How.do you afford private school? Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could understand giving aid to someone who had a really high hhi that had some catastrophic situation happen to them one year that depleted their savings and it was an ongoing issue, like their house burnt down, supporting older parents, spouse needed organ transplant, and an older step child got into legal trouble. This actually happened at our school to a family at our school a few years ago! So I can understand how someone needing temporary assistance one year or 2. However, schools should have a cut off and firmly state that aid applications will not be accepted from families earning more than $500k. I actually saw a small private school have on its site that it doesn't offer aid to anyone with hhi over $150k.

We have HHI of 600k and get 10% aid at Big 3 with 2dc. SAH. But a chunk of DH's income goes into retirement account automatically. When you account for that and loans, under 500k. Lots of diff situations where aid is appropriate.

I don't want to contribute to tuition assistance for that either!

This thread is really making me rethink my TA support. Do you think all the people helpfully providing you with your assistance shouldn't also have a bang-up retirement?

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry but why is it different that alot goes to a retirement account? isn't that still your money? I'm definitely applying for aid next year if you got 10 % on 600K!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not encourage you to fall in love with these schools (or their marketing). The vast majority of parents at my school work in finance or corporate law. These schools aren't the only place to get a great education, but for people with more money than they know what to do with they are a luxury good.

Yep. +100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love to send my DD to private school and have seen a few I really love, but I'm having a really hard time figuring out how this could be at all feasible financially.

The schools are so expensive, and we wouldn't qualify for a need-based scholarship. We are scraping by but don't have that kind of money to spend year after year, and we have two kids (one is a baby).

I stay at home now with our baby and would like to for at least another year or two. Going back to work would give us a second income, but it would also mean increased childcare costs. My DH works in government and makes a decent but not huge salary, and before staying home, I worked at a non-profit and made very little. I do have an education background (though more admin than teaching), so I guess getting a job at the school and free/reduced tuition could be a goal, but that seems like a long-shot and hard to plan for, especially since my older DD would go there for a few years before I'd start if I stay home with our younger kid.

Any thoughts? How do you make this work if you don't have a lot of extra funds? Is it worth it?

Split up the payments monthly and decrease spending in other areas. We pay about $85K a year but split it up over the year and cut back in other areas. One really expensive car, the other is paid off and old. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could understand giving aid to someone who had a really high hhi that had some catastrophic situation happen to them one year that depleted their savings and it was an ongoing issue, like their house burnt down, supporting older parents, spouse needed organ transplant, and an older step child got into legal trouble. This actually happened at our school to a family at our school a few years ago! So I can understand how someone needing temporary assistance one year or 2. However, schools should have a cut off and firmly state that aid applications will not be accepted from families earning more than $500k. I actually saw a small private school have on its site that it doesn't offer aid to anyone with hhi over $150k.

We have HHI of 600k and get 10% aid at Big 3 with 2dc. SAH. But a chunk of DH's income goes into retirement account automatically. When you account for that and loans, under 500k. Lots of diff situations where aid is appropriate.

I don't want to contribute to tuition assistance for that either!

This thread is really making me rethink my TA support. Do you think all the people helpfully providing you with your assistance shouldn't also have a bang-up retirement?

DH is required to put a big chunk of his income in a retirement account. You cannot access that money before retirement- there are very strict rules. I dont think its fair to penalize us for saving for retirement, esp when DH has no option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could understand giving aid to someone who had a really high hhi that had some catastrophic situation happen to them one year that depleted their savings and it was an ongoing issue, like their house burnt down, supporting older parents, spouse needed organ transplant, and an older step child got into legal trouble. This actually happened at our school to a family at our school a few years ago! So I can understand how someone needing temporary assistance one year or 2. However, schools should have a cut off and firmly state that aid applications will not be accepted from families earning more than $500k. I actually saw a small private school have on its site that it doesn't offer aid to anyone with hhi over $150k.

We have HHI of 600k and get 10% aid at Big 3 with 2dc. SAH. But a chunk of DH's income goes into retirement account automatically. When you account for that and loans, under 500k. Lots of diff situations where aid is appropriate.

I don't want to contribute to tuition assistance for that either!

This thread is really making me rethink my TA support. Do you think all the people helpfully providing you with your assistance shouldn't also have a bang-up retirement?

