Opinion

Back-to-school time is hectic and costly for many families with fees, new clothing, supplies and extracurricular activities.

Given the financial and time pressures, it’s easy to forget about future goals, such as retirement. It might be even easier for post-secondary education savings to slip through the budgetary cracks.

That seems to happen a lot in Manitoba, which leads the provinces with the lowest take-up of Registered Education Savings Plan use, at 40 per cent eligible children, federal government statistics reveal for 2024. The national average is about 53 per cent.

It’s understandable parents are on tight budgets. Recent MNP’s Consumer Debt Index findings show about two-thirds of Manitobans indicate feeling financial pressure, hoping for a decline in interest rates — wh

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