Month: May 2017

Leisure Access Program

The Leisure Access Program (LAP) has been around in various forms for a while now.  It is designed to allow low income families to access recreation programs at a reduced cost. The program is administered by your local city government and the rules and application procedures vary from district to district.

The City of Vancouver Leisure Access Program has taken a step forward by now allowing the entire family with a disabled child (up to the age of 17) to qualify for the LAP regardless of income. Hopefully other municipalities will follow Vancouver’s lead and open their programs to children with disabilities.

With summer quickly approaching, now would be a great time to contact your local recreation department and find out what is available in your area.

If you know of other districts that allow access to this program to kids with disabilities, could you please let us know in the comment section.

Want a free $150?

Do you have an Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) for your child? If not, why not? The RDSP is the most generous saving plan for your child’s future.  The federal government is itching to give you free money for your account.  The savvy parents know all about the matching grants and the bonds which can set you on the path to saving over a million dollars for your child’s financial future.

If that is not enough, you can get a free $150 thanks to the support of the Vancouver Foundation. It used to be that this free gift was only available to families with an income under $25,000. In order to encourage the uptake of the fabulous RDSP, they are now making this gift available to any child who:

  • Is under the age of 18,
  • Lives in B.C. and
  • Has an RDSP

For more information and the online application visit the Endowment 150 website.

If you have more than more child with an RDSP, each one is eligible for the Endowment $150 gift.

My RDSP Report Card

The Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) for my child has performed well with a rate of return for 2016 of 5.5% and an average rate of return of 7.8% since 2012.

Why is this important and why should you care?

The RDSP is an incredibly valuable savings plan.  The federal government is ready to give you buckets of free money and you just have to be willing to accept it.

The financial institutions offering the RDSP unfortunately tend to limit the investment options to their “in-house” mutual funds and GICs, which have higher than average management fees.  I want to demonstrate that it is possible to invest wisely given the limited options available even if you have no investment experience.

How did I do it?

In 2012 I switched my child’s Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) from BMO to TD Waterhouse. I was fed up with the limited investment options at BMO and their outrageous pricing.

I decided that my investment choices would follow the recommendations of the Canadian Couch Potato using TD e-Series funds. For this account I chose the balanced approach.

I love the simplicity of the plan.

  • I make a contribution once a year
  • The government will advise you by letter of the contribution that will attract the maximum grant and bond.
  • Wait for the government to add their contribution.
  • Re-balance the account to the original asset allocation.
  • That’s it.  You are done for the year.

To make the switch refer to my post RDSP – Change of Financial Institution

Disclaimer:  I am not affiliated with any financial institution. I believe you should get the best deal possible, but the prime objective should be to open an RDSP and start collecting free money from the government. If you are more comfortable at a different bank, then by all means go there.