Customer Reviews

The RESP Book: The Simple Guide to Registered Education Savings Plans for Canadians

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is an excellent resource for any parent (or any Canadian) opening a RESP for a child or family. Mike does a superb job summarizing the ins & outs of opening, contributing and withdrawing from RESPs, including the tax implications and investment options. I highly recommend this book!

If you have kids or plan on having some in the near future I highly recommend you read this book. You will understand exactly how the RESP works and be able to fully take advantage of it. The book is easy to read and understand. The price of the book is worth it for sure.

if you have kids and if you want to know anything about RESP, you have to have this book. very very informative.

An up-to-date guide to RESP's for Canadians, I found it very helpful. I don't know very much about investing or saving and this book breaks down the different types of RESP's and their pros and cons in an easy to understand way. Definitely worth getting for new parents.

I spent a lot of time researching the internet for info on RESPs to set one up for my granddaughter before I found this book. The author brings together in one useful reference, the information you need to consider or discuss when setting up a RESP. It addresses issues of concern to subscribers (the person setting up the RESP), the beneficiary (the person who will use the money for their education) and others (if the subscriber is not the caregiver/parent). It also goes over withdrawals, the government grants that are available for different income levels, what to look for in a Promoter (the company--bank or broker--provider of the RESP) with respect to qualification for those grants, and presents suggestions on what you should consider for investment vehicles (i.e., GICs, mutual funds, TD's low MER e-series funds, stocks, bonds, etc.). In addition, it provides links to government websites with more detailed information if you're a data junkie like me. With this book in hand, there's no reason to be intimidated about setting up an RESP. Don't bother with the RESP group plans--do it yourself. Everyone can do it whether you're a single parent making $20,000 a year or couple making $80,000 or more.

Mike Holman has done us all a favour by offering us The RESP Book: The Complete Guide to Registered Education Savings Plans for Canadians. The book offers detailed information on how to go about setting up an RESP account, from choosing a financial institution to whether or not to use a professional investment advisor. He goes over what to watch out for in terms of fees, as well as basic investing tips like how to set an asset allocation.

There are a lot of rules to be aware of when you're setting up, managing and getting ready to withdraw your money from an RESP, and Mike has answered just about every question you might have. At 118 pages, this book won't take you long to read, but it's absolutely full of detailed information that's pretty hard to remember from year to year. It's greatest value may lie in its usefulness as a reference manual. You can turn to it a couple of times a year to quickly refresh your memory on the ins and outs of saving for your child's education.

I could have found this information on the government's website, but frankly, it's not always written in an easy-to-understand way. The RESP Book is. There are lots of different examples and specific case studies so that you can really get a grip on how the RESP rules work. If you have an RESP or plan on setting one up, this book is required reading.

As a new mom of a 6-month-old, I knew that it was important to start a RESP for my baby, but was unsure about where to begin. This book was exactly what I was looking for as it is written specifically for Canadians. In short, the book provides a concise, comprehensive look at RESPs with specific and detailed examples of help to a novice or sophisticated investor.

I had dreaded flipping through a thick, complicated, textbook-style manual on financial investing and was very happy to find a book written in such a concise, easy-to-read style. I also really appreciated that Mike Holman is not afraid to give his opinion about such things as group plans or situations when a RESP is not advisable.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, most especially first-time parents!

This book clearly and concisely explained the ins and outs of opening an RESP account and getting government grants for education.

Full disclosure: I'm an American, so it's possible my opinion is affected by that in some way. I don't have an RESP, nor can I open one. I'm just a tax geek who thought it would be interesting to learn how they work.

The book is short (115 pages), but because it focuses on such a narrow topic, it does a thorough job of covering all the important points. For example:

* How do RESPs work? (Who is eligible to open one or be named as the beneficiary of one? Who is eligible for RESP grants? How much can you contribute each year?)
* How much should you contribute? (Including a good discussion of why many studies regarding future university costs may overstate how bad things are.)
* Are there any reasons for not contributing to an RESP?
* How should an investor go about choosing investments within their RESP?

If a yank with no prior knowledge of RESP accounts can understand the information in the book, I imagine it'll be quite understandable for Canadian investors. Highly recommended if RESPs are a topic you're looking to learn more about.

Mike's book is a must-have for parents and relatives setting up an RESP; it presents the necessary information in a clear and easy-to-read format. As a parent who had a number of RESP questions, this book was a one stop-shop in getting all the answers.