FA - real life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people find OP to be irresponsible, unethical, and shameful. For the people who find this acceptable, how were you raised?

You seem perpetually confused and bothered.

You don't hate the player, you hate the game.

The game is played according to the rules that have, not the rules you WISH you had.

The quicker you grasp this very simple, basic fact, the quicker you can move on and re-discover some meaning in your life.

Some of us live by moral principles.

You are still confused here and this misunderstanding is causing you unneeded consternation during what should be a festive holiday season.

This has nothing to do with "moral principles".

You aren't happy with the established existing framework that many schools have for distributing FA but that has nothing to do with those who, adhere to these rules and apply for/receive FA.

Let me clarify. I view accepting financial assistance for what is a luxury product, private school, by a family who is relatively comfortable, at a 300k income, to be repulsive. I would look down upon them as that violates my ethical code.

I don’t blame the school, which has a system in place to help families with financial difficulties. I get it. Emergencies happen and families have real hardships.

I blame the parents who take the easy way out. Instead of supporting their own kids by earning an income that matches their expenses, they take a handout. They are not even trying to get on better financial footing. They just plan to take the handout for as long as their kids are in school. And this is completely unnecessary. It is for a private school when there are plenty of good publics available.

This isn't what financial aid is for. It's to make the school "affordable" at all income levels.

Sidwell says: "Sidwell Friends School believes that family income should never be a barrier to receiving a Sidwell education. We offer one of the most generous financial aid programs in the DC area and seek to ensure that a Sidwell education is accessible to families of all income levels."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone so angry here (though I suspect it’s really only one person) is about to be absolutely shattered when their kids go to a top college, more than half the class is on aid, and may don’t pay a dime, including some “Pellionaires,” who are also getting federal aid.

College aid is completely different.

First of all, K-12 is offered completely free through public schools. Private is a luxury option.


Financial aid at private schools in the DMV is largely funded by tuition paid for by the other parents. There is no large endowment to cover these expenses. The full pay families are paying the majority of the financial aid budget. For a luxury education.

You can go to community college and transfer to a public four-year for a fraction of the price of private. A tiny fraction. Private college is absolutely as luxurious as private undergrad. And private college aid funds living expenses too.

Many top privates have substantial endowments. And many colleges that don’t have huge endowments are doing insane and inequitable discounting through sophisticated enrollment management algorithms.

Not the same at all. Roughly 90% of K-12 students attend public school. Completely free. Financial aid is really not needed for K-12.

About 73% of college students attend a public university, including community college, which is significantly cheaper than a private university. If this bothers you at the K-12 level it’s going to infuriate you at the tertiary level too.

K-12 and college are completely different. Just stop.

The main difference being college is primarily funded by loans taken out in the child’s name, which are not available for K-12. There is no comparison.

And this shows you don’t understand the college financial landscape. Good private universities these days regularly meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. Kids from families making up to $300k are getting aid these days at expensive private colleges.

But more relevant to the point is that when it comes to busybodies’ anger over financial aid, they really aren’t different at all. Go to the college forum. There are people regularly complaining about their kids’ roommates getting aid and having nicer things than their own kid. And you’ll see these posters lamenting that the FA kids didn’t go to community college where they clearly belong.

If you are overly invested in other people’s lives now, that isn’t going to suddenly change when your kid turns 19.

You are the one who doesn’t understand colleges. The percent of private universities that do this is tiny. For the majority, this is not a thing.

It is common at any T50 private university, and even some T100. At the top end they even go beyond to giving full packages to $200k families. If you attend a DMV independent high school, you are aiming for, and expecting, these schools. No one cares about the rest.

No, it doesn’t extend to all the T50 or T100. Also, lots of people care about the rest. To say otherwise is the height of stupidity.

It absolutely does for the T50 privates and even some beyond that. You have no idea what you are talking about. Just Google it.

And no, DMV private families are not aiming for schools outside of the T100. Have you looked at what a T100 school is? This is yet another example of weird tourists on this thread.

