Parents Struggling To Put Kids Through School

Quite often, we here at Synergy Merchant Services discover from their clients that it is difficult to afford the cost of staying ahead in the business world. Unfortunately, many Canadian business owners are unaware of just how easy it is to be approved for a merchant cash advance in order to help grow their businesses. That is, of course, until they speak to one of our licensed funding specialists.

It really is too bad, however, that we can’t provide the same service to parents of post-secondary education students. According to Sharon Singleton of QMI Agency today, nearly two-thirds of the nation’s parents say that they cannot afford putting their kids through college or university. Based on a poll conducted by BMO Financial Group, students today are graduating with double the debt that students had two decades ago.

On Monday of this week, we blogged about how this burden has been passed on to the students themselves. More often than not, college and university students feel forced to work part-time jobs in order to pay for their school fees. Sadly, this has been shown to negatively affect their grades.

But who can blame them for seeking out employment to help pay for school? As Singleton explains, it costs the average Canadian university student $60,000 for a four-year undergraduate program. The BMO poll reveals that only 21 per cent of parents surveyed feel that they can pay off that amount with many measure of certainty.

The poll discovered, however, that parents aren’t all taking advantage of saving options that are available to them. According to the survey, 52 per cent of parents with a child under 18 contribute to a Registered Education Savings Plan. The poll, by the way, received responses from 1,582 Canadian adults.

David Sharone, the manager of registered products with BMO Financial Group had this to say: “RESPs really are the best thing, especially since 1998 when the government began giving incentives. While the money is invested, it’s growing in a tax deferred way much like other registered investment plans.”

With the new school year well under way now, the concern among both students and their parents continues to increase as it relates to funding. Of course, that degree the students are working towards brings them closer to finding the type of jobs that will secure a steady income.

The numbers are worrisome. Reveals Singleton: “In 1990, students pursing an undergraduate degree could expect to be $12,271 in debt when they graduated. That number doubled by 2000, when students would owe $24,706, a report from the Canadian Council on Learning said. By 2009, the average debt for university graduates was $26,680.”