Talk Education Savings With @TD_Canada on #StartSaving Chat July 20 at 9pm EST

Did you know the average cost of an undergraduate degree while living away from home in 2031 is $150,000? Compare that number to what you remember paying “back in the day” and you can see why parents need to start saving for their children’s education early!

Thankfully, the Government of Canada has recently increased the Universal Child Care Benefit for ALL children aged 17 and under. Children under the age of 6 will now receive $160 a month ($1,920 a year) and children between the ages of 6 and 17 will receive $60 a month ($720). In July, Canadians will receive a lump-sum payment for all the payments from January to July.

While it’s maybe tempting to spend the extra cash on summer fun, TD Canada wants you to put that money into an Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) because it not only gives you a jump-start on your education savings, it makes you eligible for additional funding in the form of the Canada Education Savings Grant. Check it out, TD has done all the math for you!

Now we know you probably have a lot more questions on the subject, which is why we’re excited to be hosting a chat sponsored by @TD_Canada on the subject. Join us for #StartSaving chat this Monday, July 20th at 9pm EST to learn more about education savings and for a chance to win money to put toward your child’s RESP!*

Thanks to TD Canada, we will be giving away a total of $500 in cash to the chat participants who both RSVP for the chat with their Twitter name in the comments below AND participate in the Twitter chat on July 20th using the #StartSaving hashtag!

During this one-hour, interactive Q&A chat, we will discuss:

• How we can manage the increasing cost of post-secondary education
• Different education-savings strategies to help fund those RESPs
• How to apply for government education savings grants so you get every dollar owed to you
• Simple ways to save money on everyday, household expenses to make saving easier
• The pros and cons of paying for your children’s education (parents, we’d love your take on this hot-button topic)
• How to get your kids involved in saving for their education, from summer jobs to piggybank funds
• Ways to start preparing for those scholarship applications (it’s not all about academics).

All you have to do to join the chat is to tune into the #StartSaving hashtag using TweetChat.com this Monday July 20th from 6 pm PST/9pm EST to 7 pm PST/10 pm EST.

* No purchase necessary. Winners must be a Canadian resident (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province/territory. Winners will be selected from the people who RSVP in the comments below using Random.org and participate in the Twitter chat held July 20th, 2015 between 9 and 10 pm EST using the #StartSaving hashtag. Should that winner not be eligible to claim the prize, the next eligible submission will be selected. The prize cannot be transferred or redeemed for cash. Limit one prize per Twitter chat participant.

>> See full contest rules for details.