Least tuition? | Imamother

amother

Denim

Wed, Jan 24 2018, 10:40 pm

We have 2 boys in an elementary NY yeshiva and we're working on our financial aid application. We both work and together our salaries together equal 6 figures. We have 2 other children who will need daycare and babysitting. The Financial Aid application asks "What can you afford?" Last year we put a number before we knew we were expecting and they honored that number, however since baby was born and we need to pay for babysitting, that number is squeezing us tight--especially since we have other debts from when we were in school and yeshiva that we'd like to pay down. What is the lowest amount that you'd feel comfortable putting when tuition is 10.5K per child?

amother

Lime

Wed, Jan 24 2018, 10:44 pm

The honest answer to the question would be the only number I'd feel comfortable putting down.

ETA: The better question is what are reasonable annual budget items that we should be considering to determine what is 'left over' for tuition. My opinion is that the budget can include some debt repayment, and savings.

amother

Seagreen

Wed, Jan 24 2018, 11:27 pm

I know this might sound ridiculous, but I actually put down what I feel we can afford per child. which is low. Like $3000. They dont accept our offer, but at least they know how much we feel we can actually manage to pay without going into major debt. and now they know that they are squeezing us very tight when tehy ask for more than that.

and yes, I understand that $3000 is very low. but I also know that dh and I are both in low paid professions. and that's just the way it is. Dh is in chinuch, but doesnt teach in the school that our kids go to so we dont get free tuition. so I guess part of the reason why I dont feel absolutely awful about it, is because in dh's job he is giving to the community. and what more can we do?...

amother

Floralwhite

Wed, Jan 24 2018, 11:41 pm

I think if asked tuition is 10,500 with 6 figure salary you should at least put down 8,000/year

I’ll be honest my husband and I make together 5 figures and we pay 8,000 for each child and yes we do have other debts etc.
it’s extremely hard for us but that’s why we can’t afford vacation or cleaning help. Everything goes for our kids Bh

amother

Babypink

Thu, Jan 25 2018, 9:56 am

DH is also in chinuch. I work 30 hours a week in an office. Together we pull in just about 100k. We have three kids. Two school age and one at a babysitter full time. I am paying around 5000 a head each for both my schoolage kids. Full tuition is also around 10.5

To the poster who said 100k should be paying 8k a head..I am located in Brooklyn and am paying 1800 a month rent before utilities for my 2 bedroom apartment. I don't qualify for any programs so all my expenses are on me. 100k may sound like a lot but it is no where near enough to pay anything close to full tuition when living in Brooklyn. Its a middle class income..too much for programs..too little to be comfortable.

amother

Wheat

Thu, Jan 25 2018, 10:11 am

I think a good way to look at what number you can afford is to calculate your tuition as a percentage of your take home pay. We make In the 100k range, pay roughly 20k a year for my 4 children together (3 elementary, 1 playgroup), so tuition is 20% of our income. When you add up your tuition and childcare expenses, what percentage of your income does it come out to? This is a different perspective that helps you figure out if your payments are proportional to your income.

mha3484

Thu, Jan 25 2018, 10:21 am

When I got my financial aid letter last year the tuition given to me was 7% of my income. I feel like that is reasonable for me. If you feel that is too low try out 10% and 15% with a calculator and see what that amounts to.

This was only tuition to my sons yeshiva. If I add play group for my 3 year old to the mix its more like 15% of my income.

amother

Mauve

Thu, Jan 25 2018, 11:31 am

amother wrote:

How many children do you have? It makes a difference.

amother

Ginger

Thu, Jan 25 2018, 12:00 pm

So I actually just went through my income and expenses because although pol may think we make alot let me tell you the fact is I calculated we make 125k after taxes meaning what we bring home and I am paying 16k total for 3 kids and I have no leftover for saving. We are at the point now that we are spending all our income so whatever all those may think I can not afford any more. (Its 5k for toddler and 11k in elementary yeshiva for 2 kids which I think full is $9700 each...)

amother

Ginger

Thu, Jan 25 2018, 12:03 pm

I am amother above. Just want to add that I am in Brooklyn and my mortgage is $3100 a month. Nothing to do we need a house and happy to have it bec prices now are so bad I would not be able to afford it now bh I bought a few yrs ago!

amother

Denim

Thu, Jan 25 2018, 1:56 pm

amother wrote:

Sounds very similar to our situation. How much do you end up paying per child for school? I feel like whatever number we put down will be honored--last year we thought we were in better shape when my husband started working, but between taxes and other big expenses that hit us unexpectedly we found the tuition payments tough. Now we add another child into the mix. What's also tricky is that my salary is 2x monthly, but my husband is weekly, so we can only afford SO much to pay at one time between the other big ticket items--rent, playgroup, utilities, various insurances ( car, life, renters' etc), we have to balance everything throughout the month so aside from the mathematics it gets tricky to figure out how much we can afford at any given time.

amother

Wheat

Thu, Jan 25 2018, 3:15 pm

I pay, in rounded numbers, 10k for child 1&2 together, 6k for child 3, 4K for child 4. We get paid biweekly and the end of the month is always tight. In general, first paycheck of the month is for tuition and bills, second is for mortgage, and 2 “extra” paychecks for yom tov and daycamp.