To Tai - The DCPP through work matches up to 4%. So that's exactly how much I contribute. I should probably learn more about the funds it buys, but I like going with simplicity and haven't invested enough energy into that. And yes it does count towards my RRSP.
To Kaspian - I'm not offended but you don't really know anything about our family dynamics. North American society is more individual based where as Asian society is way more family oriented. At my mom's age she's already maxed out RRSP, TSFA and is getting ready for retirement. Lending the money to me has way more utilitarian value that it does if she keeps it. And if she needs money later on, then I'd give above and beyond for whatever she needed. And yes, I do feel guilty, but the only reason I'm paying her back at all at this juncture is because I feel guilty. She has repeatedly said that I don't need to, or I can wait until I earn more in a few years to pay her back and that if I'm every hard pressed for money, I can stop for a while.
I'm going to chat a bit more about this because I feel strongly about this. In a more meta kind of level, you are generous by letting people give to you. When I was in university, it turned out that my RESP didn't really pay for very much (mom contributed a lot more to my sister's because she was the oldest and forgot to add contributions to mine when my sister's "ended"), so I just took out a student loan and said I would pay for it on my own. My thoughts were that they wouldn't accrue interest until I graduated and I'd be making decent money than my mom who doesn't earn much at all. And I worked part time as well but not enough to actually cover the entire cost of it. My mom actually got really mad at me because she wanted to pay for my education, something I didn't realize at the time.
So long story short, I think there's just an element of family dynamic you're missing from my story.