You are deranged and very wrong.

The response of a person with no substantive response.

No, it is the response of someone who knows they are arguing with a toddler.

Oh look, you did it again. Feel free to share evidence to back your claims since you are so certain of them.

Let’s be specific. Do the top 50 universities in the USA, ranked by USNWR, offer full financial aid packages, with no loans, to students whose parents have an income up to $200k/yr? Absolutely not. I don’t know what you are trying to claim. Be specific about it.

Messed up the formatting. Here:

On the contrary, I’ve been clear about the claim from the start. This is what I said:

“It (meeting 100% of financial need) is common at any T50 private university, and even some T100. At the top end they even go beyond to giving full packages to $200k families. If you attend a DMV independent high school, you are aiming for, and expecting, these schools. No one cares about the rest.”

Note that I clearly said T50 private university for meeting demonstrated financial need. I also noted that at the top end of that group there are full packages for families making $200k. All of this is accurate and factual, and well known by anyone approaching the college process. You never had any counterpoint, other than to mix up different points and name call.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people find OP to be irresponsible, unethical, and shameful. For the people who find this acceptable, how were you raised?

You seem perpetually confused and bothered.

You don't hate the player, you hate the game.

The game is played according to the rules that have, not the rules you WISH you had.

The quicker you grasp this very simple, basic fact, the quicker you can move on and re-discover some meaning in your life.

Some of us live by moral principles.

You are still confused here and this misunderstanding is causing you unneeded consternation during what should be a festive holiday season.

This has nothing to do with "moral principles".

You aren't happy with the established existing framework that many schools have for distributing FA but that has nothing to do with those who, adhere to these rules and apply for/receive FA.

Let me clarify. I view accepting financial assistance for what is a luxury product, private school, by a family who is relatively comfortable, at a 300k income, to be repulsive. I would look down upon them as that violates my ethical code.

I don’t blame the school, which has a system in place to help families with financial difficulties. I get it. Emergencies happen and families have real hardships.

I blame the parents who take the easy way out. Instead of supporting their own kids by earning an income that matches their expenses, they take a handout. They are not even trying to get on better financial footing. They just plan to take the handout for as long as their kids are in school. And this is completely unnecessary. It is for a private school when there are plenty of good publics available.

This isn't what financial aid is for. It's to make the school "affordable" at all income levels.

Sidwell says: "Sidwell Friends School believes that family income should never be a barrier to receiving a Sidwell education. We offer one of the most generous financial aid programs in the DC area and seek to ensure that a Sidwell education is accessible to families of all income levels."

And this is true at any of the good schools here. Which people would know. If they actually sent their kids to these schools, which they clearly don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people find OP to be irresponsible, unethical, and shameful. For the people who find this acceptable, how were you raised?

You seem perpetually confused and bothered.

You don't hate the player, you hate the game.

The game is played according to the rules that have, not the rules you WISH you had.

The quicker you grasp this very simple, basic fact, the quicker you can move on and re-discover some meaning in your life.

Some of us live by moral principles.

You are still confused here and this misunderstanding is causing you unneeded consternation during what should be a festive holiday season.

This has nothing to do with "moral principles".

You aren't happy with the established existing framework that many schools have for distributing FA but that has nothing to do with those who, adhere to these rules and apply for/receive FA.

Let me clarify. I view accepting financial assistance for what is a luxury product, private school, by a family who is relatively comfortable, at a 300k income, to be repulsive. I would look down upon them as that violates my ethical code.

I don’t blame the school, which has a system in place to help families with financial difficulties. I get it. Emergencies happen and families have real hardships.

I blame the parents who take the easy way out. Instead of supporting their own kids by earning an income that matches their expenses, they take a handout. They are not even trying to get on better financial footing. They just plan to take the handout for as long as their kids are in school. And this is completely unnecessary. It is for a private school when there are plenty of good publics available.

This isn't what financial aid is for. It's to make the school "affordable" at all income levels.

