Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I dunno I would not pay for private school and would not have replied to this thread if you hadn't mentioned it. IMO my lifestyle would not change much at all going from 500k to 1m. I would by a MODERN house, which they barely build around the DC area, and that's about it. I already outsource my cooking, cleaning, and lawn care. Drive the car I want to drive, go on the vacations I want to go on. Private school? Kill me

Do you have kids? You would value a nicer house over your children’s’ education?

Early Retired Biglaw partner here, with fully grown and long ago launched kids.

Ten years from now, your private school kids will be attending the same colleges as the public school kids. Ten years after that, your kids and those kids will be doing the same jobs, making the same money, and having the same lives and lifestyles - while also working alongside other kids who not only went to public schools, but also to public colleges and other colleges that no one’s ever heard of. The great big world is the great big equalizer when it comes to this stuff.

Unless, of course, you aspire for your kids to be in Biglaw. In that case, yea, the schooling matters. But if you want that for your kids I feel sorry for you - and them.

Ten years from now all of the people who were doing their own cooking, cleaning, and lawn care will also be 10 years older, just like those of you who outsource those things. You will have had a different experience in the interim, and for you it's worth it to pay for others to do those tasks rather than experience them yourself. I don't think my kids will be in a better college and I pray they don't go into the law, but the years they are spending in private school are wonderful and I can't imagine a luxury I would value more.

Retired Biglaw partner here. Not sure if you’re referring to me, but we did our own cooking and mowed our own lawn ha ha. But I’ll come clean: we did eventually hire a cleaning lady, but only once a month! 😆

Fact is, if you have the money, are saving fully for college and retirement, it is individual choices for what you spend the rest of your money on. I'm a huge supporter of public schools. But the turn they've taken in last 5-10 years would make me rethink it and likely do private schools now (we had the money then but chose to save and use our excellent publics). Even the great districts have huge class sizes, cut out extras (removing Music and arts in the lower ES) and you don't get that at the privates. Fact is ES, MS and HS kids will learn better in a classroom with under 20 kids vs 30+. There is no debating that. The educational experience sets your kid up for a lifetime of learning and if you can afford it, why not give them the best experience. It's the foundation for their future.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love how so many threads about private school on DCUM have everyone saying that it's not worth it and good publics are better, then if you ask people what they do with extra money half of them immediately say private school.

First, when some of these $600K HHI purchased their homes, they might have only been at $250/300K. So they may have bought in a good area, but not spectacular schools. Now that they have the $$ for better schools they like their neighborhood and it may not make financial sense to sell, ditch a 3% mortgage for a 7% mortgage. So the solution is to do private schools.

I don't know, more than half of my neighbors in the Whitman district send their kids to private schools. It's not that the publics here aren't the best in the state.

If they have the money, don't see why they wouldn't. Advantages of private schools: class size of only 15 vs our "excellent public schools"----my kids had 30-35 kids crammed into classrooms designed only for 25-30 kids (10 year old building). The school was built for 1800 students, and we had 2600 students. My kid's AP Calc BC course had 40 students---becuase that was cheaper than having the teacher teach 2 courses (needed another 3-4 kids to require a 2nd section)---great teacher and my kid learned, but I have to believe my kid would learn better in a class with only 15-20 kids consistently.

That alone can make it worthwhile if you can afford it without scrimping on retirement and college savings.

We did K in private for our oldest, simply because public was only 2.5 hours and my kid was already in preschool MWF from 9-3, so backtracking to 9-11:30 was not beneficial. They had 16 in a classroom and the experience was amazing. My youngest went to public (it was then all day). They had 28 in the K classroom with 1 teacher and an "aide" shared across 3 K classrooms. Teacher was amazing, but my older kid got the better actual learning experience with only 16 kids and 1 teacher.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped working when DH hit 800k. He now earns over $2m. I would probably still be working if he earned only 500k.

We’re at 450k and feel poor after all the expenses. 800k sounds so much better.

Have you guys tried making use of the food banks? That's what we did when we earned a low income like yours and it made tons a little more bearable.

Ok, I usually hate snark on this board, but this poster is making me laugh.

