S/O how do people afford to live?

amother

Natural

Wed, May 03 2017, 3:57 pm

amother wrote:

I'm not the one who wrote this, I am the OP, but before tuition and insurance we are close to that - but it's dual income, not one of us, and I am assuming that's what that poster meant too. However, if someone is making 200k a year, they are probably netting close to that.

So you're basically using half (6,000/month) for living expenses & then the other half (6,000) for savings? I think that is great. I don't save at all and am just happy that make it through each month without any cc debt!

amother

Natural

Wed, May 03 2017, 3:59 pm

amother wrote:

Finances are very relative. Different people have different needs and save for different wants.

We net a total of 12k per month and we have six kids.

2300 - Mortgage + taxes
1050 - Education Savings Plan
700 - Car
400 - Utilities
1000 - Tuition
2000 - Food (oot)
1000 - Misc. (clothes, dentist, eye care, gas, parmaceuticals, extras etc.)

Total 8450$. We have a comfortable cushion that goes into savings and is sometimes used for big extras such as vacations. I didn't include health insurance b/c we have socialized medicine here. Op. how does your breakdown compare?

Just curious - are all your 6 kids in school & it's 1,000 a month for all of them or was that a typo? Which school has such low tuition?

amother

Emerald

Wed, May 03 2017, 4:04 pm

amother wrote:

Just curious - are all your 6 kids in school & it's 1,000 a month for all of them or was that a typo? Which school has such low tuition?

4 kids in school. Chassidish oot.

amother

Slategray

Wed, May 03 2017, 4:07 pm

amother wrote:

Savings? I wish. We have a ton of expenses.

mha3484

Wed, May 03 2017, 4:08 pm

In my child's school if you meet the income requirements for minimum tuition there is a $12,000 a year family cap. That is about $1200 a month. So with 6 kids a family could definitely pay that. This is a mainstream OOT Yeshvia and Bais Yaakov.

amother

Slategray

Wed, May 03 2017, 4:08 pm

amother wrote:

I'm the poster who said that we net 12k/ month. This includes 3k in rental income from our tenants, 1k in universal child care benefits (Canada) and 8k from my husbands salary.
Op, you would really benefit from meeting with a financial advisor.

That's a good idea. I think I am going to do that.

amother

Natural

Wed, May 03 2017, 4:10 pm

amother wrote:

Savings? I wish. We have a ton of expenses.

Oh, sorry I was unclear from the post what you meant!

amother

Natural

Wed, May 03 2017, 4:19 pm

mha3484 wrote:

Wow, would you be comfortable mentioning what location this is. Is the cap because of state vouchers?

mha3484

Wed, May 03 2017, 4:32 pm

No vouchers. The school sets full tuition and sets a minimum that must be paid. If you go through the financial aid process you get an amount based on the questionnaires you fill out. I am in Chicago.

amother

Natural

Wed, May 03 2017, 4:38 pm

mha3484 wrote:

Thank you - I appreciate the info!

nylon

Wed, May 03 2017, 5:12 pm

Honestly, 9K after tuition and taxes is actually a very nice income. I think you need a planner to figure out where your money is going, because many families live on much less. In order to net that amount of money, your gross is over $200K, which puts you in the top 1% of incomes nationally.

Putting large expenses such as furniture on credit so they can be paid for gradually is pretty normal at many income levels however, and isn't really "living on credit" as long as you have a plan to pay it off.

amother

Azure

Wed, May 03 2017, 6:07 pm

amother wrote:

Where on earth do u send 6 kids to school that charges only $1000? I'm paying for two kids over than that.
If u get a tuition break how is that fair to put away so much money every month?

cnc

Wed, May 03 2017, 6:10 pm

amother wrote:

Where on earth do u send 6 kids to school that charges only $1000? I'm paying for two kids over than that.
If u get a tuition break how is that fair to put away so much money every month?

She already answered that she has 4 kids in a Chassidish school.

amother

Azure

Wed, May 03 2017, 6:24 pm

cnc wrote:

She already answered that she has 4 kids in a Chassidish school.

I guess I missed that post. But still, chassidishe schools cost 250 a month? I'll switch my kids tomorrow lol

amother

Ecru

Wed, May 03 2017, 6:31 pm

I also wonder how people afford to live, but on a much different scale than OP's question. This thread and the other one about houses certainly answer some questions for me. My income of $54,000 (gross before taxes) is just way lower than a lot of other people's.

cnc

Wed, May 03 2017, 6:44 pm

amother wrote:

I guess I missed that post. But still, chassidishe schools cost 250 a month? I'll switch my kids tomorrow lol

The one that I send my kids to charges way more than that but I've heard from relatives and neighbors that send to other Chassidish schools that they pay 120 -300 a month.

mommy3b2c

Wed, May 03 2017, 6:51 pm

amother wrote:

$54,000 does not sound like it is really possible to live on if you have children in school.

amother

Natural

Wed, May 03 2017, 7:11 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

$54,000 does not sound like it is really possible to live on if you have children in school.

The more I read these threads, the more I realize that everything is relative to what actual expenses are in the location one lives in. Therefore, I think it could be possible to live on $54,000 depending on actual expenses.

amother

Ecru

Wed, May 03 2017, 7:12 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

$54,000 does not sound like it is really possible to live on if you have children in school.

I have 2 children in school. I am a single mother and B"H the school is very kind about tuition assistance, at least in my situation.

amother

Papaya

Wed, May 03 2017, 7:22 pm

In general Jewish education is income based. Schools charge more depending on how much you earn. Resulting in just about everyone feeling squeezed. So 60k and 100k won't feel so different. At 60k you get a tax refund and charged less turion. At 100k your paying taxes and a couple grand turion.