Sidwell says: "Sidwell Friends School believes that family income should never be a barrier to receiving a Sidwell education. We offer one of the most generous financial aid programs in the DC area and seek to ensure that a Sidwell education is accessible to families of all income levels."

This is clearly the huge disconnect for PP. They seem to exist only in their own mind, completely distorting the reality that everyone else lives in and only serve to disappoint themselves.

Kinda sad, really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one of the reasons people might be upset about this is jealousy. When my spouse and I started looking at private schools for our child (when she was about 3) we made about what OP currently makes. We realized that we could only afford to have one child in the DC area if we wanted to put them through private K-12 and also pay for undergrad. So we decided not to have another kid.

We only have one child because we never thought that others should (or would!) subsidize the expense of us having more. Guess it turns out we’re the suckers. So, yeah, OP’s post upsets me on a pretty deep level.

What if you already had 2 or 3 kids when you decided to go to private schools? By the time we decided public was not working for my eldest, we already had 3 kids….

Well that’s the crux of the issue: we would not have “decided to go to private school” if we couldn’t have afforded it.

It’s hard to say without knowing exactly what “not working out” means for your eldest child. (And I’m certainly not asking) If they have a learning difference, public would still probably be the place for them, especially if you got them diagnosed and got an IEP in place. If they needed more help with reading, etc, I would get them a tutor and lean in as a parent. Private school is rarely, if ever, the only answer for a struggling child - especially in elementary school. At older grades I could see a few years at a place like Lab if one kid were particularly struggling with EF skills or other minor differences.

Under no circumstances would my spouse and I think that a struggling eldest means that all of our children need to be placed in an expensive private school with others paying a portion of their tuition. We were taught that the responsibility of raising and educating our children rests solely with us, and that we should always live within our means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Let me clarify. I view accepting financial assistance for what is a luxury product, private school, by a family who is relatively comfortable, at a 300k income, to be repulsive. I would look down upon them as that violates my ethical code.

I don’t blame the school, which has a system in place to help families with financial difficulties. I get it. Emergencies happen and families have real hardships.

I blame the parents who take the easy way out. Instead of supporting their own kids by earning an income that matches their expenses, they take a handout. They are not even trying to get on better financial footing. They just plan to take the handout for as long as their kids are in school. And this is completely unnecessary. It is for a private school when there are plenty of good publics available.

+1000. Just because the system allows wealthy families to qualify for aid, doesn't make it ethical in every case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one of the reasons people might be upset about this is jealousy. When my spouse and I started looking at private schools for our child (when she was about 3) we made about what OP currently makes. We realized that we could only afford to have one child in the DC area if we wanted to put them through private K-12 and also pay for undergrad. So we decided not to have another kid.

We only have one child because we never thought that others should (or would!) subsidize the expense of us having more. Guess it turns out we’re the suckers. So, yeah, OP’s post upsets me on a pretty deep level.

What if you already had 2 or 3 kids when you decided to go to private schools? By the time we decided public was not working for my eldest, we already had 3 kids….

Then you send the one and not the others or move to a different public school district or choose a cheaper private, etc. Just as you would do if you didn’t get FA. Just like most people do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one of the reasons people might be upset about this is jealousy. When my spouse and I started looking at private schools for our child (when she was about 3) we made about what OP currently makes. We realized that we could only afford to have one child in the DC area if we wanted to put them through private K-12 and also pay for undergrad. So we decided not to have another kid.

We only have one child because we never thought that others should (or would!) subsidize the expense of us having more. Guess it turns out we’re the suckers. So, yeah, OP’s post upsets me on a pretty deep level.

What if you already had 2 or 3 kids when you decided to go to private schools? By the time we decided public was not working for my eldest, we already had 3 kids….

Well that’s the crux of the issue: we would not have “decided to go to private school” if we couldn’t have afforded it.

