Family Budgeting
One of the most significant factors causing stress for parents/caregivers is managing family finances within a budget. It may quickly become very overwhelming. Some help is available and it is worth learning more to see if you or someone in your family is eligible.
Taxes
Tax filing is essential to ensure eligibility for benefits, rebates and subsidies. Rural Response for Healthy Children’s Parent Support team is trained to help you access tax benefits suited to your family’s situation. Did you know there may be benefits from up to ten years ago that you have not claimed?
Every spring there are local tax clinics that will help prepare income tax statements. For the most up-to-date information, visit Ontario 211 or call 2-1-1 and ask for the location of your closest "Community Volunteer Income Tax Program".
Saving for School
Macleans Magazine provides a great article that summarizes the importance of saving for school and the approach for each age of child in your home.
The Canada Learning Bond (CLB) is money that the Government of Canada deposits directly into a child’s Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) account to help parents get a head start on saving for their child’s education after high school.
Smartsaver.org is our favourite site to learn more about saving for your children’s education. Check out more about SmartSAVER in the video below.
Kelsey's Story
Dollar$ense
In collaboration with Huron County Libraries we created the Dollar$ense collection for adults and Backpack Kits for families (ages 3-9 and 9-teen). The Backpack Kits include age appropriate books, games, parent guides, and a suggested movie list with important information and messages about how we think about and manage money. The books, kits and movies are available for borrowing through every branch, just ask for the Dollar$ense-Huron collection.
Canada Child Benefit
The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is a tax-free monthly payment made to eligible families to help them with the cost of raising children under 18 years of age. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) uses information from your income tax and benefit return to calculate how much your CCB payments will be.
To get the CCB, you have to file your return every year, even if you did not have income in that year. If you have a spouse or common-law partner, they also have to file a return every year.
Email us at mail@rrhc.on.ca for more information about any of these programs.