Maaser for Chinuch expenses?

ShiraMiri

Mon, Aug 28 2006, 7:23 pm

I was told that if you need to use tuition as mayser money, you need to find out from the school (if they will tell you) exactly how much it costs to educate your child - staff, supplies, building costs, etc. A school's tuition might be, hypothetically speaking - $10,000 per student, but the actual costs are more like $6,000 per student. The other $4,000 is added-on costs to help provide scholarships for other students and pad building funds, etc. So you can count that $4,000 toward mayser money. However, if you get a scholarship already and are not paying the full $10,000, you need to adjust how much you count towards mayser accordingly.

To simply decide that you will count your children's full tuition bill (girls, boys or both) as your mayser is surprising to me. We each have our obligation to give 10% of our earnings toward (legitimate) mayser. If you have asked a rav, go ahead. But I wouldn't feel comfortable deciding for myself that I am too poor to give mayser, therefore I either won't give or I will reduce the necessary amount. And believe me, I have been that poor to have considered it.

raizy

Tue, Aug 29 2006, 1:01 am

sorry I dont get it why I cant use my massar for tution.if I didnt then I wouldnt be giving anymasser .and I would most proberly not be paying tution. I am POOR let face it. my credit is all maxed out. but I pay tution more then some of my friends who make tons more them me. I think everyone should pay accordinly to their income. the way it is here. some pple pay more bc the adminstrater shelped out more money from u. while other "richer" pple pay less.I say shelped bc the federation pays alot of tutions here. and most of their moneyies is from the goverment anyways. so why do they put the squeeze on us . when they can go to the federation and get payed the full amount. and not let us having the drowning feeling after each month has ended.

sorry for this long megillah. but that is the way it is in my parts of the world.

and ten thousand a yr tution is crazy . u said u had only 2 kids. well that would basically cover all my income from the whole year. !!!

and I feel that with 4 kids in school I am paying anther morgage every month to the schools.

and the school list is outrages. I payed almost 30 dollars for schools supplies for 2 kids. my friend who is real poor doestnt understand why her kid cant come to school with only have her list. she wants to subustuite her daughters list for cheaper version of the items that she needs. I really feel bad for this little girl . starting school with the wrong foot. when everyone will have a graphed book she will have a plain one. etc. what is this mother thinking. and if she is so poor . then why did she go to the country a whole summer and go camping for one week. everyone has money for what they wantto have money for.

sarahd

Tue, Aug 29 2006, 5:56 am

SaraG wrote:

Rosehill, I find that hard to believe. First of all, a working mother can use her mayser for her babsitting expenses.

That's not quite accurate. According to my Rav, a working mother can deduct babysitting expenses from her income, I.e. she does not have to pay maaser on the money she spends on child-care. (This only includes child care expenses that she wouldn't have if she weren't working, I.e. if she would send her child to the babysitter/playgroup/nursery even if she stayed home, she can't deduct the expense from her maaserable income.)