I would be lying if I said that my university years meant nothing to me. As difficult as they were, those years were a wonderful and very enlightening part of my life. Being a typical student, I spent five years in school, mostly on the government's dime, and then another six years paying the loan back. It was the first five years I mentioned that I found to be the most inspiring.
When I went to university, it was an unplanned, last minute thought. I was in my mid-twenties and desperately needed something to do. I was probably the most unprepared student there ever was, hence the student loan. After I repaid the loan, I did the math one day to find out what my education really cost. For me, it was get a government loan or don't go to school, so I chose the loan, and honestly, thank goodness it was an option.
However, if you're able to think a little further ahead than I did, I would advise a few things, and one of them would be to save now as much as you can for your own education. I agree it's not convenient and I understand those new jeans with that bling cell phone is a 'must have' combination, but trust me on the post-secondary saving. If you must, lock yourself up with a forced savings account from your bank, that way the money is automatically withdrawn each month, and for the most part, you won't even notice it's missing.
The Canadian government has also developed many programs over the past decade as they too, see the struggle most students have in trying to go to school. One of these programs is the Registered Educational Savings Plan which, Canadian statistics showed, totalled an enormous $22.6 billion in assets at the end of 2008. People are finally starting to see the big picture. That's a lot of saved-for tuition.
With so much money being invested in educational savings, there are many financial vultures hovering over these potential students, or at least, their money. So competition for business has gotten pretty competitive. The Investor Education Fund is a non-profit Ontario agency belonging to the Ontario Securities Commission. It has launched a website aimed specifically at students and their parents to provide unbiased advice on how to manage education costs. The website can be found at GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca.
Tom Hazma, president of the Investor Education Fund said in a statement, "The average Canadian needs information that isn't coming from a salesperson. There is always two sides to every story, and it's important that they have access to unbiased information when they're making investment and financial decisions."
Recent calculations have found the average student who completes a four-year program on a government loan, combined with their own personal debt, will find themselves $37,000 in the hole upon graduation. In 1993, this amount was $10,000. Although it is inconvenient, the earlier you begin saving for school the easier it will be financially in the long run.
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