A new poll suggests three quarters of B.C. parents are stressed about post-secondary costs.
The Leger online survey of 600 B.C caregivers who have a child going to school this fall was conducted for Coast Capital Savings between July 18 and 24.
The survey found:
- 74 per cent of parents feel stressed about the cost of their children’s post-secondary education
- 91 per cent of parents who believe their children will attend a post-secondary school are either already saving (77 per cent) or planning to do so (15 per cent)
- Of the 22 per cent of parents who are not saving for their children’s post-secondary education, 69 per cent say it is because they are not in a position to do so
Charlotte Pecknold just had her first child a year ago and says the stress of saving for her child’s education feels like another bill.
“We live in a very expensive city,” she said. “You want to pay for nutritious food and daycare, so there’s a lot of things you have to think about.”
However, Pecknold says it was important for her family to start saving early.
“The cost of post-secondary education is very high and currently there is a lot of competing priorities when you have a new baby, but it was important for us to open an RESP.”
She says her plan is to put $25 in an RESP every two weeks. In 17 years, she’ll have $10,200.
The poll also found that a third of parents had not heard of the B.C Training and Education Savings Grant, through which the provincial government contributes $1,200 to an RESP for children between the ages of six and nine.
Comments