To consider private for my DS's on our income?

[Lotsofknockers]

I don't wish to get into the state vs private but am considering private for my DS's for various reasons - is it affordable on a income of £130k per year? Day dees around 10k per year which will rise for prep. We live in London - one DS would go this year the other in two years time but there would be consideration of nursery fees of around £800 a month so technically the same as two lots of fees now. Are we mad to consider it? Will we be struggling? Mortgage is around £1300 per month.

We do it on a joint income of around £50k-60k (self employes do fluctuates) for two children. We are outside London. Fees for dd who will go into secondary are around 10k a year. Fees for ds around 9k. We got turned down for a bursary as we earn too much.

Time post 3 OP said her rough budget would knock out holidays.

I don't usually agree with Seeker, but she's making valid points on this thread.

How do you manage it? Have you paid off your mortgage? I can't work out the sums otherwise.

If you can't afford it comfortably, and if you are not absolutely sure you will be able to afford it until they leave school, then don't do it. And don't put yourself in a position where you might have to choose between another child and school fees. I know somebody currently in this position and it's ghastly.

(And please ignore the ignorant "running riot" comment)

Our mortgage us about £400 per month including insurances.

Pictures - don't know how you do it. I could do with some budgeting tips from you!

Thats better seeker. If you had answered in the first instance with your post of 12:31 then the "running riot" comments would not have been made.

One biggie is we only run 1 car.

Dh is a teacher & gets school lunch (3 course meal) every day for £2.80

Picture I am impressed with your budgeting.

I am always tellnig people if they actually wrote down what they have coming in and going out they will see they have lots more money than they realise and waste lots of money they don't need to.

Before the dc started school we saved £500 each per month in an ISA (did this for two years) so maybe once a year when we are struggling we withdraw maybe £1000 out. We've got about £23k left in the ISA as back up.

I wish we had known from the start we were going to go down this route we would have planned better. We used to go on holiday 3x a year and spend no less than £5k on each trip. most times visiting the same place!!!

Well done Picture.

I do wonder uf the savings & equity in our house lost us a bursary. The wanted to know the current market value of the house and the amount left on our mortgage.

Pictures - a £50-60K a year means £3500 after tax each month. To then save £500 a month each and pay for the childcare for two that allows you both to work plus the mortgage and everything else. What's the secret?

My parents have a touring caravan and let us stay in it for free. We do go on a London theatre trip once a year though which us about £500 with tickets etc.

I never paid for childcare. We saved the 500 per month before they started school. At the time I worked part time in the week and my mum looked after the dc and self employed on fri night/Saturday when mil looks after them.

When dd was born dh was doing teacher training do it was only really when she was about 2 and ds was born that our income pretty much doubled hence we were used to living very frugally.

Well done, Pictures, you sound v determined. Not what I'd have done but we make different choices.

I think that may influence how you feel about things. If you're used to living frugally and having holidays in caravans then it's not do bad. Going from frequent holidays abroad to secretly checking out the deals at Butlins can't be great.

I don't think that you can ask a blanket can I afford private without looking into the detail. Prep fees vary hugely depending on the school. Even here in London there are no frills private schools which are academically excellent and have great pastoral care but have just a small playground and use the local park for sports and they are about £2k a term, easily affordable on a salary of £130k. Then there are the all singing all dancing preps with acres of grounds, loads of extra curricular activities who prepare for common entrance and charge about £5k a term. In between are the standard preps which are either say, the junior department of a 3-18 independent day school with no boarding, at about £3-3.5k a term. Quite affordable on £130k.

However once you hit secondary it is about £3.5k -£5k a term for an independent day school with no boarding. Somewhere like City of London is less than £5k a term. The uniform is pretty basic, there is the option taken up by many boys of packed lunch and if you live on the tube travel to and from school is free on oyster. They don' t have to go on the fancy trips so don' t pay for those but factor in a couple of french exchanges. Probably affordable on £130k. However, anything above this and then I think it becomes tough on your income.

Our basic income is similar to yours as is our mortgage although bonuses can push it up by a significant amount but we manage a £3.5k term prep with no problems for 2 children, extras are no more than £150 a term for clubs, lunch is included and after an initial £300 for uniform this years outlay is likely to be £30 for 2 sweatshirts and £8 for an M&S school skirt we still save, go on holiday and have a nice life. However, senior fees are £6.5k a term and we will not be able to afford these so our DC will leave after year 6, along with about 70% of the class either to a grammar or alternative private school.

Our contingency is savings followed by remortgage but we are reasonably confident we can see fees through.

"Thats better seeker. If you had answered in the first instance with your post of 12:31 then the "running riot" comments would not have been made."
How bizarre. Your view of what happens in state schools is dependent on what I post on an. AIBU thread! What power I have!

A big factor to consider when sending children to private school, in addition to the fees themselves, is the 'keeping up with the lifestyle' costs. I was privately educated but I wouldn't send my children to private school unless I could afford the fees almost without blinking, for example, School trips are pretty much essential IMO as your child would be missing out on experiences their peers are having if you can't afford to send them and some examples of these costs are pretty eye watering, thousands of pounds on trips to China or hundreds of pounds on skiing trips plus the cost of getting all the right ski kit as well. You have to consider whether you can afford to do this for both your children and would you be happy that your children were experiencing these things on their own rather than as a family with you.

It amazes me that someone can have an income that high and not be able to manage basic budgeting.

You know what you earn, what you spend and what the private school fees would be - we are are strangers with no idea of these.

Bearbehind, that all certainly isnt true at primary level. Trips are in no way essential.

Youbrokemyshoulder, that's fair enough but TBH I struggle with the concept of aspiring to privately educate children up to senior level, then send them to state school because you can't afford to contue with the private route.