It’s hard to say without knowing exactly what “not working out” means for your eldest child. (And I’m certainly not asking) If they have a learning difference, public would still probably be the place for them, especially if you got them diagnosed and got an IEP in place. If they needed more help with reading, etc, I would get them a tutor and lean in as a parent. Private school is rarely, if ever, the only answer for a struggling child - especially in elementary school. At older grades I could see a few years at a place like Lab if one kid were particularly struggling with EF skills or other minor differences.

Under no circumstances would my spouse and I think that a struggling eldest means that all of our children need to be placed in an expensive private school with others paying a portion of their tuition. We were taught that the responsibility of raising and educating our children rests solely with us, and that we should always live within our means.

That's great for you that's how you think you would've responded in PP's circumstance. But financial aid is literally for families who couldn't afford to attend the school without it. They want families like PP to apply for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people find OP to be irresponsible, unethical, and shameful. For the people who find this acceptable, how were you raised?

You seem perpetually confused and bothered.

You don't hate the player, you hate the game.

The game is played according to the rules that have, not the rules you WISH you had.

The quicker you grasp this very simple, basic fact, the quicker you can move on and re-discover some meaning in your life.

Some of us live by moral principles.

You are still confused here and this misunderstanding is causing you unneeded consternation during what should be a festive holiday season.

This has nothing to do with "moral principles".

You aren't happy with the established existing framework that many schools have for distributing FA but that has nothing to do with those who, adhere to these rules and apply for/receive FA.

Let me clarify. I view accepting financial assistance for what is a luxury product, private school, by a family who is relatively comfortable, at a 300k income, to be repulsive. I would look down upon them as that violates my ethical code.

I don’t blame the school, which has a system in place to help families with financial difficulties. I get it. Emergencies happen and families have real hardships.

I blame the parents who take the easy way out. Instead of supporting their own kids by earning an income that matches their expenses, they take a handout. They are not even trying to get on better financial footing. They just plan to take the handout for as long as their kids are in school. And this is completely unnecessary. It is for a private school when there are plenty of good publics available.

This isn't what financial aid is for. It's to make the school "affordable" at all income levels.

Sidwell says: "Sidwell Friends School believes that family income should never be a barrier to receiving a Sidwell education. We offer one of the most generous financial aid programs in the DC area and seek to ensure that a Sidwell education is accessible to families of all income levels."

Then where are the poor kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people find OP to be irresponsible, unethical, and shameful. For the people who find this acceptable, how were you raised?

You seem perpetually confused and bothered.

You don't hate the player, you hate the game.

The game is played according to the rules that have, not the rules you WISH you had.

The quicker you grasp this very simple, basic fact, the quicker you can move on and re-discover some meaning in your life.

Some of us live by moral principles.

You are still confused here and this misunderstanding is causing you unneeded consternation during what should be a festive holiday season.

This has nothing to do with "moral principles".

You aren't happy with the established existing framework that many schools have for distributing FA but that has nothing to do with those who, adhere to these rules and apply for/receive FA.

Let me clarify. I view accepting financial assistance for what is a luxury product, private school, by a family who is relatively comfortable, at a 300k income, to be repulsive. I would look down upon them as that violates my ethical code.

I don’t blame the school, which has a system in place to help families with financial difficulties. I get it. Emergencies happen and families have real hardships.

I blame the parents who take the easy way out. Instead of supporting their own kids by earning an income that matches their expenses, they take a handout. They are not even trying to get on better financial footing. They just plan to take the handout for as long as their kids are in school. And this is completely unnecessary. It is for a private school when there are plenty of good publics available.

Now I know you’re a troll. Have you read what financial aid is for on your schools website? Most schools openly say they look at how many kids you have in private school and there is no specific income level on which qualifies and doesn’t qualify for aid. A lot of factors come into play. One thing I don’t see is financial difficulties and emergencies. You know why? Those aren’t the families applying to private school. Let’s be clear schools want to attract families like OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think one of the reasons people might be upset about this is jealousy. When my spouse and I started looking at private schools for our child (when she was about 3) we made about what OP currently makes. We realized that we could only afford to have one child in the DC area if we wanted to put them through private K-12 and also pay for undergrad. So we decided not to have another kid.

