To anyone who has 2 children at private school, can I be very rude and ask...

[Slilou]

... what proportion of your salary is spent on school fees?

...or ruder still, ask what your income/ fees are?

Last year, dh and I had a combined gross salary of £48k, but it has just gone up to £68k between us, due to promotion/ change of job for both of us.

I would like to be able to give my dc the chance of an independent education for their secondary schooling, but it has always been out of the question.

We live in the south east, so house prices and other costs are high.

I am not trying to be nosey, just wonder if people on a similar salary manage school fees.

But to work out whether you can afford it what is your spare cash per month after mortgage household bills etc.
There is a big difference to affordability if someone doesn't have mortgage or big commute /fuel bills.
Also school fees go up so so would your/dh income be able to accommodate that?

And my gross salary not dissimilar - there is no way i could easily afford 2 sets of school fees . Quick back of envelope estimate for 2 sets of school fees plus extras (coach uniform etc) at secondary level would be 80% of take home (less if I stopped paying into pension) which would not leave enough to live on .

That is of course assuming that haven't saved for them and have no bursary to cover costs .

If you pay 40% tax on some of that and £30000 on two lots of school fees there won't be very much left over for mortgage etc. what are your current outgoings per month?

It's really hard to say at this point, as we have only just had the salary increase in the last couple of months. we had no spare cash at all when we were on 48k, with outgoings of about 2k a month (excl food, but including all other bills/mortage)

Next year about a third of our income before tax will go on fees, however we're only doing it for two years so that our DS's to go to a private school for sixth form. However it is going to mean cutting back a lot, for example no holidays for those two years. We also live in the north and our living expenses are relatively low. I don't know how this would be different in the south east. So what I'm saying is that I'm willing to live frugally for two years but no longer as we have other DCs and I don't want them to have to go without because we are doing something for their brothers.

Our gross salary is around 70k. I have just moved my eldest DS to an independent (yr6). We couldnt manage any more at the moment (although we are saving to afford indie senior for them all if need be). Having said that I have 4 D C of varying ages inc one at uni. I think with 2 Dc it is possible if you were to cut back and live frugally.

I think anyone on a salary of less than 100k and without significant savings has to bear in mind that they are only one financial disaster away from having to remove their child/ren from the school (this is what currently keeps me awake at night). Don't regret the decision though, my ds has sen and seems much happier at his new school.

That sounds quite tight- I assumed 33k costs pa so similar to big scary estimate. If
You have 2k of costs before food I would be surprised if take home would cover costs on top. And that would leave no buffer for savings or pension etc

so, slow typing. my last post was in response to gigonda's question re spare cash.

i think upatdawns' ideas about private school for 6th form may be more realistic.

We also have similar outgoings (but about 600+ a month on food and nappies for 5 DC's at home and two in nappies) and a DS at uni. Our gross salary is 80k before tax.

Just to add, we live in the north, cheapish mortgage and the school fees average around 11k pa per child, so not quite in the league of some indies.

What are the fees like in your area, Slilou? They are admittedly a lot cheaper where I am than in a lot of places (were were going to have one DS boarding but that's not a possibility any more).

fees are 3K, 4K and 7K per term for our closest independent secondaries.

7k per term :O I think 3 would be manageable if you live frugally, however you do need to remeber fees don't go up at the same rate of inflation (and don't know about you but for the next few years we've had a pay freeze). This means it would get harder every year. A friend of ours had her DC's fees go up by 3% last year whilst she had a pay freeze.

Worth remembering that although it might seem a long way off at the moment, University costs will be around £15k pa from this October, & on your income your DC are unlikely to get any grants.
At the moment they would get a loan for the fees, and approx £3k loan for living costs, but that still leaves a shortfall of £3k pa that you are expected to make up, and the DC will leave Uni with £36k of debt. You might want consider saving some money to help with that.

dd1 is currently in year 5. we moved school/ area as she went into year 4, so another move any time soon would not be in her interests in terms of her emotional well being. however, if we could afford the fees by the time she is in year 7 or even year 9 (the entry age for the best local school) then maybe she will be old enough by then to see that a move could be beneficial to her future (rather than simply worrying about being separated from her friends.)

JustGettingByMum, we have a DS at uni and we don't contribute to his living costs, he has a job. His first year we did give him so money but it got spent on a minimal amount of food and the rest on alcohol. Now he has a job he's a lot more careful with money more so than us.

Well we have 3 and when they're all at snr school it will be at least £3k per month on school fees (as prices are now) plus extras.

Our income is quite a bit more than the one you state and I would think that £2k per month on fees would stretch you a lot.

You do not earn enough to pay two sets of secondary school fees on your income, unless your outgoings are very very small. My Dh earns your joint income alone and I have my own income and we could not do it. You would be better focussing on finding a good school locally and topping up with tutors and extra curricular activities.

you would get a bursary at most schools, I suspect. If I were you I would email tne bursar of any school you might be interested in and ask them if you might be eligable for any form of assistance.

Our joint income is about the same as yours dh is self employed so it does vary but we eARN AROUND £70k per year

School fees are approx £14k per year. Dh has large travel costs but I don't run a second car and our mortgage is only £450 per month.

Thats £14k for both children not each.

Well, you have 20k extra before tax between you.

Will this stretch to school fees for two children per year?

Around 5 k per term. 3 terms. That is 15k. (In London)

Plus uniform and trips.

Dont think so. Can you apply for a bursary?

Have 2 at private, yr4 and 7, and our fees are around 28% of dh gross income, but I work contract work to pay them at the moment. It is a massive financial commitment.

Our joint income is about yours (but variable as DH is self employed, and I am currently SAHM, so current income for the next 2 years will be about £45-50,000). DS1 is 2.5 years and 2nd is on the way. Local primary schools are fine, but if we stay in London, they WILL go private for secondary. I am planning that already now.

We currently have a lodger which some people find a bit strange, but if we don't take the extra income now and overpay our mortgage, we may not be able to afford private secondary school in the future. At the moment we throw £2000 a month at our mortgage which will hopefully clear it in approx 10 years, then we can switch from paying a mortgage to paying school fees for a few years (and then worry about pensions!)