<prompt> Human: Ive never been much of an investor. Im not a big risk taker and enjoy the security of my savings account. However, I have accumulated a modest savings for my kids educations and future, and Im starting to wonder if I should be putting it to work. I have about 8k in savings, plus a small AMOUNT already in RESP Canada. Would I be wise to either:- Continue contributing to RESP- Invest in a mutual fund - Put money into a tax free savings account would there even be a benefit to this? - Something else I would hate to gamble on my kids futures, but it may be worth taking a reasonable risk if the payoff will be decent. If I were to put money into a mutual fund or something similar, what kind of returns could I expect? Would it be reasonable to double my money in my 15 years?  <response>: We did invest in mutual funds when our kids were young. Didnt use the education savings accounts USA because I didnt like the restrictions on using the money. The taxes were very low or zero most years for the kids- the accounts were in their names. historical earnings are 7-10 which means it should double every 8-11 years. That is if you have time to weather a market correction. I did see their accounts halve in 2007-2008 but they have more than tripled since then. But ultimately there is risk. So you have to decide if its a risk you can afford to take. 