Paying for private school in the DMV area

Tips and tricks for sending your child to private school for Washingtonians

Tag: saving money (page 1 of 3)

The Money Space Time Continuum

September 15, 2020 / / 0 Comments

The Money Space Time Continuum

There is a mathematical model that joins space and time into a continuum. The physical manifestation of this truth is the rate of time  observed depends on an objects velocity relative to the observer[1].

By NASA/Crew of Expedition 22 –  Public Domain, Link

This theorem is also the basis for the original planet of the apes movies (must see!) where Charles Heston and his costars were flying really fast for a bit and when they return home, planet Earth had experience thousands of years where they experience only a few. And during that time difference the Apes took over. Not intuitive but that is how space-time works.

The Money Space Time Continuum is the similar and indicates that the lowest cost route is often also the fastest route to accomplish something. Cheapest should be slowest, and it often is, but not as often as one would expect.

Shoes In Space

Here is an example; I trod around the carpeted office  space in dress shoes. I eventually found out that I was replacing low cost shoes every six months. So a switched to higher up front cost Allen Edmonds  which are not only the greatest shoes in the world they also have a lower cost per use.

Being clever (or so I thought) I picked up a pair of factory seconds Road Warriors for a fraction of the cost of regular new shoes. Usually a factory second has some minor unbelievable small defect – like a small nick or tiny

caption

discoloration that only an expert can see.

Not in this case. These factory seconds squeaked. And I mean duck—honking-loud-all-day-long. I figured they just needed to break in. Weeks later I realized this problem was here to stay and it was starting to raise eye brows as work.

No problem – factory seconds don’t quite meet the high standard of the fine Allen Edmonds Shoe Company.  They are low cost and usually still better than regular dress shoes but occasionally you will get a dud. Time to watch for a sale and drive to a shop to replace them. Their stores are really far from me so it was going to be an all-day affair that I was dreading.

Double Spend Problem Avoided

And then I remembered the Money Time Space Continuum. This theorem that I just made up (but others have observed and reported on) states that the lower cost solution is often faster. And the low cost option is to repair stuff.  I rushed online to see if anyone else in the world ever had squeaky shoes and if so, did they invent a way to fix them? I am not the first and apparently the solution was to add baby, talcum or baking powder under the insert and where the leather touches. This does two things – absorb any moisture and lowers the coefficient of friction between contact points resulting in noise free movement. Being the proud owner of talcum powder I distributed it liberally in the all the hidden squeak zones. The next day I walked the halls of my office complex in Ninja like silence.

I save the trek to the store and the after tax hours of labor to pay for a new pair of shoes. Hours, stress and the environment impact saved by remembering the Money Time Space Continuum.

Before you have to take a bunch of time to spend a bunch of money – stop and consider alternatives. Often you will end up with time saving alternatives that keeps more cash in your pocket.

 

[1] “Space-time.” Wikipedia. October 05, 2017. Accessed October 09, 2017. https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-time.

Repair is a radical act

September 7, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Paying for private school can be challenging but savings can be found in the most unusual places.

A broad category of savings is in that of repairing instead of replacing. The awesome Patagonia company (buy their stuff – it lasts a really long time) has a marketing campaign called “Repair is A Radical Act”.

Their focus is on the incredible environmental benefits of first looking to repair items before deciding to replace them. It’s also cheaper for you. Here at Paying for Private School we do it to save three environments: a child’s, a private school whose values we resonate and the world at large.

 

A tale of two tables

When we bought our  current home ten years ago and the patio furniture conveyed with it. Not because the previous owners thought it would help sell the place but because they didn’t really want to take it with them. Nor would the table have survived the trip. Low on cash we took this rickety table and continued to use it for a decade. Over time squirrels also used made use of the furniture to sharpen teeth and claws. Bits of sharp wood were sticking up on the surface. It had come unscrewed and it was time to be replaced. Ominous squeaking sounds omitted  from the gray thing every time we sat down on it.

Refinished table with new stain on it

Our glorious refinished table. Finished by hand!

Believing repair as a radical act  I bought a $24 palm sander and learned how to use it on an unsuspecting wooden cutting board that had broken in half early in the week.

