Do school fees stuff your budget?

[punkbaby]

DD has just come home with her school fees for next year i am know that her fees are probably nothing compared to others that have children in private school but i wonder, how can they expect you to pay up so much just after christmas?

The schools sent home a notice they want half the fees for the year paid by the 16th of Jan, we also have to pay for books as well and also the school levies like swimming, general school levy and also some cirriculum levy. It works out to be around $650 upfront, plus not to mention uniforms!

I usually budget quiet well its just these last few months its been a little tight as i have cut hours back etc etc and living tight to pay bills that sort of thing, i just wonder how do others cope this time of the year specially after christmas, which mind you i have been really tight on too!

[Chicco25]

yep, definately not easy after chrissy :no:. Especially having 2 lots as of feb. Just bought all the school uniforms and that was a lovely $300.00 and school books was $210, luckily enough all school excursions are all included in school fees. We have $4000 worth of fees next year and we will also have to pay half upfront in the first term, 2nd lot in 4th term. And what gets me, this is for Kindy and Yr 1 :banghead:

[SweetSerenity]

Hi Punkbaby!

I haven't quite hit school stage yet but your situation is exactly what I'm scared of!

Being on my own especially and not planning on going back to full time work in another 2yrs, school fees (private schools mainly) scare me to bits.

I am planning on sending peter to a catholic school just near where I live and the only way for me to do it is to save now, which I do ($25 p/wk). So by the time he starts school I should have about $3000 saved.

It would be more, but like you, have had it tight this year so I had to dip into his account.

Anyway, what I mainly wanted to say was I'm pretty sure if you approach them they can set up a payment plan for you or even wave it all together if you're REALLY struggling.

My brother went to a catholic high school and in the last two years of his schooling there, my parents hit rock bottom financially. They approached the school with their situation and they were happy to receive no payment due to my parents circumstance.

You're right though, what a silly time to hit families up for $600+! It's ridiculous.

I hope you can get it sorted :hugs:

Nat xxx



yep, definately not easy after chrissy :no:. Especially having 2 lots as of feb. Just bought all the school uniforms and that was a lovely $300.00 and school books was $210, luckily enough all school excursions are all included in school fees. We have $4000 worth of fees next year and we will also have to pay half upfront in the first term, 2nd lot in 4th term. And what gets me, this is for Kindy and Yr 1 :banghead:

Just saw your post! WOW!!!! Is that for a catholic school??

I didn't think it would be that much so early on! I'm gobsmacked!

Just re-read it, is that $2000 for each child or $4000 for the one?

[punkbaby]

Glad its not just me we have kinder fees too but i am on a $20 a week payment with them as thats what they offer when you start, they dont want it upfront which is great!

DD is at catholic school though, i have to say though the one good thing about them though is the maximum yearly charge is $840 a family, then its $240 per child after this so when i have all 3 there even though it will cost me $1200 ish its alot cheaper than sending them to a public school. Her school dresses are like $90 each though thank god her sports uniform is easily bought in big w though! We have to pay around $120 a year on books though for each child but excursions are included, i shouldnt complain but the fact that they want it like now hurts a little, if they said by the end of first term i wouldnt winge :(

I am thinking i might start putting a little away each week too now to cover 2009 as then i will have 2 in school and one at kindy! Its my own fault for taking time off and trying to relax a little but i am thinking its better working hard and not having to worry about unexpected bills!

[SweetSerenity]

Maybe you should still just approach them and see if you can pay a bit by the due date and a little bit after? Just to ease the stress a bit of having to come up with it straight away?

Don't blame yourself for taking time off, your bub is only 6wks, you deserved that.

Like you said, it would be okay if you could pay by the end of 1st term.

:hugs:

[punkbaby]

Yeah i am thinking i might ask them i have allowed $200 for initial books and her swimming levy, maybe if i just give them that and ask for a payment arrangement. Just bad timing and i dont want to skimp on christmas anymore than i have for school fees fingers crossed they let me, i figure if kinder will they should if books are paid for upfront

[CoopersMamma]

Catholic schools in many ways often work out to have much better ways of dealing with family finances, the one that my brother is at and our kids will go to provide a direct debit service and the school uniform shop has a layby service and a facility where you can pay $20 per month for example to them to them to build up your credit for the following years uniform.

