The top 5 questions about RESPs + MORE Sep 7th

An RESP, short for registered education savings plan, is a powerful tool that families can use to save for a child’s post-secondary education. RESPs have many great benefits, including tax-deferred growth and access to thousands of dollars’ worth of free government grants and bonds. But… using an RESP isn’t exactly intuitive and Canadians often have a lot of questions about them.

As we head into the back-to-school season, I’ll tackle the top five questions we hear from clients at Embark.

1. What can an RESP be used for?

An RESP can be used for just about any education-related cost—not just for tuition. Although, tuition is one of the biggest expenses, and it’s one of the key reasons parents and grandparents open an RESP. For the 2022–2023 academic year, the average tuition fee for a full-time undergraduate student in Canada weighed in at $6,834—2.6% higher than the year before.

Tuition costs have been incrementally increasing every year, and some professional programs cost significantly more than others…

You can bet when a financial journalist and a Certified Financial Planner come together, they’re going to talk about money. But when they work together, the outcome will be a book. That was the case when CFP Julie Shipley-Strickland and editor and writer Bryan Borzykowski (who is also a former MoneySense editor) joined forces: The Canadian’s Guide to Personal Finance for Singles (Wiley, 2022). Described as “your silent partner who always offers helpful financial advice,” the book brings together the duo’s passion: empowering Canadians with information and insights on spending, saving, budgeting and a whole lot more. So, we just had to ask them a few more (personal) questions about money.

Who are your money heroes?

Bryan Borzykowski: Julie Shipley-Strickland, of course. 

Julie Shipley-Strickland: My paternal grandma. She invested steadily for the long term and researched thoroughly what she invested in. She believed in it and had confidence it would be successful—and it was…