Is this a financial mistake? Help please

[Subjk]

I have a 2 year old and have recently been gifted 80k. If I paid off some of my mortgage with this I would owe 150k. I’m 35.

The schools round here are absolutely awful. I can’t move area as I need family support so I have to stay.

Yesterday I looked round a private school which is 20k a year including vat. Me and ex are on good terms and he pays 1,200 a month. He won’t pay school fees but has said he will increase monthly payments to 1,500 if I choose private.

What would you do? I don’t have a high income my take home is 2,400. I am worried for dd and feel a bit lost with what to do. Please help!

I personally wouldn't spend on a private school, I'm simply saying that because you asked what I would do.

However, it sounds important to you, so if it would make you and DD happy, that is a good enough use of the money. Assuming you're one and done of course.

I wouldn’t go private on your income. The fees will go up every year and there’s extras to pay too. The £80k won’t last long if you did that.

No, you won’t be able to upkeep those costs.

Your kid is only 2. Invest the money and see if it grows enough for private secondary education

The mortgage. Your little one is only 2, the first few years of school they don't need to be private, I don't think you really get value for money there. Having a low mortgage gives you freedom.

My son is in a good school in an ok-ish area, the childrens behaviour (and the parents) isn't ideal sometimes. But we do extra work on the evenings and weekends and he is ahead of where he needs to be.

I think this area will be just fine for primary, and I am focused on going to a grammar or looking at private scholarships potentially for secondary school.

£80k isn’t going to fund an entire private education, and if you’ve spent all your money at primary level, where it’s much easier for your involvement in their education to fill in any gaps, you’ll be stuck for secondary where it isn’t and find the step into the state sector more difficult than if you’d been state all the way through.

Honestly, unless you need to pay down the mortgage, if you really want to benefit your DC, invest a good bit of that £80k and give them a tidy deposit for their own property: that’ll push them ahead far more markedly in their adult life than private primary school.

You can’t afford to send her.

You could save or invest the money and reconsider for secondary, but you absolutely cannot afford to send her for primary, if that’s what you are getting at.

Fees increase at a much higher rate than wages.

Maintenance is not guaranteed - he could lose his job, move abroad, take a lower paid job, have multiple other children. I’d be inclined to rely on it for a much shorter time (such as seniors) but you would be relying on neither of your financial situations changing for 15 years, and that’s not realistic.

I would not rely on your ex saying he will pay that much. He might be willing to do it now, but what if he changes his tune?

I don't think the money is enough for school fees, unfortunately. I personally would move areas, and invest the 80k into a new house.

I would either move closer to a state school and save the money in an ISA and use the local and pay for extra tutors etc.

I did send my kids privately but wouldn't have in your position, I had some family help and double incomes.

I'd use the 80k to for a deposit to move to an area with better schools

I’d use the money to fund a move to an area with better schools

Thank you for the food for thought!

where would you invest 80k? Isas?

£80,000 would only pay for 4 years of school, and fees can and do go up every year.
What exactly do the fees cover ? - lunch ? after school club ? activities ?

your take home is £2400 how much is your mortgage ?

if daddy stopped paying tomorrow for whatever reason, can you cope without his maintenance ?

Sorry for clarity I meant putting the maintenance into the fees with the 80k there as back up (which I know wouldn’t last long on its own)

I would say you can't afford it. If you want to invest it and use it for say, her final four years that would be one thing, but I worry you can't afford the whole shebang. Using towards the mortgage or investing would give your family security.

Invest the money for the next few years. Then when your dd is looking at secondary schools you can use it to move to an area where the schools are better. You won't be as reliant on the support as she gets older.
It's not enough to keep her in private secondary education reliably, and you would be constantly worrying about fees going up etc. If you don't want to move when she gets to that age it would be better saved for her future - ie house deposit.

@sparkellie investing, would you put it into isaa?

But you would get £18k in maintenance a year, so you’d have to pay the rest out of your income and also all the extras on top too. And the fees will go up every year by a large %. It would be better to save for your DCs future.

You can’t afford private school. Have you properly investigated schools and what they’re like a few miles away? Moving a short distance should open up other schools to you, whilst maintaining links to your family.

If I was gifted 80k I’d pay off any immediate debts and then invest the rest into a house I could rent out/gift to dd when she wanted to move out if it would stretch that far

It would depend on the rates available. I would def put 20k in an isa, but that's your tax free limit for the year, so maybe try and find a high interest savings account for the rest, and/or consider premium bonds, as they are risk free and winnings aren't taxed. It also depends if you want access to the money at all or are happy to lock it away.

I would not be considering private school - to be blunt you can only afford it in the short-term and that won't be best spent in the [much cheaper] early years.

Look around for very good local state primary schools that feed into very good state secondary schools, and if required use some of the money to move so you are in catchment. Invest the rest and/or pay off some of your mortgage.

I'd overpay the 10% on your mortgage that you can do without penalty, max out an ISA an then bung the rest in premium bonds. I'd then use the interest on the savings accounts to overpay the mortgage in the next couple of years.

80k wont go far on private schooling, but if you can reduce your mortgage substantially by time your child is 5 and starting school you'll have a lot more disposable income which can make the world of difference.

What makes the schools near you 'absolutely awful'? Have you thought of applying to be a governor at one to help them improve?

I agree with others, you can't afford private education. Focus on giving your dd experiences to supplement her education when she's a bit older - music lessons, trips to museums/art galleries/theatres etc.

I'd put the money towards the mortgage, but keep a little back (£5/10k) for treats and emergencies.

Spending your windfall on 4 years on private school for a child still in their single digits is foolish.

Invest a good part of that in your name, keep some liquid for an emergency fund.