DH is required to put a big chunk of his income in a retirement account. You cannot access that money before retirement- there are very strict rules. I dont think its fair to penalize us for saving for retirement, esp when DH has no option.

"Fair" under what system?! No one is 'penalized' for saving for retirement; it's something everyone has to address.

The bottom line is you and others seem to think that financial aid is some carefully designed program coming from some far away, government black box. But it's your friends who donate this money so the schools can have economic diversity -- like true middle class!

I'm just appalled that someone like you even considers appyling for aid. Scary. I hope it's not our school.

[Anonymous]

I'm a hhi of 250 that gets heat on here for getting aid. At my hhi I do not feel embarrassed or ashamed of receiving aid, but at 600 or 800k, I not only would feel ashamed but also would wonder wtf am I doing wrong that I can't meet all expenses at that income level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a hhi of 250 that gets heat on here for getting aid. At my hhi I do not feel embarrassed or ashamed of receiving aid, but at 600 or 800k, I not only would feel ashamed but also would wonder wtf am I doing wrong that I can't meet all expenses at that income level.

What makes you think they can't meet their expenses? They lie and don't report all of their income on the FASA application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a hhi of 250 that gets heat on here for getting aid. At my hhi I do not feel embarrassed or ashamed of receiving aid, but at 600 or 800k, I not only would feel ashamed but also would wonder wtf am I doing wrong that I can't meet all expenses at that income level.

What makes you think they can't meet their expenses? They lie and don't report all of their income on the FASA application.

Have you ever seen an aid application? It's pretty intense and they want 2 years of files tax returns. how is it possible for them to lie? The school ppl aren't blind, you can't say you drive a 92 Camry when you are rolling up in a 2016 range. The school can figure all this out unless ppl are going to extremes to hide any physical sign of wealth like not signing up for camps or taking vacations, kids talk all time to each other so how can they hide a fancy Disney vacation??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could understand giving aid to someone who had a really high hhi that had some catastrophic situation happen to them one year that depleted their savings and it was an ongoing issue, like their house burnt down, supporting older parents, spouse needed organ transplant, and an older step child got into legal trouble. This actually happened at our school to a family at our school a few years ago! So I can understand how someone needing temporary assistance one year or 2. However, schools should have a cut off and firmly state that aid applications will not be accepted from families earning more than $500k. I actually saw a small private school have on its site that it doesn't offer aid to anyone with hhi over $150k.

We have HHI of 600k and get 10% aid at Big 3 with 2dc. SAH. But a chunk of DH's income goes into retirement account automatically. When you account for that and loans, under 500k. Lots of diff situations where aid is appropriate.

I don't want to contribute to tuition assistance for that either!

This thread is really making me rethink my TA support. Do you think all the people helpfully providing you with your assistance shouldn't also have a bang-up retirement?

DH is required to put a big chunk of his income in a retirement account. You cannot access that money before retirement- there are very strict rules. I dont think its fair to penalize us for saving for retirement, esp when DH has no option.

"Fair" under what system?! No one is 'penalized' for saving for retirement; it's something everyone has to address.

The bottom line is you and others seem to think that financial aid is some carefully designed program coming from some far away, government black box. But it's your friends who donate this money so the schools can have economic diversity -- like true middle class!

I'm just appalled that someone like you even considers appyling for aid. Scary. I hope it's not our school.

What are we supposed to do? Is DH supposed to just quit his job? If he did that we would end up getting even more aid and we wouldn't be saving for retirement. You are treating retirement savings as income to us when its not -- we cannot spend it. That's unfair, esp bc we can't change it. I don't understand why people cannot understand this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a hhi of 250 that gets heat on here for getting aid. At my hhi I do not feel embarrassed or ashamed of receiving aid, but at 600 or 800k, I not only would feel ashamed but also would wonder wtf am I doing wrong that I can't meet all expenses at that income level.

You should feel embarrassed. It's disgraceful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could understand giving aid to someone who had a really high hhi that had some catastrophic situation happen to them one year that depleted their savings and it was an ongoing issue, like their house burnt down, supporting older parents, spouse needed organ transplant, and an older step child got into legal trouble. This actually happened at our school to a family at our school a few years ago! So I can understand how someone needing temporary assistance one year or 2. However, schools should have a cut off and firmly state that aid applications will not be accepted from families earning more than $500k. I actually saw a small private school have on its site that it doesn't offer aid to anyone with hhi over $150k.

