Anyone else spending $7000 oer month (or more) on tuition from earned income?
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Anonymous
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You're paying 70k a year for two kid's schooling...
I'm sure they'd much rather have 100k or so to help them buy a first house or start their own business. |
Anonymous
| OP, have you ever considered applying for financial aid at your children's schools? |
Anonymous
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The typical family at the expensive, selective independent schools are paying 10+% of income per child. While there are many grandparents paying and many very wealthy families, they are not the median family at any of the DC area private schools. Families receiving financial aid are expected to pay that portion of income too.
We all understand that it is a major financial decision to choose to send our children to these schools. But, keep in mind it is far easier for a family with $400k household income to pay $80k in tuition for two children than it is for a family earning $120k to pay $24k. If you don't think an independent school k-12 education is worth it, you don't have to play the game. We all value different things. No one at our income level needs a pity party. We all have more choices and security than most Americans. You may as well complain that it is unfair that you have to buy a luxury car because you couldn't show up at the office garage with a hoopdie. If tuition was half the cost, there would be 10 times as many families clamoring to get seats for their children. The admissions process would be even more horrific and there will still be families spending major portions of their discretionary income on tuition. |
Anonymous
Honestly wondering: Are you joking? |
Anonymous
Assuming, no FA, no scholarship... Instate public Us run about 25k/year (tuition, room and board) Privates run about 60-65k/year (tuition, room and board) Still going up every year. - NP |
Anonymous
| ^ should've add, Out of State public runs around 40-45k/year again assuming no FA, no merit scholarship. |
Anonymous
+1. That seems like a good amount of money put away already! Do people really pay for their kids' grad school? |
Anonymous
OP here. We still have 5 years before our rising 8th grader will start college. Although college costs will go up between now and 2021, we are pretty sure the investments in the 529 will grow too. So we think we've got enough saved for college with $200,000 per kid. |
Anonymous
No? Why else would you send them to schools that cost $7k a month combined if not to give them every possible edge of getting into the best colleges and grad schools they can? Private college alone will run you $65k a year. You need to start saving! |
Anonymous
lol I wouldn't count on it. Market will crash soon, trust. It's been flat lining all year. |
Anonymous
:/ My 8 yo has the same amount as your 8th grader. I don't think you are doing as well as you think you are. |
Anonymous
I am not the OP but the other PP who pays approx. $6000 a month for tuition/childcare. Our kids go to a small religious private, where tuition is $16K for lower school (goes up with middle and upper). I would say the average family there has 3 kids and a HHI of $175-225K. They offer financial aid where possible. People who send there believe in the community, the religious education, a great secular education, and place a great importance on the environment their kids are in. They make a lot of sacrifices to send their kids there. Almost no one I know drives fancy cars or wears designer clothing. People wait for major renovations to their homes. One set of parents is a law firm partner and doctor and didn't renovate their kitchen until 2 kids were in college. Most live in $400-700K homes, though plenty bought many years ago when they were cheaper. Most people forego cable and other day-to-day luxuries. Its just a matter of priorities. |
Anonymous
You really think you need $400,000/kid for college? If that's the case, this country is doomed. Who in the world except the top 2% of people in the United States could afford that? That is crazy. |
Anonymous
| On your point about earned income, I think that's how most people pay for private school, unless they inherited a huge source of investment income. When I first entered the work force, I talked with a financial planner about saving for private school for when I had kids. We looked at the calculations, and pre-saving for 6-8 years for a decade of expenses just doesn't move the needle a ton - you just need to out-income the problem. |
Anonymous
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Np here. I thought we were well covered for my two kids college with an inheritance I recieved from my father. Met with a financial planner, and honestly it was eye-opening to see what tuitions are for private colleges and even state ones. They've gone up way faster than inflation and continue to rise. That $200k per kid won't go as far as you think it will. I'd recommend checking out some of those college-savings calculators and see where you stand.
From my perspective, it seems a little nutty to spend so much on private elementary and high school, and then not be able to afford private for college. |