post-secondary education Archives

Four things you should know about your educational line of credit

September 19, 2019

Four things you should absolutely know about your educational line of credit

For many, government student loans is the first thing that comes to mind when considering the question of how to go about paying for post-secondary education in Canada.

It’s the default answer to the question of how to make something that is (increasingly) unaffordable accessible.

For many, government student loans are what made university or college possible.

But what if you aren’t eligible for a Canada Student Loan?

An educational line of credit is another option to consider when it comes to paying for post-secondary education. But as with a government loan, there are some things you should know before heading to the bank.

Four things you should know about your Canada Student Loan

September 17, 2019

Four things you absolutely need to know about your Canada Student Loan

It’s pitched as an investment in your future — debt you take on now that will result in opportunities down the road, including higher earnings.

I’m talking, of course, about student loans.

This infographic from the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations provides a snapshot of post-secondary education in Canada. Of note: 489,000 students have federal student loans, together worth more than $2.7 billion.

And in 2014-2015, at least 256,000 borrowers were struggling to pay back those loans.

I wish I could say these statistics surprise me, but they don’t. For better or worse, student loans are a fact of life for many in 2019. Whether your’e considering a loan to pay for post-secondary education or you’re in the process of repayment, there are a few things you should know about how these loans work.

Is post-secondary education worth it?

September 18, 2018

Is university worth the cost?

Going to university changed my life. There’s no other way to put it.

Attending college or university was never a given for me. I knew about the benefits of post-secondary education but there was always one nagging question.

How would I afford it?

I don’t come from a wealthy family. I knew early in life that if I wanted to go to college or university, I’d be paying for it on my own.

So I did the only thing I could do: worked hard in my classes, hoping it would be enough to earn some scholarship money.

And that hard work paid off. My scholarship covered tuition for all four years. A small loan paid for one year in residence and I worked part-time to make up the difference. I paid back the loan just before graduation in 2011.

The nature of my degree made it possible to transition into the work world immediately. I’ve been working in a degree-related field ever since. My salary has gone up every year and I use the skills from my degree every day.

But I know that’s not the case for everyone.

Which is why, in this edition of Worth It?, I wanted to share a few thoughts about post-secondary education – good, the bad and some thoughts on how to make the ugly more attractive.

Dear Grade 12 Me: what I would tell my younger self about money (and life)

September 13, 2018

Dear Grade 12 Me: Life lessons I wish I learned at 17 years old

Dear Grade 12 Me,

Hey! It’s me, coming to you live from about 12 years into the future.

Let me start by saying this: your life looks a lot different than it does right now. Here’s a brief overview of what transpired to get you where you are today:

You accepted that scholarship and moved to a new province you now call home.

You went to an incredible university, where you wrote a lot of papers, made a lot of friends and learned a ton, inside and outside the classroom.

This includes important lessons about your standards – what you will and will not accept from those in your life.

After graduating, you immediately went to work in your field. You loved it. You work somewhere new now, in a different, but related area and you love this gig, too.

You’re still best friends with the girl you met online when you were 16 and you married the boy who kissed you on the corner of your street that night in January.

You live a good life. Truly.

But that’s not what I want to talk about today, Grade 12 Me. No, today I want to talk to you about something you worry about, even if you won’t say it out loud.

Money.

You likely think this is pointless. Why bother talking about something you don’t have, right? Sure, you have a part-time job bagging groceries and some savings but reality is you’re not exactly sure how to make the dreams you have for the future a reality when all you’ve ever known is being broke. I get that.

But you know what they say about hindsight. So, Grade 12 Me, as you begin the last chapter of this first book of your life, I want to share with you some advice from my 20/20 vantage point.