[quote=yamashi][quote=bearishgurl][quote=yamashi1] . . . I spend a lot of money a month >$4k on schooling and day care, but again I don’t want to be 65 and paying for college.[/quote]I missed this.
yamashi, IIRC, you posted here earlier that you moved out to a mini-mansion in suburbia in the attendance area of public schools rated a “10.” If you don’t mind my asking, why are you currently paying >$4K month for schools? Surely, it doesn’t cost you $4K month for daycare :-0[/quote]
Probably none of your business, but to enlighten you my youngest and middle total $3,000 for daycare and private preschool, Oldest and middle total $1,000 for after school education, Saturday schooling costs around $400 total for tutoring and language school. This doesn’t include an additional $150-200 a month for piano for both middle and oldest and probably average another $300/month for extracurricular activities such as soccer/swim classes/golf/field trips/ballet and donations. Kids are expensive. . . [/quote]yamashi, this is a breathtaking amount every month to be spending on preschool and elementary school-age children who are attending public school. You claim you recently bought a house and one of you (parents) can quit work any time and you’ll still “be fine” financially. I understand pre-school/pre-K costs more now than when I sent my kids to those programs but sheesh, $3000 month is very, very expensive for two kids who are already potty trained and not confined to a crib where state rules require one caregiver to every four cribs.
I also paid for dance, voice lessons, baseball and scout camp for many years for my school-age children, as well as (very expensive) show choir in middle/HS but none of it was anywhere near as expensive as what you are quoting here! IMO, this is a absolutely a “mind-boggling” list of activities for young children. It sounds as if they are busy 24/7! I hope they don’t burn out early in life :-0
A little “food for thought” here. For $45-$48K per year (a little less than what you are paying now for young kids’ care and activities), you can currently send TWO kids to CSU (different campuses) in URBAN cities in CA (LA and SF bay area) WITHOUT any financial aid! This amount will cover BOTH of their tuition fees, campus fees, books, room and board (campus accommodations or shared accommodations off campus). For off-campus accommodations, your total nut in LA County will be $22,500 to $23,000 year and in SF or SF Bay area, it will be $24,000 to $25,000 per year due to higher rents. This will be true even when CSU tuition fees are slightly raised this fall. It’s even cheaper to send your kid to college in smaller CA cities and rural campuses.
You are spending all this money NOW on kids who aren’t even in school yet! Let me tell that they won’t remember what they did when they were 2-5 years old when they are 18! You will have to show them pictures to remind them 😀
Down the road, you could invest $600-$800 per course on 6-8 week SAT prep courses. THAT’s where the “rubber meets the road” in a child’s life. College admission boards DON’T CARE what your kid did in any grade before grade 9. Public universities in CA don’t even care what extracurricular activities your kid did in HS! My kids were BUSY in HS with a rigorous schedule of performing in HS’s all over the state for YEARS and the CSU mentor (application portal for the CSU Admissions Board) gave them no credit whatsoever for it:
Yes, at least 9 months of pre-K is very, very important when your kid is 4 and expected to enter K the following year. I paid $130 week for my youngest kid (now almost 20) to attend a very good program, and, of course, it was cheaper for their sibling(s). And they had fabulous home daycare situations before they turned 4. And we had a very high household income, even very high by today’s standards!
yamashi, if you have a big enough tree, did you ever think of tying an old tire onto a branch to make a swing? That’s what the caregiver-grandparents do around here for their grandkids … and it’s free if you already own the rope! I’m sure all your kids would love it if you just pushed each of them for a few minutes a day. Just sayin …..
