Tuition and teens: why saving makes cents
The younger generation has grown up with a confused sense of their own needs and wants. We get a skewed sense of the necessities of life from advertisers who target us to buy, buy, buy. But when is it enough? Has this generation lost the ability to understand the value of a dollar?
As the holes burn deeper into the teenage pocket, the daunting costs of post-secondary tuition are also on the rise. Statistics Canada reveals a dramatic 15 per cent increase in average Canadian tuition fees since just 2008 ($5,581, up from $4,747), with medicine and law-related degree programs peaking well over $10,000 per year.
That's a high price for what society still considers children. Now, we must ask the question: how are all these payments being met? An answer has grown difficult to come by, as Canada’s youth bracket (15-24 years of age) faced double the unemployment number of Canada as a whole in 2012, a whopping 14.7 per cent of the total population.
*Bing: Is a student loan right for you?
The bottom line: getting a job as early as possible is a no-brainer. Becoming employed as early as 15-years-old means a teen can start saving early, allowing them to cut the amount they would otherwise be required to borrow in loans for post-secondary schooling (avoid interest and think ahead!).
Second, with work comes independence, and what teen hasn’t begged their parents for that more often than we can count? It also allows teens to learn to support themselves, and so they increase their readiness for their post-education years. The moral of the story? Be committed and save smart, as fees continue to rise annually. As we all know, whoever said "what goes up, must come down" clearly never paid for school.
By Brett Cooper
Posted by: SP | Jan 30, 2013 4:02:04 AM
This is clearly good news for society. NOT . As the worlds two largest populations begin to educate their children for worldwide competition we're expecting our children to not only pay for our highest in the world retirement standards, we're also expecting them to pay for their own education??
I might say that it is selfish.
Instead I'll say that it's the height of stupidity. This can only end in tears for our society.
Posted by: William | Feb 1, 2013 12:10:06 PM
Hmmm....SP..... Who's expecting that our children pay for their own education? I pay 100% of my children's education and living expenses while they are in university. When I went to university, it was quite different, as I was paid to do my BASc. When I graduated in 1983, there were absolutely no jobs (except flipping burgers at Harveys), so I stayed on getting paid even more to earn my Ph.D. When I reached that point, companies were beating down my door to hire me. With my current financial situation, which is far more than I need, I will invest it in my children because they cannot afford it.
Posted by: CityGirl | Feb 3, 2013 9:35:38 AM
I totally agree with the first line of the blog about the "younger generation growing up with a confused sense of needs and wants". Most of the younger generation are not required by their parents to work and in fact, some parents are against it. When did working become a bad thing?? Still further, these kids have no idea that getting a post secondary education is a privilege. They truly believe that simply by applying to a school or program that they will be accepted. They don't understand the concept of striving for something - ANYTHING - because all their lives, their parents and grandparents have fulfilled their every wish and desire and have asked for nothing in return. I'm all for parents helping out their kids if they can reasonably do so but I hold the parents responsible for instilling a sense of responsibility in the younger generation. They need to learn that not everything in life is simply handed to you because you want it and that you have to earn it. As far as the unemployment numbers for the younger generation...that may be true, but I think it has more to do with a lack of work ethic than competition. Of the 14.7% of people aged 15-24 that are unemployed...are they even looking for employment??? Scroll through Monster or Workopolis and you'll find plenty of entry level positions open. Are those positions being filled by senior workers? Perhaps, but I think the biggest issue is that the younger generation has a bad case of entitlement. They want to finish school and start out as Vice-Presidents in their field of choice. They don't understand that you have to work your way up or "earn your stripes". Again, I feel that this is because of the coddling they have received from their families throughout their whole lives. So how can we blame them for being this way? We're the ones who created it!