safe, using the thermometer to ensure her bath water wasn’t too hot or too cold for her tiny little body.

Basically, I was too busy worrying about things that didn’t really matter all that much.

Parenting is 100% worry, 100% of the time.

And sometimes, we easily overlook the bigger picture items in the face of the small, everyday worries.

As a first time parent, I honestly didn’t think I had the time nor the energy to open a RESP.

And so I didn’t even think about it.  Until I had my second daughter.  And a good friend came to visit her. A good friend who is also a financial whiz.  The first thing she asked me, after holding the baby, was if I’d signed up for her RESP.

I was all, “Huh? RESP? Ummm, well, hmmm.”

I think my response gave me away.  She asked me why I was more concerned with finding the right diaper bag than my child’s education.

Ermn.

Diaper bag or education?  She had me on a technicality.  And the truth is, she was right.  Education is important. Really, really important.  More important that all those fancy outfits that get worn once, the endless piles of toys, the useless baby gear.  But I’d neglected it in the face of everyday chaos. Oops.

So what could I really do but tell her the truth.  I told her it was too confusing and I didn’t want to lose money on some investment I didn’t understand. I didn’t want to spend money on fees nor waste time I didn’t have with agents trying to sell me the moon and stars.  You know, just the norm.  Luckily for me, she was my biggest ally in getting an RESP.

She explained to me that RESPs just make sense because the benefits are substantial. You earn interest tax-free. The government gives you grants. Let me put it another way, the government gives you free money!

Done! Sign me up! She had me at free money!

And I realized that’s what I’d needed all along.  An ally that made it easy. So easy, that I wish I’d done it sooner with my first.

And that’s what giraffe & friends is.  An ally to getting your child’s RESP. A no fee, 100% guaranteed ally that takes the uncertainty out of investing in your child’s future.  An ally that's changing the norm.  Basically, it’s as easy as going online and signing up. There is no confusing jargon, no sales pitch, no maintenance needed.

giraffe & friends isn’t your typical RESP provider. They’re rewriting the rules when they promise you that your personal savings are 100% guaranteed to grow. That’s exactly the piece of mind new parents need when everything else in their world is constantly changing. You don’t have to keep up with the financial news or maintain your account to keep your money safe and growing. They do all the work for you. They also take care of all the government grants, meaning you won’t miss any extra government support.

But you’re probably still wondering how much should you contribute to an RESP? It’s simple, really. Whatever you can. Make it work for you. Whether this means that you use the money your child receives as gifts, baby shower offerings, government grants, anything that makes sense for your family. The Government of Canada will add an extra 20% to your contributions, with a cap of $500/year and a total contribution cap of $7200 for the life of the RESP. So if you’re looking to receive the maximum government grant of $500, you would have to contribute $2500 a year or about $208.33 a month. The math really is that simple.

And the wonderful thing is that giraffe & friends provides you with contribution flexibility to suit your budget. You can make lump sum payments or schedule easy to manage pre-authorized payments through your bank account or credit card.

You decide what works for you and you do it your way, all from the comfort of your own home.

I didn’t have giraffe & friends to guide and help me purchase an RESP when my first child was born. Had I known it could be so easy, I’d have done it right away to ensure I didn’t miss out on any of the government grants. Because the truth is, the sooner you do it, the more money you can potentially receive and save.

Let giraffe & friends be your ally in navigating your child’s RESP. Go online and check it out yourself.

NOW!

It’s the one purchase you won’t regret making...unlike that pee-pee teepee.