What do you consider doing ok Financially? Gross income

jeweled

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 4:40 pm

amother wrote:

How on earth would I pay for tuition on our income? It's not going to happen. Or a car to get the kids to yeshiva if it were free? Because they don't bus. My choices are homeschooling or public school.

I am not poor. My income is exactly the national average. These things just aren't accessible to most people.

I liked your post bc it is so true. Are you planning to home school or send to public school? I'm considering public but am worried about the kids religious trajectory.

amother

Violet

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 4:45 pm

jeweled wrote:

I liked your post bc it is so true. Are you planning to home school or send to public school? I'm considering public but am worried about the kids religious trajectory.

I'm presently homeschooling. I guess if that really wasn't working I would consider a public school and an after school Talmud Torah. I would try getting a tutor first though. However, at this age at least, it's not hard to home-school. I figure that my problems with school wouldn't end with tuition and a car though. I would need to get teacher's gifts, and pay for uniforms, and they will want the things the other kids have, and activities, etc. etc. etc. It's just not realistic to keep up.

cholenteater

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 8:09 pm

amother wrote:

My married DD & SIL live in Brooklyn.
Combined income gross is $80K
They have one child & another on the way.
They live in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment & never eat out. In 3 years of marriage (one in kollel) they've saved up $35K.
SIL is due for a raise shortly .
They have no debt at all. They think they are well off,

They are, comparitive to others at that stage of life (depending on the neighborhood). They are living within their means and stashing away for the future. Once tuition payments starts tho, then they will need to either make more or take a tuition break.

amother

Gray

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 8:19 pm

amother wrote:

Kudos to them. Obviously they are still in the newlywed stage. I think everyone agrees that at that phase living in bklyn does not yet require making big money.

icebreaker

Sun, Jun 25 2017, 10:14 pm

Oh no! I don't make that haha! I was joking (although living in NYC, not really joking, money never feels like it's enough lol) about how much I would need to feel comfortable. I wish I made that amount LOL

amother wrote:

That is soooooo cool! I can't even imagine so much money! Good for you guys!
I have 3 kids kah, and make 60k combined.. We both work so hard for that..! I'm just grateful it's not less!

amother

Khaki

Mon, Jun 26 2017, 1:05 am

mommy3b2c wrote:

I am talking about combined income. So for example, the father is a lawyer and makes $200,000 and the mom is an OT and makes 50,0000. Etc...

And you are really oversimplifying it...

You're ready to do anything? Then go get a degree as a lawyer, doctors, actuary....or build yourself a business. It takes years to become suffessful. It's not like there is some magical job that pays that much.

My gut feeling is that you live in an area where people have strong college and possibly graduate degrees and are overwhelmingly professional. A 250-300k salary is not abnormal at all for an educated professional couple. And yes, it takes a lot of years of schooling and hard work to reach those income levels. But 260-300 k incomes are not the highest in your community at all - not even close. I'm sure in your area there are many families living on twice and three and even four and five times that amount.

Those of you who think 250- 300 k are astronomical sums to earn are probably living in more yeshivish communities where strong college and grad degrees are not the norm.

I live in a yeshivish community and laugh when they tell my children that without a solid secular education they can expect to earn what the professionals do.
These same people then say to the parent body that our schools are unable to offer the same educational and enrichment and resource rooms that schools in Teaneck and Riverdale do because our parent body just doesn't earn the same as the relatively professional parent body of Teaneck and Riverdale.

And somehow nobody realizes or admits that the two statements are contradictory and the facts indicate that the professional educated parent body is clearly on average earning more. Yes there are exceptions - but the average educated couple is doing far better than the uneducated one.

mommy3b2c

Mon, Jun 26 2017, 1:39 am

amother wrote:

You're right, that in my community $250,000 is not wealthy at all. Like I said, you're just doing pretty okay with that. Most people have degrees, but lots of people don't even use them. What people have in common is a strong worth ethic. Also, no one learns in kolell for more then a year or two. Lots of people also come from money, which helps a lot too.

amother

Seashell

Mon, Jun 26 2017, 3:19 am

amother wrote:

Almost everyone I know has a strong college degree, and many have graduate degrees, and I think 250-300K is an astronomical sum to earn.

saw50st8

Mon, Jun 26 2017, 7:43 am

amother wrote:

Almost everyone I know has a strong college degree, and many have graduate degrees, and I think 250-300K is an astronomical sum to earn.

I live in an area where a lot of people have a combined income of 250-300k (wish I did!). It's a lot of money, but it's generally 2 professionals later on in their careers. No one expects 2 22 year olds with their bachelors to earn that kind of money. Most professionals 10 years into their careers can reach close to $100,000. People with careers that tend to make more money can earn even more, especially doctors and lawyers, but those come with a lot of additional hidden costs (years of schooling, student loans etc).

The real question is what are your expenses because $250,000 sounds like a lot of money until you have 4 kids in a yeshiva that's $18,000/kid. So $72,000 in after tax money (and if your kid needs a program like Sinai, it's $80,000/year/kid)! People who earn less have a lot smaller tuition payment and that's really the great equalizer. It almost doesn't matter if you make $100,000 or $300,000 until you reach the point where tuition is truly affordable for you.

amother

cornflower

Mon, Jun 26 2017, 8:09 am

amother wrote:

I'll bite..We make in that range. Dh is a Dr. To get there it took 4 years college, 4 years med school, 3 years residency, 3 years fellowship. So 14 years of training and education and about $180,000 in loans. (Plus four interstate moves) Not really something you can just travel for.

Your post caught my eye.
I don't want to hijack this thread..
Can u pm me?

amother

Seagreen

Mon, Jun 26 2017, 8:16 am

We make over $400k combined. DH is a lawyer (so about $100k in student debt) and I'm in one of the therapy fields... I have a lot of friends who are in similar fields (the couple together) and earn comparable salaries).

Oh, and with taxes, loans and tuition (tuition over $50k/year)... we are seriously not "rich"

amother

Burgundy

Mon, Jun 26 2017, 8:30 am

amother wrote:

Interesting outlook. Many (most?) people would feel extremely rich and blessed with your income level.

cnc

Mon, Jun 26 2017, 8:32 am

amother wrote:

It all depends on your outlook. Many people would feel extremely rich and blessed with your income level.

Someone at her income level can be in the same position as someone with an income level of $100k. If her expenses are five time the amount of someone with much less income, at the end of the day they're in the same boat.

Many times these salaries in certain communities come along with hefty mortgages, insane tuition bills and lots of other expenses.