Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Household Management -> Finances
Do you think I should be paying full tuition?
Previous  1  2



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother
Copper


 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 10:44 am
She's not being asked for last years income. She's being asked about this coming year. If she's asked how much she earned last year of course she should include all she earned. Her question is regarding her income after an expected salary increase. Very often bosses no longer give bonuses or approve overtime after a recent salary increase.
Back to top

cookiecutter




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 10:53 am
amother wrote:
Quote:
To op. Definitly file for tuition break. When telling income do not include bonuses or overtime work if applicable. That 10k can really tide you over with tution. Also be sure to put down student debt and how much you pay towards that per month.


Why would you think that the bolded is okay?
Are you asking a moral question? Because she is forced into a system where she had no say in the rules, and in which the rules affect her negatively. If she can get away with it, she should. It is no more immoral than people refusing to work because work only results in more money for the school. But somehow that is within the rules.
Back to top

Tzutzie




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 11:29 am
JAWSCIENCE wrote:
And anyone could lose their job next year. And every person that owns their own business or works as an independent contractor could
List an income of zero by your reasoning as none of their income is gauranteed. It is not up to you to make these cheshbonos about what income is "guaranteed" and therefore should be listed. It's up to you to answer the questions honestly. If they ask your income they are not asking your projected income for next year minus bonuses as that is not guaranteed, they are asking how much you made last year. Zehu. You should answer honestly. You can say this much Is salary and this much in bonus and let them decide what is appropriate. Don't they ask for your tax returns? Is your bonus on there? Or do you feel the govt doesn't need that information either?

I make less than op and where I live tuition is 20k a kid plus building fund etc. I think op could have a reasonable budget with those numbers she posted but she is also welcome to fill out the application and let the committee decide. She might qualify for something and it would give her more breathing room.



All that is true.
So far I pay tuition for only kid. But.
For various reasons we have some non-conventional expenses and lots of outstanding (bh no new ones) medical bills.

My husband has a fixed salary weekly. He also gets a bonus generally once a year. And a raise once a year too. Total net income is just under $100,000 some fixed expenses are a little over $55,000. We still have ro buy food for a family of 4 and pay the bills. Buy clothing for growing children (lots of handmedowns and target amd old navy stuff but it still cost. Shoes. Seasonal expenses.
Medical bills. Every time we take a kid for a sick visit we get bills for deductables of around $25. Dentists. Omg.

For us, bonuses and tax returns are the ticket to not going hungry.

If we would have to pay more tuition because of added in bonuses we'd have to go to food banks.
Back to top

33055




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 11:40 am
Bonuses and overtime work are income. I am missing the part where it is ok to lie about that income but not about the base salary.

Why isn't it also ok to understate your base income if it is ok to lie about bonus and overtime?
Back to top

33055




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 11:41 am
cookiecutter wrote:
Are you asking a moral question? Because she is forced into a system where she had no say in the rules, and in which the rules affect her negatively. If she can get away with it, she should. It is no more immoral than people refusing to work because work only results in more money for the school. But somehow that is within the rules.


She is forcing the other parents to carry her. They also have no say and were similarly forced into the system.
Back to top

shatzileh




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 11:41 am
OP, congrats on the increased income. I've found that anticipated increased salary often gets eaten up in funny ways. I'm not sure what you're asking in your original post, but I'll address the following question:

If I know my salary is going up but I've already gotten a tuition break, should I let the school know that I can pay more tuition now?
My answer would be, no, not until you've seen the extra money come in, and you've seen how much it ends up after taxes/other, and you're used to your new cash flow. For me, this would be until the next time I pay taxes; this might be different for you. Put the extra monthly money on the side and give it as a nice tzedakah check to the school, or even as an extra tuition check if you feel it's not right to reap the maaser/tax benefits of it.
Once you know how much extra you really do have a month, then you can approach the school and commit to paying more. I'd personally be hesitant to committing to more tuition payments before I know I can pay them. Of course, if they ask you to fill out any paperwork in the meantime, be yashar and let them know whatever they ask. If they ask for your last tax return but you know your income would be significantly higher, I'd say ask a Rav.

If you were asking about whether it's fair that you're being made to pay full tuition, or something else, refer to other answers Smile
Back to top

JAWSCIENCE




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 1:01 pm
amother wrote:
She's not being asked for last years income. She's being asked about this coming year. If she's asked how much she earned last year of course she should include all she earned. Her question is regarding her income after an expected salary increase. Very often bosses no longer give bonuses or approve overtime after a recent salary increase.

Honestly ive never seen a committee ask for a projected next years income. If that's how her school does it then yes she should say this is my salary, last year I got such and such in bonuses and overtime but that is not something I can project for next year.
Back to top

JAWSCIENCE




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 1:06 pm
Tzutzie wrote:
All that is true.
So far I pay tuition for only kid. But.
For various reasons we have some non-conventional expenses and lots of outstanding (bh no new ones) medical bills.

My husband has a fixed salary weekly. He also gets a bonus generally once a year. And a raise once a year too. Total net income is just under $100,000 some fixed expenses are a little over $55,000. We still have ro buy food for a family of 4 and pay the bills. Buy clothing for growing children (lots of handmedowns and target amd old navy stuff but it still cost. Shoes. Seasonal expenses.
Medical bills. Every time we take a kid for a sick visit we get bills for deductables of around $25. Dentists. Omg.

For us, bonuses and tax returns are the ticket to not going hungry.

