Canadian Finance Blog

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 02:00 AM PST

Since the birth of my child a little over a year ago, RESPs have been something that I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking into. With the CESG adding 20% to your contribution, and sheltering the money from taxes, RESPs are a great way to save up for when your child heads off to college or university.

Mike Holman, the blogger behind Money Smarts Blog, has put together a great resource in The RESP Book: The Complete Guide to Registered Education Savings Plans for Canadians. The book covers all the RESP account details, withdrawal rules and eligibility requirements. Mike even covers the provincial programs available in Alberta (ACES) and Quebec (QESI) and the additional grants for lower income families.

Ultimately, you can get an RESP without knowing every single rule and you’ll still get your CESG without any issue. But the most useful chapters are at the end and deal with how to get your RESP account started and some basic investing information for RESP accounts. In these chapters, Holman discusses the types of investments you could choose from (including my choice, the TD e-Series Funds) and how you go about getting your RESP setup.

I recommend The RESP Book to any new parents that want to help contribute to their child’s post-secondary education but are not sure where to start or how it all works. Mike Holman’s book provides everything you need to know about RESPs in an easy to read 115 pages.

Book Giveaway

To enter to win The RESP Book: The Complete Guide to Registered Education Savings Plans for Canadians, fill out the entry form below before the end of day on November 14th.

In addition to your first entry when filling out the contest form, you can get up to 5 bonus entries by doing any of the following:

Subscribe to the Canadian Finance Blog email, where you'll get each article, 7 days a week with no spam emails. Please make sure you use the same email when you enter the draw.
Follow Canadian Finance Blog on Twitter and add your Twitter ID in the entry form.
Tweet one of our posts during the giveaway period (you can find a Tweet button at the bottom of any post).
Like the Canadian Finance Blog Facebook page and add your Facebook ID in the entry form.
Like one of our posts during the giveaway period (you can find a Like button at the bottom of any post)

This contest is for one copy of The RESP Book, and is open to anyone in Canada. The deadline for entries is Sunday, November 14th at 11:59PM MST and the winner will be contacted by email on Monday. There will be one winner, chosen with a random number generator from Random.org. If the winner does not reply within one week, a new name will be drawn. Good luck!

Book Review – The RESP Book originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on November 9, 2010.

Life Insurance Blog

Tuesday, November 9, 2010