As for me - we went from $500K five years ago to $1M today. I'd say the difference is that we plan less and it still all works out. Using auto-debits we fund our retirement, brokerage and 529 accounts, and then we blow the rest. We just booked a trip on sort of a whim for spring break; it'll probably cost $10k. Booked another summer trip when friends asked us to join them; that'll be $15k. If we need a home improvement that's moderately pricey (new furnace for $8k, new front door for $15k), we can just do it, rather than save up for it. We eat out more than we used to and often allow the kids to invite their friends. We're just more relaxed about money at this level, but definitely not stress-free.

We’re at about $500k and it’s not tight, but the reality is that that’s not *that* much for close in DC.

If our income doubled, I would not send my kids to private (love our public system), but I would save a lot more aggressively and we’d buy a second home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped working when DH hit 800k. He now earns over $2m. I would probably still be working if he earned only 500k.

We’re at 450k and feel poor after all the expenses. 800k sounds so much better.

Have you guys tried making use of the food banks? That's what we did when we earned a low income like yours and it made tons a little more bearable.

Same. Also try the shelters. Free rent, though the husbands have to go elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does your life change going from half a mil to a mil a year?

That works out to about 21-23k each month in cash, depending on your state tax rate.

Take your current life and imagine spending over 20k extra every month! Unless you go crazy on real estate, or want to just save it all to retire early, I couldn’t even imagine spending that.

Your vacations could be super luxury, front row tickets to anything you are into, always drive new luxury cars etc. You could do all of that and still have lots left over.

This. +1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I dunno I would not pay for private school and would not have replied to this thread if you hadn't mentioned it. IMO my lifestyle would not change much at all going from 500k to 1m. I would by a MODERN house, which they barely build around the DC area, and that's about it. I already outsource my cooking, cleaning, and lawn care. Drive the car I want to drive, go on the vacations I want to go on. Private school? Kill me

Do you have kids? You would value a nicer house over your children’s’ education?

Early Retired Biglaw partner here, with fully grown and long ago launched kids.

Ten years from now, your private school kids will be attending the same colleges as the public school kids. Ten years after that, your kids and those kids will be doing the same jobs, making the same money, and having the same lives and lifestyles - while also working alongside other kids who not only went to public schools, but also to public colleges and other colleges that no one’s ever heard of. The great big world is the great big equalizer when it comes to this stuff.

Unless, of course, you aspire for your kids to be in Biglaw. In that case, yea, the schooling matters. But if you want that for your kids I feel sorry for you - and them.

+1

I don’t agree with you. Sure there are one offs but my classmates that went to STA with me are far more successful financially than my wife’s friends from her public school.

Top privates around here have less than a 20% acceptance rate. Clearly the talent pool is far superior than a school anyone can go to.

That doesn’t mean someone from a public school can’t be wildly more successful but as a whole, top privates will create much more successful grads. It’s not rocket science.

Avg privates are a total waste of money unless you want the religious side of things.

How much of that is based on the kid and how much of that is based on their family? If you're looking a from a cost benefit prospective (which you seem to be), how many of those private school kids are successful because of genetics and nepotism (i.e. traits they would still have regardless of private school attendance)?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped working when DH hit 800k. He now earns over $2m. I would probably still be working if he earned only 500k.

We’re at 450k and feel poor after all the expenses. 800k sounds so much better.

Have you guys tried making use of the food banks? That's what we did when we earned a low income like yours and it made tons a little more bearable.

Anonymous wrote:I stopped working when DH hit 800k. He now earns over $2m. I would probably still be working if he earned only 500k.

We’re at 450k and feel poor after all the expenses. 800k sounds so much better.

Anonymous wrote:I stopped working when DH hit 800k. He now earns over $2m. I would probably still be working if he earned only 500k.

I think you'd have to keep working if he earned only $500K. You wouldn't be able to feed your family without that additional salary.

I stopped working when DH hit 800k. He now earns over $2m. I would probably still be working if he earned only 500k.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That would be significant. We are in $400-$500k and have to be quite careful. $800k would be a different beast. That’s double!

Private school?

No, our kids are in public, but an income of 800k would allow us to afford private. Not sure we would, but nice to have the option.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I dunno I would not pay for private school and would not have replied to this thread if you hadn't mentioned it. IMO my lifestyle would not change much at all going from 500k to 1m. I would by a MODERN house, which they barely build around the DC area, and that's about it. I already outsource my cooking, cleaning, and lawn care. Drive the car I want to drive, go on the vacations I want to go on. Private school? Kill me

Do you have kids? You would value a nicer house over your children’s’ education?