If we would have to pay more tuition because of added in bonuses we'd have to go to food banks.


But is not that something for the committee to decide? Someone who does not receive bonuses could lie about their base salary using similar logic. "The two thousand dollars I do not report to the committee is our ticket to not going hungry"

You answer the questions they ask honestly. If they ask about last years income
You shoul report it all including bonuses. I have never seen anyone ask about a projected next years income. That would be bizarre and I would ask them for clarification cause indeed you cannot predict your raise or bonus or sales for the next year. That's why most schools base this on the previous years income.
Back to top

Tzutzie




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 1:48 pm
JAWSCIENCE wrote:
But is not that something for the committee to decide? Someone who does not receive bonuses could lie about their base salary using similar logic. "The two thousand dollars I do not report to the committee is our ticket to not going hungry"

You answer the questions they ask honestly. If they ask about last years income
You shoul report it all including bonuses. I have never seen anyone ask about a projected next years income. That would be bizarre and I would ask them for clarification cause indeed you cannot predict your raise or bonus or sales for the next year. That's why most schools base this on the previous years income.


I'm not in that system so this is all hypothetical. But the numbers are what actually happened to us.

Some of the bonuses my husband recieved in the past were in the form of gift cards to kosher grocery stores and clothing stores and the like. before yom tov, to be spent specifically for yom tov. It was in the form as a gift rather than a bonus and therefore it (according to the company's legal team) didn't have to be included on the tax return. From what I've read here in the years I've been a member of this site, had I been subjected to a tuition committee, I wouldn't have been granted a break.

Salary is something that generally can be predicted. Unless you lose your job or something.
Bonuses not so much.

That wasy point, if one year my husband got $14,000 total in bonuses and we don't get a tuition break based on that, the next year bosuses mught be a total of $1,000.
So the previous year with 14k more in income we would get a break but have to pay MORE the next year when our income would be 13k less.....


Also, it is insanity that a full time working mom should be having to make her own bread.
The system is seriously broken.


Also, my sister pays tuition for her 7 school/cheder aged children once a year. When she gets her tax return. And thats when she gets to be given a discount (if she gets one) but this makes a lot more sense to me.
Back to top

33055




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 2:12 pm
Tzutzie wrote:
I'm not in that system. So I'm not sure how I'd go about it.

Some of the bonuses my husband recieved in the past were in the form of gift cards to kosher grocery stores and clothing stores and the like. before yom tov, to be spent specifically for yom tov. It was in the form as a gift rather than a bonus and therefore it (according to tgw company's legal team) didn't have to be included on the tax return. From what I've read here in the years I've been a member of this site, had I been subjected to a tuition committee, I wouldn't have been granted a break. And we wouldn't have survived.
Or we could have sukken into debt more and more.
Another reason I'm so glad to be in the comunity/system I am in where tuition is a Maximum of $3,000.

We haven't been on a vacation since before our kids were born (5 day getaway). We went away once but the main purpose was to see an out of state specialist se we already extended out stay with 2 more days.
We don't own a mansion (or a house/apt). We don't have massive amount of cleaning help (none at this time) we don't have fancy cars or expensive clothes.
We live decent regular lives. And we are ok bh!

It is insanity that a full time working mom should be having to make her own bread.
The system is seriously broken.


I am specifically not addressing your actions one way or another.

Gift certificates to a grocery store are taxable income as are other general gift certificates.

I have been offered to get paid by having my grocery bill paid in lieu of salary. I was also offered use of a credit card instead of salary. I know others who are similarly compensated.
Back to top

amother
Sapphire


 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 2:41 pm
Op here not sure why this thread was revived. I already filled in my forms for scholarship for next year and I list salary and bonus separately. For myself the bonus has been steady for the past few years so I wrote a flat bonus amount. My husbands bonus fluctuates yearly and will probably be on the lower end because of his pay increase so I put it as a range. If they want to know how much it was last year they will ask. I think what I did was appropriate. I also think that people who think that it should be easy for me to pay full tuition and cover all my expenses either don't make an income at that level and don't realize how much gets eaten up by taxes and health insurance/medical expenses​ (no govt programs etc.) or don't live in NJ/NY (not Lakewood) if we moved our salaries would be substantially lower.
Back to top

amother
Lime


 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 5:11 pm
Does baking your own bread really save that much money? I've never thought about doing that.
Back to top

MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Mar 14 2017, 5:21 pm
amother wrote:
Does baking your own bread really save that much money? I've never thought about doing that.


Yesterday I mixed and froze enough dough for 15 pizzas, it cost me about $3. I also made some WW dough for hot dog buns and burger buns, 5lbs. Another $3. I think I devoted a whole two hours to the process including clean up. Burger buns where I live are about $4 a pack and a decent loaf of bread is over 4. I mix by hand although when I was married and working with kids I used a Kitchenaid.
Back to top
Page 2 of 2 Previous  1  2 Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Household Management -> Finances

Related Topics Replies Last Post
I think mattresses are outdated
by amother
27 Today at 1:25 am View last post
Struggling Full Time Working Mama
by amother
5 Yesterday at 9:40 pm View last post
Well paying jobs that don't require math, compute or science 13 Tue, Mar 26 2024, 5:58 am View last post
Full renovation cost?
by amother
16 Thu, Mar 21 2024, 9:39 am View last post
Can someone please explain laser my daughter wants full body
by amother
24 Wed, Mar 20 2024, 3:36 pm View last post