5 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,D ecem ber 6,2018 insidehalton.com For a Free consultation call oakville: 905.842.2022 ToronTo: 416.644.3999 Denied Disabled Benefits? I canhelp. My teamof experienced lawyers can help youwith: •Disability Claims Short-TermDisability, long-TermDisability, CPPShort-TermDisability, long-TermDisability, CPP •Car accidents •Slip and Falls •Wrongful Dismissal Injured? injurY and emploYment law I don't get paid unless I getYoumoneY. oFFiCeS in oakville and ToronTo eMail: sspadafora@slspc.ca Happy Holidays from your Member of Parliament John Oliver Please join me andmy staff for a HolidayOpenHouse! December 9, 2018 1:30pm - 3:30pm 301 Robinson Street Oakville RSVP: John.Oliver@parl.gc.ca 905.338.2008 Mississauga Store 5980 McLaughlin Rd. Unit 3 Mississauga, ON L5R 3X9 +1 905 712 4548 Oakville Store 243 Speers Rd. Oakville, ON L6K 2E8 +1 905 849 LITE (5483) Burlington Store 1515 North Service Road Burlington, ON L7P 0A2 +1 905 331 7444 Shop online www.conceptlighting.ca ALL CHANDELIERS ON SALE C O N C E P T L I G H T I N G G R O U P EALN SS OREILEDANHL CAL ChristmasJust in time for 20%* OFFPLUS TAKEANOTHER *See store for details Should you save for your children's post-secondary education or for your own retirement? It is a challeng- ing question many parents face.face.f According to a Parents, Kids and Money Survey con- ducted by global investment firm T. Rowe Price in thefirm T. Rowe Price in thef United States, 74 per cent of parents prioritize saving for their children's education. A subsequent survey by Nerd- Wallet found that about oneWallet found that about oneW quarter of parents saving for retirement expect their chil- dren to support them. Financial decisions are often difficult. There always seem to be conflicting objec- tives on how to spend and save limited amounts of money. Add to that the emotional implications of prioritizing yourself or your childrenyourself or your childreny and we can all understand this is a difficult decision. Post-secondary educa- tion for many will last four years. Often there is more than one child being educat- ed during a short period of time. Retirement however isRetirement however isR something that can easily last for many decades. Both educational fund- ing and retirement have some flexibility. A student can receive scholarships, grants and loans. They can work for a period of time after high school or alongside their post-secondary education. Parents can elect to work longer or work part time during their retirement years. My recommendation is twofold. Discuss the savings conflicts and priorities openly with your children. Develop a plan and put that plan in writing. As a parent this exercise will be extremely beneficial to your children. A priority for many families is the abil-for many families is the abil-f ity to launch their children into the real world with the understanding they need to be financially independent. Prioritizing is a neces- sary component for most fi- nancial decisions. Two of the most signifi- cant financial objectives for many families are assisting children with post-second- ary education and planning for a financially secure re-for a financially secure re-f tirement. If you have not already planned ahead, I recom- mend you do so now. Peter Watson, of Peter Watson Investments MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI, offers a weekly financial planning col- umn, Dollars & Sense. He can be contacted through www.peterwatsoninvest- ments.com. OPINION PARENTS FACE A DILEMMA ON PRIORITIZING SAVINGS 'EDUCATIONAL FUNDING AND RETIREMENT HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY,' WRITES WATSON PETER WATSON Column