What percentage of your net income goes to tuition?

[Anonymous]

15%
That's after taxes, retirement, health benefits etc.

[Anonymous]

Wow, these are a high percentage. We are about 19% and I thought we were high. One kid though. Ask me in 2 more years when my other kid enters. Thankfully thy are years apart.

[Anonymous]

We pay about 30 percent for two tuitions (we get some FA from one school and none from the other) Our mortgage is about 45 percent of take home. Very very tight..

[Anonymous]

Is it really worth the stress especially when you live in a good public school district? Seems like some of the kids from both sectors attended the same colleges. I'm about 35% but only doing it because we're in a lousy school cluster.

[Anonymous]

Right now about 19% but we prepay for the year so we don't feel it each month.

[Anonymous]

Many of us are in lousy school clusters (or entire counties), 07:46. Yes, I know, some aren't, but most people in my DS's independent school are there after trying the public route for the oldest child, deciding it wasn't going to work, and switching. So for me (lousy public option) paying 20% of my after tax income for school, while living in a small crappy house and paying 15% of take home on mortgage, still leaves us with a decent quality of life. The key for us is if we're going to do private we must stay in the small crappy house or else the finances don't work. Since we like the school more than we care about housing it works fine.

[Anonymous]

We paid 2-3 private school tuitions for many years. Between 2002 and 2012 tuition as a percentage of our net income probably went from 10% to 50%. Wow!

Guess what? Last year we switched the kids to public. Although it was a hard choice they're doing well and it is such a RELIEF! There was no way we could keep pace with those tuition increases.

[Anonymous]

Wish I could do the same. I should of listen to my parents and pay the extra 300k for a house years ago, in a better school district - 8 miles away!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it really worth the stress especially when you live in a good public school district? Seems like some of the kids from both sectors attended the same colleges. I'm about 35% but only doing it because we're in a lousy school cluster.

I'm really surprised at the % people are paying for private school tuition.

We have preschoolers now and leaning towards public. DH and I both have ivy league educations and attended public school. We make about $500k and private school would be about 20% of out net pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many of us are in lousy school clusters (or entire counties), 07:46. Yes, I know, some aren't, but most people in my DS's independent school are there after trying the public route for the oldest child, deciding it wasn't going to work, and switching. So for me (lousy public option) paying 20% of my after tax income for school, while living in a small crappy house and paying 15% of take home on mortgage, still leaves us with a decent quality of life. The key for us is if we're going to do private we must stay in the small crappy house or else the finances don't work. Since we like the school more than we care about housing it works fine.

Why not just move to a better house in a good school district?

[Anonymous]

To 10:03 - well, the house was totally underwater for the past few years and just now would be break even, so moving hasn't been an option. But the other reason is that because we live in a small house in a bad school district it is really inexpensive. To move to an equivalent house in a really good school district (i.e. equivalent to the independent school DC now goes to) we'd have to spend an extra $300,000. That just happens to be the amount of money we'll spend on DC's tuition for 12 years. So we can buy the education directly via independent school, or we can buy it indirectly through the public school system. Since we really, really love the school and like our neighborhood just fine it doesn't make sense to move. In no world do we get a large lovely house and a great education, because we aren't well off enough to buy in those neighborhoods. Short answer? Its complicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us are in lousy school clusters (or entire counties), 07:46. Yes, I know, some aren't, but most people in my DS's independent school are there after trying the public route for the oldest child, deciding it wasn't going to work, and switching. So for me (lousy public option) paying 20% of my after tax income for school, while living in a small crappy house and paying 15% of take home on mortgage, still leaves us with a decent quality of life. The key for us is if we're going to do private we must stay in the small crappy house or else the finances don't work. Since we like the school more than we care about housing it works fine.

Why not just move to a better house in a good school district?

Easier said than done. In a perfect world, your 'perfect ' solution would be a viable option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To 10:03 - well, the house was totally underwater for the past few years and just now would be break even, so moving hasn't been an option. But the other reason is that because we live in a small house in a bad school district it is really inexpensive. To move to an equivalent house in a really good school district (i.e. equivalent to the independent school DC now goes to) we'd have to spend an extra $300,000. That just happens to be the amount of money we'll spend on DC's tuition for 12 years. So we can buy the education directly via independent school, or we can buy it indirectly through the public school system. Since we really, really love the school and like our neighborhood just fine it doesn't make sense to move. In no world do we get a large lovely house and a great education, because we aren't well off enough to buy in those neighborhoods. Short answer? Its complicated.

Indeed. There's other problems, too. What if the public school district you paid so much to access isn't a good fit for DC? After 12 years of education are done, do you want to be sitting on the larger, more expensive, higher tax house?

Obviously there's a tipping point, but I'd rather stay the small house I like in a medicore school district, pay for private for a limited stretch of time, and stay where I am.

That could change. But for now that's our approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Wish I could do the same. I should of listen to my parents and pay the extra 300k for a house years ago, in a better school district - 8 miles away!!

The way we handled it was to buy a townhouse in a good school cluster. I do sometimes miss our former single family home, but here in DC there was no way to afford it and still live somewhere with top public schools. So it goes... everything in life is a compromise, isn't it? {sigh}

[Anonymous]

I really hate when folks casually suggest to just move. I guess no one picks up a newspaper these days...homes are either under water or just breaking even, loans require 20% down payment, commutes are terrible and inventory is limited, all of these factors make just moving a pie in the sky goal.