At the public school our friends children go to it is EVERYTHING up front for the year.

I guess it depends on the school

But you can always suggest these things to the parents commitee

[forbetoel]

Yes, I only just paid the last of this years fees a few days ago. We pay about $1200 a year, and add uniforms and excursion etc,etc on, and it really adds up. I think my kids afterschool activities don't help the budget either, I spend about $80 a week just on after school activites, which on top of school fees eats quite a big chunk out of our one income family. But that is what I had kids for, to be poor, but happy.....:D

[punkbaby]

that is what I had kids for, to be poor, but happy.....:D

thats what its all about being happy :)

[forbetoel]

thats what its all about being happy :)

:thumbsup::yes::D

[Dea]

i have 3 in a cathloic school .. i pay $4700 for next year .. thats not including uniforms or books ... but i pay it off weekly so $90 a week ... we dont have to pay any upfront but lucky for me im ahead by about $1600 when we start back in feb ... maybe ask them if you can do direct debit thr out the year might help you out a bit!!! i know it does me .... good luck

[lukentel]

I figure when daycare charges/d @$450 a week for 2 kids, any school fees would be a welcome break.

[text removed by moderator]

[auntka]

fees do take a large amount out of everyones budget and to be honest its not something that I had thought about but thanks to the OP it is something that has been brought to my attention and even though bub isnt born yet its something that we can save for over the next few years so thank you :thumbsup:

[Pices_79]

I am sure if you speak to the bursar at the catholic school / government school and ask them to spread your payments across the year or an extention on your fees they will be more than wiling to help! Its hard at the beginning of the year to come up with that sort of money esp after xmas / holidays etc

Good Luck

For us we havent had to worry about school fees yet as DD is just under 1. She goes to CC which costs around $3000 per year so sending her to school will work out cheaper for us....

When she goes to school I am hopefully going to pay the school fees off weekly or monthly...I couldnt come up with that sort of money at the beginning of the year

[Chicco25]

[Just saw your post! WOW!!!! Is that for a catholic school??

I didn't think it would be that much so early on! I'm gobsmacked!

Just re-read it, is that $2000 for each child or $4000 for the one?[/quote]

Nope, Baptist College - goes from Kindy through to yr 12. dd1 for yr 1 is $2200 and ds for kindy is $1800 - pretty ridiculous I think!!! And the only reason they are going there is that I liked the fact that they would be going through primary and high school with the same lot of friends. Silly I know but I went to 8 primary schools and 3 high schools and found it very hard to make friends - in the end i didnt bother, so when I had kids I knew I just wanted them at the one school and thast it!,lol

[SweetSerenity]

Nope, Baptist College - goes from Kindy through to yr 12. dd1 for yr 1 is $2200 and ds for kindy is $1800 - pretty ridiculous I think!!! And the only reason they are going there is that I liked the fact that they would be going through primary and high school with the same lot of friends. Silly I know but I went to 8 primary schools and 3 high schools and found it very hard to make friends - in the end i didnt bother, so when I had kids I knew I just wanted them at the one school and thast it!,lol

That's totally understandable :yes: I have a similar reasoning with why I want Peter to go to a catholic school. The local high school here (which I went to) is too rough for my liking and seems to be getting worse and worse. When I was there it wasn't too bad, but if I could go back I definitely would of wanted to go to another school.

Sending him to the local catholic primary school will more than likely guarantee him wanting to continue on to the catholic high school, which most children from this catholic primary school tend to go on to. I'm sure he will want to go where his friends are, and I know this catholic high school is great as my youngest brother just finished there.

I have no idea what the fees will be for that school though lol. All I know is that I will have around $3000 by the time his first year comes up so I really hope that will more than enough to cover his first year LOL.

[jordy&steph'smumma]

After reading the pp's I love my kids school so much more.
Ds is in grade 3 next year and dd is starting prep.
I will recieve the 300 bonus for dd as she is starting prep.
Her uniform which included a bag, 2 shirts a skort, a pair of shorts, 2 pairs of pants and a jumper was $142 all up.
They get a free school hat when starting prep.
School fees are $115 but $50 of that is volentary.
Yes it is a small school 149 kids enrolled next year but they have about 10 teachers that run the school. Dh went to this school as did his sister who is now a teacher herself. It is over 150 years old and just had a huge up grade and new inovative building built around the existing building.