We have HHI of 600k and get 10% aid at Big 3 with 2dc. SAH. But a chunk of DH's income goes into retirement account automatically. When you account for that and loans, under 500k. Lots of diff situations where aid is appropriate.

I don't want to contribute to tuition assistance for that either!

This thread is really making me rethink my TA support. Do you think all the people helpfully providing you with your assistance shouldn't also have a bang-up retirement?

DH is required to put a big chunk of his income in a retirement account. You cannot access that money before retirement- there are very strict rules. I dont think its fair to penalize us for saving for retirement, esp when DH has no option.

"Fair" under what system?! No one is 'penalized' for saving for retirement; it's something everyone has to address.

The bottom line is you and others seem to think that financial aid is some carefully designed program coming from some far away, government black box. But it's your friends who donate this money so the schools can have economic diversity -- like true middle class!

I'm just appalled that someone like you even considers appyling for aid. Scary. I hope it's not our school.

What are we supposed to do? Is DH supposed to just quit his job? If he did that we would end up getting even more aid and we wouldn't be saving for retirement. You are treating retirement savings as income to us when its not -- we cannot spend it. That's unfair, esp bc we can't change it. I don't understand why people cannot understand this.

Here's what your supposed to do. First, you can get a job. my DH and I both work. Why can't you contribute by working? Second, you can spend some of the huge amount of money that you have left after those retirement savings, taxes, etc on paying tuition at your kids' school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could understand giving aid to someone who had a really high hhi that had some catastrophic situation happen to them one year that depleted their savings and it was an ongoing issue, like their house burnt down, supporting older parents, spouse needed organ transplant, and an older step child got into legal trouble. This actually happened at our school to a family at our school a few years ago! So I can understand how someone needing temporary assistance one year or 2. However, schools should have a cut off and firmly state that aid applications will not be accepted from families earning more than $500k. I actually saw a small private school have on its site that it doesn't offer aid to anyone with hhi over $150k.

We have HHI of 600k and get 10% aid at Big 3 with 2dc. SAH. But a chunk of DH's income goes into retirement account automatically. When you account for that and loans, under 500k. Lots of diff situations where aid is appropriate.

I don't want to contribute to tuition assistance for that either!

This thread is really making me rethink my TA support. Do you think all the people helpfully providing you with your assistance shouldn't also have a bang-up retirement?

DH is required to put a big chunk of his income in a retirement account. You cannot access that money before retirement- there are very strict rules. I dont think its fair to penalize us for saving for retirement, esp when DH has no option.

"Fair" under what system?! No one is 'penalized' for saving for retirement; it's something everyone has to address.

The bottom line is you and others seem to think that financial aid is some carefully designed program coming from some far away, government black box. But it's your friends who donate this money so the schools can have economic diversity -- like true middle class!

I'm just appalled that someone like you even considers appyling for aid. Scary. I hope it's not our school.

What are we supposed to do? Is DH supposed to just quit his job? If he did that we would end up getting even more aid and we wouldn't be saving for retirement. You are treating retirement savings as income to us when its not -- we cannot spend it. That's unfair, esp bc we can't change it. I don't understand why people cannot understand this.

Here's what your supposed to do. First, you can get a job. my DH and I both work. Why can't you contribute by working? Second, you can spend some of the huge amount of money that you have left after those retirement savings, taxes, etc on paying tuition at your kids' school.

For real! Even after excessive retirement savings, the remainder has got to be plenty.

Put it this way: if you didn't get that 10% in aid ($7000?), would you make any changes to your childen's schoolIng, or would you stay where you are and 'eke by'? No doubt it's the latter.

And no doubt once you retire, you'll pay back the aid and then some through donations.

[Anonymous]

This poster can't be real. What is your dh's job that "requires" him to put away this much to retirement.

[Anonymous]

This thread is nauseating. Rich people taking money from slightly richer people so that their kids, who were already born on second base, take more and more resources from those who could truly benefit from any opportunity. Broadening the gaps between rich and poor, ensuring that the caste structure stays firmly "as is" in this country.