Armed with below-novice knowledge, a sander, a hammer and low expectations, I hammered the nails back in, sanded it and re-stained it with a protective outdoor stain. For about $80 bucks in total I now have a table that would cost $300 new. And I get to keep the sander should I need it again for some future project.

And I saved $220, we learned a new skill (a number of us took a go with the sander) and delayed the need for a new table to be created, stored, marketed, shipped and sold. In the short term this will help us pay a tiny bit of the tuition  bill and over the longer term, in aggregate, this will result in less stuff being created from the natural world. One table is enough.

You can do this too and start saving money *and* the environment.

 

Repair is a radical act.

Don’t Retire. Do This Instead.

August 19, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Don’t Retire. You have spent years acquiring wisdom learning your skillset across many jobs.

Instead, continue to work, to produce but share the proceeds.

And there are lots of ways to help out.

Keep Working

One option is to share some of your income now through tithing, sending a child to private school, funding or founding a charity, or helping out in times of crisis

Another options is to carefully save and invest and reach financial independence. Once you are set continue working and donate part or all of your salary.

Or you can spend time away from work really helping out a cause, group or individual in need. Take a sabbatical to care for a loved one instead of travelling the world.

Are you concerned about running out of money or having enough for health care expenses? No problem! Keeping saving and investing as long as you can. Perhaps move to a part time schedule but keep at it. Sign the giving pledge and make a difference if you are so fortunate to have some extra cash available after you are gone.

Stay Grounded

We are all a spot on the brain or block in the vein  away from trouble and tribulation. Recognize and be thankful when you are aren’t in that situation and help out others who going through a tough spot.  Use your good fortune to keep working and share the proceeds. Be happy with that gift.

Won’t working too long be bad for me?

We are meant to be productive and to a contributor in a group. I am not saying you should avoid a special trip or something you were really looking forward to in retirement. Or even that you have to get paid for your work. But do something structured to help others out. And retirement can be lethal.

Peanut butter

 

 

Instead, be like Ronald Reed the frugal janitor who worked well past retirement age and left behind $800,000 in stocks such as J.M. Smuckers, Wells-Fargo and Procter & Gamble to worthy causes. Or maybe you can be like Loren Wade who was still working at Wal-Mart at the age of 103.

Stop trying to save up an impossible amount to fund an unsustainable life style. Instead appreciate the simple joys and by doing so enable others to do the same. That should be, and is, enough.

Leverage the Hype Cycle

June 29, 2020 / / 0 Comments

There is a concept called the hype cycle which essentially describes the maturity of emerging technologies.

Understand the hype cycle

In short when a new technology comes out everyone is very excited and fired up. And they are willing to pay up to get it. For those of use paying tuition and don’t have the resources to benefit from new technology it makes sense. New technology soon has competition and introduce new challenges.

Leverage the Hype Cycle

This is fine and good and indeed presents an opportunity to purchase these items for a discount in the trough of disillusionment. A recent example is electric cars – at first they were high tech, solve important problems and costs more. And they should have as they have huge and positive implications. But soon enough other challenges (cross country trips) temper the excitement – and the pricing. That is when you can move in to benefit from the new technology while not paying top dollar to be the first one in. After schooling is done perhaps you can be that person – but for now, slow down and simply wait.

 

 

Free installation with any purchase!

November 1, 2018 / / 0 Comments

We recently purchased a super fancy set of revolutionary Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector. These things talk to each other and alert us to the specific location of the room the problem is occurring in. Fantastic!

Nest Protect Advanced Wireless Smoke Detector Available on Amazon.

Nest Protect Advanced Wireless Smoke Detector Available on Amazon.

We replaced the existing 30 year old hard wired smoke detector alarms with the Nest Protects. These things will even contact you phone if something happens. I got an email from the first one when I shut down the power for the second installation. Well done Nest team! It is not clear are old ones would have even gone off (when removing them the tag noted they expired in 2003) in a fire situation. Will yours?

Do  it yourself to save money

This amazing technology combination is available for only $99 each. And an installer can be hired to connected wired ones for $80. We opted to pass on that and to save the money and the hassle (for all involved) of taking a day to have someone out. The first one took me about three hours of watching videos and carefully proceeding (mostly issues with removing the old one). The last one I installed took less than thirty minutes from opening the package to the final test.