We only have one child because we never thought that others should (or would!) subsidize the expense of us having more. Guess it turns out we’re the suckers. So, yeah, OP’s post upsets me on a pretty deep level.

You should have read your schools financial aid website. Not others people’s fault you weren’t educated enough to do so and ask questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people find OP to be irresponsible, unethical, and shameful. For the people who find this acceptable, how were you raised?

You seem perpetually confused and bothered.

You don't hate the player, you hate the game.

The game is played according to the rules that have, not the rules you WISH you had.

The quicker you grasp this very simple, basic fact, the quicker you can move on and re-discover some meaning in your life.

Some of us live by moral principles.

You are still confused here and this misunderstanding is causing you unneeded consternation during what should be a festive holiday season.

This has nothing to do with "moral principles".

You aren't happy with the established existing framework that many schools have for distributing FA but that has nothing to do with those who, adhere to these rules and apply for/receive FA.

Let me clarify. I view accepting financial assistance for what is a luxury product, private school, by a family who is relatively comfortable, at a 300k income, to be repulsive. I would look down upon them as that violates my ethical code.

I don’t blame the school, which has a system in place to help families with financial difficulties. I get it. Emergencies happen and families have real hardships.

I blame the parents who take the easy way out. Instead of supporting their own kids by earning an income that matches their expenses, they take a handout. They are not even trying to get on better financial footing. They just plan to take the handout for as long as their kids are in school. And this is completely unnecessary. It is for a private school when there are plenty of good publics available.

This isn't what financial aid is for. It's to make the school "affordable" at all income levels.

Sidwell says: "Sidwell Friends School believes that family income should never be a barrier to receiving a Sidwell education. We offer one of the most generous financial aid programs in the DC area and seek to ensure that a Sidwell education is accessible to families of all income levels."

This is clearly the huge disconnect for PP. They seem to exist only in their own mind, completely distorting the reality that everyone else lives in and only serve to disappoint themselves.

Kinda sad, really.

+1000. This whole thread is people (though it seems to really just be a few repeat posters) who are mad because they created a false construct in their minds of what financial aid is for and they are now coming to terms with the reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one of the reasons people might be upset about this is jealousy. When my spouse and I started looking at private schools for our child (when she was about 3) we made about what OP currently makes. We realized that we could only afford to have one child in the DC area if we wanted to put them through private K-12 and also pay for undergrad. So we decided not to have another kid.

We only have one child because we never thought that others should (or would!) subsidize the expense of us having more. Guess it turns out we’re the suckers. So, yeah, OP’s post upsets me on a pretty deep level.

What if you already had 2 or 3 kids when you decided to go to private schools? By the time we decided public was not working for my eldest, we already had 3 kids….

Well that’s the crux of the issue: we would not have “decided to go to private school” if we couldn’t have afforded it.

It’s hard to say without knowing exactly what “not working out” means for your eldest child. (And I’m certainly not asking) If they have a learning difference, public would still probably be the place for them, especially if you got them diagnosed and got an IEP in place. If they needed more help with reading, etc, I would get them a tutor and lean in as a parent. Private school is rarely, if ever, the only answer for a struggling child - especially in elementary school. At older grades I could see a few years at a place like Lab if one kid were particularly struggling with EF skills or other minor differences.

Under no circumstances would my spouse and I think that a struggling eldest means that all of our children need to be placed in an expensive private school with others paying a portion of their tuition. We were taught that the responsibility of raising and educating our children rests solely with us, and that we should always live within our means.

That's great for you that's how you think you would've responded in PP's circumstance. But financial aid is literally for families who couldn't afford to attend the school without it. They want families like PP to apply for it.

