For the sake of clarity, post-secondary education means any education you embark upon after graduating from high school. This typically involves college or university courses - but you can throw other types of education in there, too. Any education like this comes with a very specific reputation: it’s known to be highly expensive. 

People always worry about the costs of post-secondary education, but is it as big of a fear as you think? Perhaps this blog post will help you think differently as you discover three positive things you didn’t know about these educational costs:

Dedicated Savings Plans Exist

Most people don’t understand that there are dedicated savings plans for higher education. If you’re a parent planning for your child’s future, then you should look into RESPs and other similar options. An RESP is a special savings account that tops off your contributions with government grants of up to $7,200. Other savings accounts like this follow a similar concept, and you’ll be amazed at how much money you can save to go towards higher education. 

That $7,200 goes a very long way - and the funds can be used for anything related to education, such as: 

• Buying a car to get to and from college

• Purchasing necessary textbooks or software

• Covering rent for any accommodation needed to complete the education

• Buying computers, laptops, or any other tech to help with your education

This is something to be aware of when your kids are young - if you’re an educator, then it’s really useful to point this out to parents so they can save up and help their children pay for college. 

You Can Find Many Financial Incentives

What if you’re an adult who’s looking for career development opportunities through advanced education? Many of us dip into the working world and then go back to education for additional qualifications or certifications. This still counts as post-secondary education, but did you know that you can fund your endeavors through various financial incentives? 

Scholarships, bursaries, and grants all exist to help people pay for their education. It’s always worth checking to see which ones are available, depending on the course you’re attending. You’ll be surprised how many go unclaimed, meaning you could be eligible for free money to fund your education. 

It’s An Investment That Tends To Pay Off

Let’s preface this by saying that higher education isn’t beneficial for everyone. Some won’t find what they’re looking for in college or other educational courses, and that’s fine. However, you can’t deny the facts - and The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity discovered that 70% of students see a positive ROI from post-secondary education. 

In other words, close to two-thirds of students end up benefiting from investing in their education. It’s something that doesn’t get spoken about a lot, yet it helps you reframe the whole concept of the cost of post-secondary education. Nobody can deny that it’ll cost thousands of dollars, but if you look at the bigger picture, gaining additional educational qualifications tends to help you find better jobs that pay high salaries and turn your education into a positive ROI. 

The point of this post is to show you that educational costs don’t have to be bleak. Yes, there’s no getting around the fact that they’re always more expensive than they should be. Just know that you can find savings accounts to help you raise money for these costs, financial incentives to slash them, and that it ends up working out for the best in the long run.