Please don't be offended- What should your HHI be around to consider sending DC to private school?

[Anonymous]

We make just over $200k and plan to send DD to a private, religious school that currently costs a little under $20k. (She's only 14 mos, so I'm sure it'll cost more in 4 years.) We have over $3k in monthly mortgage expenses, but this still feels completely doable. In fact, it's less than we currently pay for daycare. Having another kid is a whole other story, however...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did you think we were talking about DC? If you're in DC, private school is a necessity.

Not PP, but probably because this is DC Urban Moms. Fairfax is neither DC nor urban. Moreover, if you are in DC, you have other options than just sending a kid to private school (i.e., there are some decent publics, charters, moving...). Have a nice commute!

[Anonymous]

Our financial advisor once suggested that $200 K was a minimum combined annual salary, based on owning a home with a low pre-boom mortgage, 2 kids, and a good bit of savings.

[Anonymous]

$250K, 1 kid, $3K mortgage.

[Anonymous]

14:34, oh, I love my commute - 3 stoplights. Enjoy your high taxes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:34, oh, I love my commute - 3 stoplights. Enjoy your high taxes!

3 stoplights where do you live? Don't say MD, because that's the taxation capital of the region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have a reasonable mortgage ($3K or less) I'd say $400K.

Who on earth has a mortgage under $3k?? You can't have kids in a studio!

\

Are you joking? We just refinanced and our mortgage is $2150 (down from $2800). We bought our house for $500K.

It is three bedrooms, good sized eat-in kitchen (though not originally, the previous owners opened up the house by knocking down a wall and extending the kitchen), two bathrooms, and a finished basement, plus a nice screened in porch, and a good sized yard.

It is not big by any means but it is hardly a studio apartment.

Oh, and I bought in fall 2005 - right in the middle of the boom. We put 20 down and like I said, refinanced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:34, oh, I love my commute - 3 stoplights. Enjoy your high taxes!

Haha, three traffic lights and 45 minutes of highway is more like it.

[Anonymous]

We currently make $150K HHI and have housing costs (currently rent) of $2800 a month.

We send 2 kids to day care at $31K a year. We will continue to send them to a religious private school - tuition $15-18K per kid.

We also plan to have more kids. Hopefully, our income will increase, but if not, we will ask for financial aid.

[Anonymous]

Oh for the love of the baby Jesus, can one thread stay on topic and not devolve into "my dad can beat up your dad"? Please.

We have a HHI of 140k and plan to send our kid to Quaker school, initially in the range of 14k per year. We plan to pay off our mortgage around the time he's 11, though, so that will free up a huge chunk of income for later more expensive high school years and more aggressive college savings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did you think we were talking about DC? If you're in DC, private school is a necessity.

Because OP says they live in NW DC. Also, if you live in DC, private school is not a necessity. Depending on the neighborhood, DC schools are fine and improving. There are many great elementary schools and Deal Middle and Wilson High are pretty reputable too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:34, oh, I love my commute - 3 stoplights. Enjoy your high taxes!

You are right. Your commute must be better. I have 5 stoplights. One at each block. Sometimes it is a pain because there can be as much as a 40 second wait at each (luckily, I have never had them all be red on one walk home, but it could happen).

[Anonymous]

14:44, I live and work in No. VA. Live 3 miles from work.

[Anonymous]

Who on earth has a mortgage under $3k?? You can't have kids in a studio!

I live in DC, and my mortgage is 2K. We have 3 bdr, 2 baths, a renovated kitchen, a small yard, a 2 car garage (!!), a living room, a dining room, and a fully finished basement family room. We live in Columbia Heights.

OP, to answer your question, we spend close to 17K a year to send DS to a downtown daycare. That is not too far off a garden-variety private school education. We do not have financial aid to do this. Our HHI is currently 150K, although it was 138K a couple of months ago. We live fairly comfortably. It's all about budgeting and putting your money where your priorities are.

We are having a second soon, and our yearly daycare bill is about to balloon to almost 30K. Fortunately DH and I are both in line for raises next year, but we think we could do it even without. It would be tight, sure, but doable. So if you're committed to private school, it can be done.

That said, DH and I have decided that we are going to move in a year or so to a good public school district in Montgomery County. We are doing this because while we're OK with a few tight years with kids in daycare, we are not OK with a tight 20 years, with 2 in private school. So we are moving and going public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh for the love of the baby Jesus, can one thread stay on topic and not devolve into "my dad can beat up your dad"? Please.

Apparently not. Can the commuter vs. "urban" warriors take it somewhere else?