Oct. 19: BEST OF THE BLOGOSPHERE

October 19, 2026

High cost of living hinders saving for kids’ education: CST

In mid-September, we rolled up at a Petro Canada in rural New Brunswick and gulped at the posted price at the pump — $2.01 per litre. The cost of groceries – and how they have gone up – is also a hot topic amongst our friends at line dancing class.

And that higher cost of living is having a negative impact on the ability of Canadians to save – not just for retirement, but for their kids’ education, reports Ben Cousins, writing for The Financial Post.

Saving, his article begins, is being impacted by living costs.

“More than half (of Canadian parents) reported moderate to major challenges when it comes to education savings, especially while struggling to save for retirement and other major purchases, according to a recent Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation (CST) report,” Cousins writes.

Barriers to savings cited by respondents include food prices (60 per cent) and housing costs (41 per cent), the article adds. Nearly half (47 per cent) cited low salaries as a reason they can’t save, the article notes.

“These findings reaffirm that education remains a priority for Canadians across the country, but it also shows that outside factors are preventing them from reaching their savings goals,” CST chief executive Peter Lewis states in the article. “Canadians are not only worried about affordability in the short term, they’re also unable to invest or save the way they want for the long term.”

The article notes that while the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) “allows parents or loved ones of a child to invest up to $50,000 for their education,” with the feds adding grants equal to 20 per cent of what parents kick in (limits apply), “only about two-thirds of the parents surveyed said they had heard of the plan and only 50 per cent have opened an account for their child, according to the CST survey.”

As a result, “many parents, grandparents and future parents” aren’t taking advantage of this government-assisted savings program, Cousins notes.

The word needs to get out, Lewis states in the Post article.

“There is a clear need for ongoing education around the savings vehicles available and open conversations with family and professionals around financial priorities and how to start or prioritize education savings,” Lewis states in the article. “With government grants complementing periodic contributions and incentives like the Canada Learning Bond for modest-to-low-income families, there are so many options available to help parents get started or stay on track.”

As one who benefited personally from a RESP set up by our parents, and someone who has helped with RESPs for a child and two grandkids, we can attest that the program really helps save for what has become a very expensive thing – post-secondary education. Build it into your budget and after a while you won’t miss the contributions.

The same is true of retirement saving with the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. Members can set up pre-authorized SPP contributions from a bank account or credit card (PAC-PCC-application.pdf) and “set it and forget it.” Your savings dollars are automatically transferred to SPP, where they are professionally invested in our low-cost, diversified, pooled funds.

At retirement, your options for turning savings into income include the security of a monthly lifetime annuity payment, or the flexibility of the Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!

The Financial Post

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