How do you pay for private school?

[femalephish]

I know my baby is young, and people keep telling me not to worry about it too soon, but DH and I are trying to plan for our financial future. And we are trying to make plans/set goals that will last for years so I think it makes sense to start planning now. I REALLY don't want to send my daughter to public school. I don't want to homeschool, but I feel like I might have to if I can't figure this out financially.

For those of you who do pay for private school, how do you afford it? Particularly if you live on a modest budget. The local school that I love is 11,000 dollars a year. They offer scholarship based on demonstrated need up to half of the tuition. So, with help, we are looking at 5,500 dollars a year! That just seems impossable. (DH made about 40,000 this year and it doesn't seem like his income is going to be going up anytime soon.) How do you DO it? Does it make financial sense for me to get a job JUST to pay for DD's elementary school?

[Tradd]

My brother and I entered Catholic school in 6th (for him) and 8th grade (for me). My mom went back to work the year before. This was the early 80s and she wasn't making much working in an office, maybe $5 an hour? This is when minimum wage was $3.35/hour (or a little less). Catholic school tuition was about $800 a year (and we were out of parish) for the grammar school. The high school was a bit more - it only went over $1K a year my senior year.

She didn't work full-time, but almost - about 35 hours a week. She essentially did pay for our school.

I just checked the school's website for current tuition rates: (out of parish): $4500 for grammar school, $5000 in the high school!

So yes, you might decide to go back to work to pay for private school if homeschooling would not work for you. You don't mention your concerns about public school or homeschooling, so you might want to go over to those forums on MDC to investigate further.

[enkmom]

My kids were in parochial school, but wouldn't have been if it were any more expensive than it was. We paid a (very reasonable) $500/family/year for elementary school, so that was easy to do. High school started out at $3500/student/year, and went up every year. For 3 of those years, both kids were at school, so we paid as much as $7500/year.

Our high school had an interest free payment plan set up with a local bank. We paid a $100 loan origination fee, and the payments were spread out over 10 months. During the worst year, we paid $750/month and treated it like any other bill. We saved as much as we could, and did without a lot, but we thought it was worth it to have them in this school. In hindsight I would have done things differently, but that is not the question you asked.

[daytripper75]

I work part-time and we are thrifty in other areas. We wouldn't be able to afford it on your family's income though.
It seems to me that you'd easily be able to make tuition at a part-time job during school hours. Maybe that's something you can explore when you're ready to cross that bridge?

[TwinMomPlus]

Hopefully the tuition does not increase by the time your baby is school-aged, either! Are there any good charter schools in your area? Will the school let you volunteer for a tuition discount?

[Drummer's Wife]

Will you have more little ones at home by then? If not, I would say yes, getting a job while your kid is in school would definitely help out. If you have multiple children, then of course the cost of private school is going to multiply.

I'm trying to budget for $600 a month for my 3 yr old to go to Montessori in the fall, but I will be in school myself, so me working is probably not going to happen (unless it's part-time, work-study kinda thing).

The good news is you have time to figure it out - and you may end up changing your mind as the years pass. We've done a variety of schooling options with our four kids in tha past 9 years - including homeschooling - my ideals have changed a bit along the way, and as our family and individual children's needs evolved.

[AAK]

Wow that is high tuition! Our local catholic school is 5000 per year without financial aid. First, while you love that school, I would look at the other private schools in the area as well. Compare cost and benefits.

We do homeschool because I didn't think private school was going to solve our particular issues with school and for the most part I really do like our choice. Some days are hard/some are awesome -- like anything.

My friend who does send her children to the private school pays for it with her job. She wouldn't have to work (except for tuition). She does a part time waitressing job at night.

Another friend just pulled all three of her children out of the private school. She didn't have to work to keep them there, but money was tight. She didn't think the school was meeting the needs of 2/3 of her children. So, now they put the 15000 from tuition savings into her homeschool budget. They of course didn't need that much, but the first year of homeschooling allowed her to know how much she would need to budget for it. Now, their money isn't tight. They still have a very large budget for homeschool, but they decided to plan some vacations around "education benefit".

So, anyways, check out all your options, but plan on working to pay for private school.

