When I went to university, the cost for four years of tuition totaled $20,000. And that’s not including books, rent or other living expenses. Like most of my friends, I relied on student loans and odd jobs to get through university. My husband, on the other hand, was fortunate. His parents managed to save enough to cover his entire tuition.

My in-laws take pride in being in a position to help us financially today if we needed it, but neither of us want to burden them to help cover our life. While they recognize today’s young parents face major financial headwinds, they’ve told us that if we ever needed any help to save for their grandchildren’s education we should just let them know.

With all our expenses we have to cover in our daily lives, there’s one thought that doesn’t escape us. Our child’s university education. We already read the hundreds of articles telling us that our child’s future university education will likely cost over $100,000 when they’re 18 in 2030. We are actually dreading it; and not for the right reasons.

We know we’re fortunate that we can reach out for help. However before we ask for help I want to know what my options are, other than RESP. I’ve read that because the RESP is a government program, family contributions become very complicated. These complexities stem from the rules around who can contribute, who can control the account and who will ultimately control the plan.

I’d really like to know: are there any other options available for grandparents to help their children prepare for their grandchildren’s education other than RESP?

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Visit Michael Lampel’s response to this article in his post about how grandparents can help pay for the rising costs of education.