Saving now, for later.

I'm just going to start this off by saying I am NOT a financial advisor and to be honest most days I could probably spend my money a little more wisely....especially when it comes to craft supplies.

But, I do have a friend who loves to learn about finances and all things money related!! Dave is one of those guys that is always learning something new and recently he took some courses on life insurance and setting up investments (RRSP's, RESP's , RDSP's....) in between his 2 day jobs. One of his day jobs is working with Trevor doing stone masonry and of course while working him and Trevor got talking about life insurance and whether or not I have any savings for the future.....

Now, Dave has come to me with A LOT of different ideas over the years, and if I'm being honest I only met with him about it all so he would stop talking about it...shhh, don't tell him that. 

Trevor and I did have previous life insurance/investment plan but once we got looking into it more it wasn't really what we were needing. After talking with Dave and going over some numbers I agreed to apply with the new life insurance company. I expected to be turned down or to have to pay a crazy amount to be insured. I was pleasantly surprised to learn though that I was only at a level 2 , meaning I wasn't a big risk to insure!!

Once the insurance was all done it was time to move on to my savings/investments. Now, I'm sure RDSP's (registered Disability Savings Plan) were mentioned to me shortly after being diagnosed with MS but like most things that were explained to me around that time I don't really remember. It was more than likely something I didn't want to talk about because it had the word "disability" in it.....

Before I jumped on board I did some research about what I was agreeing to. While googling I came across the RDSP calculator on the Government of Canada website. On the website you will read about all of the grants and bonds that you can also apply for.

Now, I know you can register for these accounts through most banks, I however prefer the ease of someone coming to me and discussing things in my home. I knew that I wasn't about to get talked in to things I didn't need going this way (line's of credit, credit cards....you know the typical things banks try to sell)

Anyways, Dave got me all registered with my RDSP, and I've made my first deposit (I opted to not do monthly payments, but rather contribute by cheque when I have extra funds) Since making my first deposit my account has more than tripled due to the grants, bonds, and interest!

I know I can't touch this money for about 10 years, but knowing that there is money put away and that I won't be a complete drain on my husband financially is a huge relief.

Like I said from the start I am not a financial advisor, but if you would like to learn more about what we've done to help our family for the future I'd be happy to point you in Dave's direction for some support.