I am so NOT looking forward to having to move when dh goes finished his army training.

[cate]

I would definitely ask the school for a "payment plan" style thing. Most schools are happy to oblige as long as you speak to them. I work for a state high school and we have heaps of families who prefer to pay monthly, quarterly etc... and this is no problem as long as we know. It's the people who don't say anything for years and rack up $$$ debt and then leave and disappear that are the problem.

On the flip side...I reckon school is going to be cheap in comparison to the $15000 a year we'll be paying in daycare!

[FishFace]

Yeah it bites but oh well..DS loves it and I love it.

Our term fees due in 2 weeks are $1300 for kindy

I then have uniform and books on top...Its a pain but its worth it.

[punkbaby]

The school will let me pay quarterly :) just as long as her books are paid for in full by the 10th of Jan then they are happyto have the quartely playments for school fees by the end of each term which is great.

Hmm dont get me started with kinder fees, ds is repeating and it costs more second time around! I am lucky though i over paid last years fees so his in credit at least

[Meemo]

My DP and I were actually discussing this earlier today!
I said to him we need to start thinking about where we're going to get the money from for the school fees.
Thank Goodness we changed them to public from private, it is about 1/3 of what we were paying!

It's only stressful as DD starts this year.. :(
Which means new uniforms, shoes, bag, lunch box etc.
So far we have 2 school dresses, that came to $47.. Pretty cheap!!! :thumbsup:

All up our fees are around $800-$900 for ALL 4...
We pay about $500, as DP's ex pays half for the boys.

But it certainly does throw a spanner in the works straight after christmas!
At least we still have a few weeks, their old private school had to be paid the last week of term... RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!! :mad:
That kind of sucked!

[illawarramumof2boys]

hi:wave:

my eldest is about to start at a private school and the fees are $4500. yes this is a little scary but i do almost pay equivalent in childcare fees a year and my boys only go 2 days a week not 5. i am paying weekly for his education and it works out at $85 a week which i don't think is too bad.

my sister paid out approx $11500 in child care fees last year so i guess i have nothing to worry about lol.

i guess education is a personal thing and as long as your happy with your childs results and the school as a whole what you pay or don't pay is irrelevant.

i guess all we all strive to do is to achieve what we feel is the best we can for our own kids and that is all i'm trying to do anyway and i feel this private school is my best option anyway.:)

[charlen49]

hi:wave:

my eldest is about to start at a private school and the fees are $4500. yes this is a little scary but i do almost pay equivalent in childcare fees a year and my boys only go 2 days a week not 5. i am paying weekly for his education and it works out at $85 a week which i don't think is too bad.

my sister paid out approx $11500 in child care fees last year so i guess i have nothing to worry about lol.

i guess education is a personal thing and as long as your happy with your childs results and the school as a whole what you pay or don't pay is irrelevant.

i guess all we all strive to do is to achieve what we feel is the best we can for our own kids and that is all i'm trying to do anyway and i feel this private school is my best option anyway.:)great post my sentiments exactly:iagree:

[MrsMiggins]

I have just deleted several off topic posts from this thread.

Please bear in mind when posting, the original topic & also the section where this thread has been posted (Family Finances). If you wish to debate other topics, please do so elsewhere.

Thank you!

[kymmy]

We don't pay school fees though we have to pay for booklists which to me essntially the same thing (and it is compulsory). This year it will be a little struggle as I have 2 at school and though its a lot less than private school its still a lot when you have to pay for so many other things. We have to move soon as well so that doesn't help.
My daughter is in grade 3 and her booklist will be $80 and I think my son (in Prep) will be around $55.

[kymmy]

Ds is in grade 3 next year and dd is starting prep.
I will recieve the 300 bonus for dd as she is starting prep.

They get a free school hat when starting prep.
.

How do you claim for the prep bonus?

Our school provides for the hat in Prep too. But the school uniforms are exy. They get by with one each (with logos for excursions) and just buying other school colours.