An Education

The baby experience shares a lot of similarities with running a marathon: there are highs and lows but oftentimes it’s just a matter of staying the course.

Providing for a university education for Margot is one of the less exciting things that we’ve had to turn our minds too.  Canadians use a system called a “Registered Education Savings Plan” or “RESP” which is a form of tax shelter where the Federal Government tops up what you invest (up to a certain amount).  We made our second RESP contribution for Margot today and I consider it to be one of those things that we just have to plan for in case her career as a lifeguard supervisor falls through.

University tuition in Quebec is currently about half ($2415 Cdn/year) of what it costs in next-door Ontario ($6307 Cdn/year) but I don’t want to force Margot to attend a University in Quebec if she finds a better program elsewhere. Given that those amounts also don’t include the cost of books, residence, living, etc., some form of saving is generally necessary for middle-class folks like me. Of course, if Margot does happen to choose a school in Quebec, I will celebrate her wise, wise decision with a trip to the Bahamas (for, um, health reasons).

Hardly a sexy post, but that’s life sometimes!  To make up for it, here’s a photo of Margot preparing for University.