It feels like the lesson here is that everyone should be applying to private schools and applying for aid. If more kids coming from families with a HHI of under 100k were applying for and getting this aid, OP would be SOL and everyone else would probably feel a whole lot better about the whole situation. Spread the word: apply to go to Sidwell - your kid can go for free!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one of the reasons people might be upset about this is jealousy. When my spouse and I started looking at private schools for our child (when she was about 3) we made about what OP currently makes. We realized that we could only afford to have one child in the DC area if we wanted to put them through private K-12 and also pay for undergrad. So we decided not to have another kid.

We only have one child because we never thought that others should (or would!) subsidize the expense of us having more. Guess it turns out we’re the suckers. So, yeah, OP’s post upsets me on a pretty deep level.

What if you already had 2 or 3 kids when you decided to go to private schools? By the time we decided public was not working for my eldest, we already had 3 kids….

Well that’s the crux of the issue: we would not have “decided to go to private school” if we couldn’t have afforded it.

It’s hard to say without knowing exactly what “not working out” means for your eldest child. (And I’m certainly not asking) If they have a learning difference, public would still probably be the place for them, especially if you got them diagnosed and got an IEP in place. If they needed more help with reading, etc, I would get them a tutor and lean in as a parent. Private school is rarely, if ever, the only answer for a struggling child - especially in elementary school. At older grades I could see a few years at a place like Lab if one kid were particularly struggling with EF skills or other minor differences.

Under no circumstances would my spouse and I think that a struggling eldest means that all of our children need to be placed in an expensive private school with others paying a portion of their tuition. We were taught that the responsibility of raising and educating our children rests solely with us, and that we should always live within our means.

That's great for you that's how you think you would've responded in PP's circumstance. But financial aid is literally for families who couldn't afford to attend the school without it. They want families like PP to apply for it.

It feels like the lesson here is that everyone should be applying to private schools and applying for aid. If more kids coming from families with a HHI of under 100k were applying for and getting this aid, OP would be SOL and everyone else would probably feel a whole lot better about the whole situation. Spread the word: apply to go to Sidwell - your kid can go for free!

Yes, the schools literally tell people to apply even if they think they can’t afford it. I’m not sure how some people are just now coming to this conclusion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people find OP to be irresponsible, unethical, and shameful. For the people who find this acceptable, how were you raised?

You seem perpetually confused and bothered.

You don't hate the player, you hate the game.

The game is played according to the rules that have, not the rules you WISH you had.

The quicker you grasp this very simple, basic fact, the quicker you can move on and re-discover some meaning in your life.

Some of us live by moral principles.

You are still confused here and this misunderstanding is causing you unneeded consternation during what should be a festive holiday season.

This has nothing to do with "moral principles".

You aren't happy with the established existing framework that many schools have for distributing FA but that has nothing to do with those who, adhere to these rules and apply for/receive FA.

Let me clarify. I view accepting financial assistance for what is a luxury product, private school, by a family who is relatively comfortable, at a 300k income, to be repulsive. I would look down upon them as that violates my ethical code.

I don’t blame the school, which has a system in place to help families with financial difficulties. I get it. Emergencies happen and families have real hardships.

I blame the parents who take the easy way out. Instead of supporting their own kids by earning an income that matches their expenses, they take a handout. They are not even trying to get on better financial footing. They just plan to take the handout for as long as their kids are in school. And this is completely unnecessary. It is for a private school when there are plenty of good publics available.

Now I know you’re a troll. Have you read what financial aid is for on your schools website? Most schools openly say they look at how many kids you have in private school and there is no specific income level on which qualifies and doesn’t qualify for aid. A lot of factors come into play. One thing I don’t see is financial difficulties and emergencies. You know why? Those aren’t the families applying to private school. Let’s be clear schools want to attract families like OP.

Why is OP unable to meet their expenses with their income? Can’t they get a higher paying job? What is their hardship preventing them from earning enough?

Single parent? Disabled spouse? Special need kids?

In this case, it sounds like OP is just lazy. The lower income parents should have some reason they cannot pay their bills.