Early Retired Biglaw partner here, with fully grown and long ago launched kids.

Ten years from now, your private school kids will be attending the same colleges as the public school kids. Ten years after that, your kids and those kids will be doing the same jobs, making the same money, and having the same lives and lifestyles - while also working alongside other kids who not only went to public schools, but also to public colleges and other colleges that no one’s ever heard of. The great big world is the great big equalizer when it comes to this stuff.

Unless, of course, you aspire for your kids to be in Biglaw. In that case, yea, the schooling matters. But if you want that for your kids I feel sorry for you - and them.

+1

I don’t agree with you. Sure there are one offs but my classmates that went to STA with me are far more successful financially than my wife’s friends from her public school.

Top privates around here have less than a 20% acceptance rate. Clearly the talent pool is far superior than a school anyone can go to.

That doesn’t mean someone from a public school can’t be wildly more successful but as a whole, top privates will create much more successful grads. It’s not rocket science.

Avg privates are a total waste of money unless you want the religious side of things.

That may say more about your wife and her friends than public schools. Also, assuming your wife’s public school friends skew female, equal pay for equal work remains a huge issue in this country regardless of where you go to school. Finally, a smart guy from St Alban’s ought to know better than to suggest that the anecdotal evidence that you’re offering means much of anything.

The bottom line is that if the end game is, say, Harvard, that’s just not happening anymore for the large majority of boys coming out of St Alban’s. So I’m just not buying that St Alban’s / Wash U versus NOVA public / UVA is a game changer in the game of life.

Agree with this. That is why I'm taking the money I would otherwise spend on St A and spend it on a combo of tutors, summer enrichment and saving money to give to my kids later on.

Anonymous wrote:How does your life change going from half a mil to a mil a year?

That works out to about 21-23k each month in cash, depending on your state tax rate.

Take your current life and imagine spending over 20k extra every month! Unless you go crazy on real estate, or want to just save it all to retire early, I couldn’t even imagine spending that.

Your vacations could be super luxury, front row tickets to anything you are into, always drive new luxury cars etc. You could do all of that and still have lots left over.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I dunno I would not pay for private school and would not have replied to this thread if you hadn't mentioned it. IMO my lifestyle would not change much at all going from 500k to 1m. I would by a MODERN house, which they barely build around the DC area, and that's about it. I already outsource my cooking, cleaning, and lawn care. Drive the car I want to drive, go on the vacations I want to go on. Private school? Kill me

Do you have kids? You would value a nicer house over your children’s’ education?

Early Retired Biglaw partner here, with fully grown and long ago launched kids.

Ten years from now, your private school kids will be attending the same colleges as the public school kids. Ten years after that, your kids and those kids will be doing the same jobs, making the same money, and having the same lives and lifestyles - while also working alongside other kids who not only went to public schools, but also to public colleges and other colleges that no one’s ever heard of. The great big world is the great big equalizer when it comes to this stuff.

Unless, of course, you aspire for your kids to be in Biglaw. In that case, yea, the schooling matters. But if you want that for your kids I feel sorry for you - and them.

+1

I don’t agree with you. Sure there are one offs but my classmates that went to STA with me are far more successful financially than my wife’s friends from her public school.

Top privates around here have less than a 20% acceptance rate. Clearly the talent pool is far superior than a school anyone can go to.

That doesn’t mean someone from a public school can’t be wildly more successful but as a whole, top privates will create much more successful grads. It’s not rocket science.

Avg privates are a total waste of money unless you want the religious side of things.

That may say more about your wife and her friends than public schools. Also, assuming your wife’s public school friends skew female, equal pay for equal work remains a huge issue in this country regardless of where you go to school. Finally, a smart guy from St Alban’s ought to know better than to suggest that the anecdotal evidence that you’re offering means much of anything.

The bottom line is that if the end game is, say, Harvard, that’s just not happening anymore for the large majority of boys coming out of St Alban’s. So I’m just not buying that St Alban’s / Wash U versus NOVA public / UVA is a game changer in the game of life.