How do you afford to pay tuition for multiple kids?!

amother

Aubergine

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 11:59 am

Ok, so I'm really new to this. I went to one jewish school open house (in NY)since I'll have to register my son for kindergarten next year. So the tuition is around $9500 (not included meals if needed) from K-8th grade yearly. I know I can afford to pay this for one child, but what about the others? I have three kids and how exactly do people pay a yearly tuition for more than one child? Do the scholarships really help? I want them to be at this school, but I don't want to suddenly be stuck without any money to pay bills....it's crazy.

shoshanim999

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 12:06 pm

The answer is simple: In order to pay 4 or 5 tuitions, save 150K+ for a down payment and buy a house, send your kids to camp, (sleep away when they get older), you pretty much have to fall in one of the following three categories:

1. Live out of town where housing and tuitions are much cheaper.
2. Have a combined household income of at least 200k.
3. Have a parent/relative who has lots of extra cash give you some (or a lot) of it to help you meet your bills.

There is no other way. I don't mean to be blunt, but these are the facts for a young couple planning their future and considering what to expect their expenses will be like.

SRS

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 12:12 pm

If you tell us more about yourself, maybe we can offer better advice. That said, 3 $9500 tuitions is in the realm of do-able if you are living off a single income now and living within your means. Frugality and building another income as you put each child into school should bring you to the 30K goalpost if you dedicate all second income earnings towards tuition.

It has worked for us.

amother

Aubergine

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 12:48 pm

SRS wrote:

I'm a stay at home mom and my husband makes about $74,000 a year. I'm planning on working soon, so that we'll be able to one day move to another apartment. We live in NY in a small one bedroom apartment with THREE kids. Yea...of course it will be better once I work, but it will likely be a bit less than what my husband makes and I still don't see how we'd afford (even with two salaries) to pay over $9500 a year per child. So that's why I'm asking if school actually reduce the price for people that can't afford? or do I have to move to a place with a smaller jewish community and save money and send them to a jewish school or live in a jewish community and send them to a public school (public school is the last resolution, I'm hoping we won't need to do that)...it's insane..even with two salaries....

amother

Periwinkle

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 1:54 pm

It's really a question of basic math.

Depending on your income, scholarships are available so the actual amount you pay is undetermined until you pay.

But people earning $74,000 or even $74,000 plus additional second income don't typically send children to private schools. That's the reality. A secular family would move to a place with an excellent public school system which is why many people leave NYC for the suburbs. Even with kids in public school, money would be tight for the family and leave little for retirement savings or discretionary expenses.

Pubic school may or may not be an option for you. On the other hand, the reality is that even with tuition breaks, you would be paying a very high percentage if after tax dollars for tuition. The amount of money left to pay living expenses would be very small.

amother

Pewter

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 2:09 pm

I work in a brooklyn yeshiva. full tuition is 10500. at least 75 percent of the parents are on scholarship. I would say that the most common amount to pay is 5000 a head. obvioisly some parents are paying far more and some less...ask for a scholarship

SRS

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 3:07 pm

OP, $74K is too little income to send 3 children to private school even at $9500 unless you work and pull in the additional income. The good news is that you aren't at the point where taxes will totally eat you alive.

Goodness, I want to be more encouraging, but I have no idea what the scholarship offerings are where you live.

amother

Periwinkle

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 3:56 pm

Obviously each school,would have its own criteria bit it doesn't seem likely OP would qualify for scholarship.

If OP makes a little less than her husband if she goes back to,work, household income would be let's say $130,000. That's probably more income than many people and I would expect the schools would think the family could afford $30,000 in tuition because there would be many with far less income

naturalmom5

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 4:15 pm

Either you have wealthy parents or grandparents

Or you homeschooled

Or you send to public school and have a rebbe tutor on the side

Or. Move to South Bend Indiana, a very warm beautiful community and the state provides vouvchers to cover the bulk of tuition

amother

Aubergine

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 6:28 pm

OP here

Oh no... now I'm confused and not sure what to do. I know we'll be able to afford sending our son next year to kindergarten and the other son will be in a fee UPK. But I hate changing schools all the time. What's going to be the year after when we have to pay for more than one? I'm not sure... I know I always thought we'd send them to a jewish school. Now I'm not sure what to do.

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 6:54 pm

No harm in asking the school about it. It isn't just about income but also how many children, other financial factors, etc. No one here can tell you what the decision of the financial aid committee will be (unless an Imamother is on the committee).

seeker

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 8:12 pm

Didn't op say her husband is the only earner currently, and they have enough to cover one tuition? So we're looking for another $19,000 per year for the other two kids? That should be pretty doable if mom takes either a low-level full job or a higher-paying part time job, depending what her qualifications are. Doesn't sound like they need to hit the panic button just yet.

amother

Mauve

Mon, Nov 09 2015, 8:13 am

The way to afford full tuition is by working and keeping your other expenses low. Do you have career training? You will need around $40,000 pre-tax to pay for $30,000 post tax tuition. That's very doable with adding in a salary. That's about $20/hr, and if you take off the one tuition you can afford (the $10,000), you only need to earn around $11/hr full time.

You might want to move out of your one bedroom, but unless you earn more, it doesn't seem like you can afford to AND pay tuition unless you earn more.

amother

Oak

Mon, Nov 09 2015, 8:55 am

Controversial - maybe get a job in the school - the you have an income as well as a staff discount. That's what I ended up doing and it changed our lives. No idea waht we will do for high-school though...

Mon, Nov 09 2015, 9:51 am

amother wrote:

Not controversial at all. Many parents work in the school for this reason.

About suggestions above to work - don't forget child-care expenses when figuring how much you need to earn if considering full-time work. If you are a high earner it shouldn't pose a problem, but if you do not earn much, might be better to work part time during school hours. (Assuming full-time workday is longer than the school day).

amother

Blush

Mon, Nov 09 2015, 10:26 am

amother wrote:

Of course you will send them to a Jewish school! Most families with a few children are getting some type of scholarship. The school will work with you. Also, there is usually a sibling discount.

amother

Aubergine

Mon, Nov 09 2015, 10:36 am

OP here

I've heard it's good to work at the school. But what if it's not possible (I'm not a teacher) to find any job at the school? I mean, it sounds like a great idea since it's also close to my home and I'd be at my kids' school, but it's not always possible.
My family and my husband's family are both not rich, even though I know they try to help. So they can only help us a little bit with the money for the school. It will still be very costly once all my kids go to school. I don't understand how people can save any money for college! It's ridiculous...right now we're still stuck in a one bedroom apartment with three little kids. So it's not easy of course.

Mon, Nov 09 2015, 10:44 am

School jobs: secretary, bookkeeper, admissions/recruiter, psychologist, food service supervisor, handy woman, before/after school childcare, specialty instructor (art, gym, etc -some schools use non-certified teachers for these), etc etc etc.