GlobeAndMail posts

It's a tough jobs market right now with a large number of candidates vying for a small number of jobs. As such, it's important to make sure you stand out from the pack and grab the attention of your prospective employer. How you do this though varies significantly depending on the industry you work in. And it's important not to go too far. As one employer put it recently in a Globe and Mail story, "There's a fine line between creative and crazy."

Years ago when I was a young university graduate trying to break into the radio business, a number of announcers mentioned that, when sending my resume to different stations, I should also send a gift -- perhaps a basket of baked goodies or some wine. I didn't like the sound of this -- not only could the job hunting process become expensive, especially for someone without a job to start with, but I believed that the right candidate for the job should be based on skills, not their ability to suck up to their prospective boss.

Getting the kids ready to go back to school can put a real strain on the piggy bank. New shoes, new books, new this and new that -- it's easy to forget about the long-term financial costs of your children's education, particularly if you hope to send them to university. However, it's worth taking a time-out and looking into what you can do to save for your kid's future -- especially since you could be eligible for free money from the government.

According to a report in the Globe and Mail, many parents aren't aware they qualify for financial support if they open a Registered Education Savings Plan to help pay for their child's university, college, trade school education or apprenticeship. The article is based on findings by SEDI (Social and Enterprise Development Innovations) that low-income families, in general, have a lower level of financial literacy and therefore don't realize what's available to them. The findings are supported by statistics that show that higher-income families are more likely to invest in an RESP to save for their kids' education.

So what is an RESP? And who's eligible for government help?