Amy

[Peony]

This is our first year of private school, we homeschooled before this, and yes I work just for the school bills. DD1's school is 4K a year, which we could swing alone but she also has a private therapist that goes to the school to work with her that we have to pay out of pocket (she is severely dyslexic) that costs double what the school is. I work part time and my salary will just cover those bills. I work mostly from home but then when I do have to go into the office, we have to pay for a sitter which takes up a little less then half of my hourly wage. We are hoping that by the time it is time for DD2 to go to school, then DD1 will be finished with her therapy and we can save some in prep for then DS to go 2 years later. Thank goodness the first two kids will be 4 years apart in school because of how the birthdays fall or else we would be screwed. We didn't cut down as much as we needed to before recently (my job is new) and are now paying for it with a strict budget.

[bluebunny]

$11,000 per year for elementary school is high. I have looked into many private schools in my area and $5000-7000 per year for preschool/elementary is the norm and then $8000-14,000 for high school.

We chose Montessori for our son. He will be in his third primary year next year and our daughter will start in August. For the two of them, tuition is $13,000 for the year. I work part-time, which pays for tuition.

Are there any less expensive private school options?

[pumpkin]

We were crunching those numbers while I was pg with DD. The public school was awful. Private secular schools were going to be at least 18K. We could cover the tuition, but it really would have taken away much of my incentive for working.

Our solution was to move. I am now a SAHM because we live in a cheaper city with good public schools. Moving doesn't work for everyone, but if your child is young you may be able to plan for it.

[Noah's mommy]

You could consider working at the school. For us, we didn't intend to seek out a particular private school for free tuition, it just worked out that way as we are teaching internationally. However, many, many of our teaching assistants (and other positions) are working for the added benefit of free tuition. I love having the same breaks, hours (more or less), and my children nearby for a quick lunch together or visit.

[griffin2004]

I'm a solo WOHM and my DD (age 7) goes to private school. Tuition + on-site after-school care comes to about $6500-7000 a year. We can pay annually, quarterly, or monthly. I'm on the monthly plan and pay for it out of my paycheck. It makes the budget super tight but I feel it's the best education option for us so we scrimp, squeeze, and do a lot of finger-crossing to make it happen.

If you want to start saving now, you can open a Coverdell Educational Savings Account. You can use the funds for certain Kinde-College expenses. The maximum contribution is $2000/yr. Contributions grow tax-free like a Roth IRA.

[Maluhia]

It all depends on COL - DD's private school is over 17K a year. If you can get a job at the school you get ONE free tuition, so one of your children can go for free.

[Wabi Sabi]

I work full-time to send my kids to private school ($3k for Montessori preschool, $5k for Montessori elementary.) Even without private school tuition I would still absolutely need to work, but I would be able to get by with only working half-time. We've been debating homeschooling so that I can cut back my hours.

[femalephish]

Originally Posted by bluebunny

$11,000 per year for elementary school is high. I have looked into many private schools in my area and $5000-7000 per year for preschool/elementary is the norm and then $8000-14,000 for high school.

We chose Montessori for our son. He will be in his third primary year next year and our daughter will start in August. For the two of them, tuition is $13,000 for the year. I work part-time, which pays for tuition.

Are there any less expensive private school options?

It's a Waldorf school. It seems to me that they are all about that expensive. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who was suprised by it.
Thanks for all the great advice, Mamas. We just want to think about our options before it sneaks up on us.

[Polliwog]

You also have to keep in mind that the financial aid might not be available when you need it. I looked at several private schools in my area. All of their financial aid is already being given to currently enrolled students. There isn't any money available for new students.

[velochic]

Dd's tuition is about $13K/year. To be honest... dh makes a good living. That's how we afford it.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by Maluhia

If you can get a job at the school you get ONE free tuition, so one of your children can go for free.

That depends on the school. Not at dd's school. They give a 20% discount to staff and faculty.

[AndrewsMother]

My family makes quite a few sacrfices.

This year we purchased the majority of my son's clothes at Target and we only purchase three pairs of shoes (casual, dress, athletic) three times a year.

After my car was totaled, six months after purchase) it was not replaced. I ride the bus to work and my husbands picks me up.

We hardly ever eat at nice restaurants and I need a few things, but nothing that I can't live without.

My husband works part time(economy related demotion), and baby sits. I work full time (for now) and attend school full time. We could have used the money for a downpayment on a car, or bought furniture, or done a million other things, but we are with my son's school.