Take your time

If conditions make sense, do the installation yourself. Watch the videos (as many times as you need). Follow all instructions and expect to run into snags that will require more research and take additional time. This isn’t a race and you aren’t being graded on efficiency.  If you are like us you will find the experience saves money which can be used for private school tuition and is more rewarding  than taking off work for an installer to arrive.

One day only special! Half-priced cars!

September 7, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Want a tip for buying a great car at a discount?

Go contrarian – buy out of style cars

Here is what we did;  we purchased an older car but with relatively few miles for it’s age but was out of favor at the time we purchased it.

This has varied over time depending on the circumstances which makes our car history quite varied and has almost always caused raised eye brows on our choice (we take that as a good sign).

At the time we purchased our last car, during a late stage bull market,  luxury cars buyers certainly did not want an out of style luxury car that someone else drove in. The perception of “luxury” typically doesn’t pair well with “used”.

And economy buyers wanted the used cars rated highest for reliability.

This left few buyers in the used luxury cars market segment. And we really value safety features so  we watched the market for a really safe used luxury(ish) car.

And those conditions means we were able to get our current rig at a much lower cost than one would expect.

Behold the Battle Wagon

Our current rig in all it’s glory:

Volvo Wagon - New to us!

Volvo Wagon – New to us!

Swedish steel! Best in class safety. Row boat like styling. Squishy seats. Impossibly thick paint. Odd brown stains on the ceiling of questionable provenance. Vintage!! Did you know they don’t even make this model any more? It’s true! And butt warmers!

Buy older cars with low miles to get lots of trouble free service

The Battle Wagon was ten years old with only 75K on the odometer when we purchased it. Net, we bought this unloved ride for 80% off the original sale price. It was fairly low cost. Indeed, once we sold the our previous battle wagonette and accounted for the ten years without cable savings the car was effectively  free with years of pre-paid gas included. A brand new car would have absorbed all those savings and I would have been worried about scratching the fancy doors.

Right now electric cars are out of favor because of low gas prices

Right now non-Tesla electric cars are out a vogue and can be purchased for a song. With low gas prices they are really out of fashion. You can get one for a fraction of the cost of similar vehicles. Well, that is until gas prices go back up.

Want to be an environmentalist? Get a used electric car and reduce fossil fuel emissions *and* save a perfectly good car from going to the scrap heap. You are *so* green. More of a  outdoors person? Wait until gas prices go back up to the $4 and $5 a gallon price range and get one of those gigantic pick-em-up-truck for half price.

Please check the safety rating on the model year and proceed!

Don’t quit!

September 1, 2018 / / 2 Comments

Scrimping and Saving

I realize most folks are frugal so they can escape the rat race and the idea of living frugally and then spending it all on tuition fees seems somewhat counter intuitive to many people.

Our thinking is that we are paying for a school that aligns with our values and educates our child. We are supporting our family through a great education and the school through our tuition. It means lots of stuff doesn’t happen, and we  keep lots of records.

If you are following a similar path,  after years of scrimping for school your spending will be on autopilot. And one day you will reach that point where there is no more tuition and you can redirect those funds to retirement savings. And one day you might have the option to quitting your job! Don’t!

An alternative

Instead  select a job you enjoy and a cause that resonates  with you and funnel your future earnings there. Or take on a volunteer with a charity. Help a family member. Write poetry. Or start a blog. The point is, set aside some side to be productive and direct that output to the benefit of other people.

After all, your education (from elementary school to today) probably cost more than your car.  And your house. Don’t let it go to waste simply because you are done with it. After being so efficient for so many years it seems sort of wasteful to let your productive capacity diminish through lack of use.

The idea of voluntary simplicity in spending to eventually  to spend most of the time on the beach might appeal for you. And do it. For a year. And then use your good fortune, your skills, and your hard acquired skills and education for the greater good.

Consider giving it away. Imagine the good you can do if you are so fortunate. I bet there is a school you are really familiar with that could use some donations from income you don’t need  or hands on volunteer help.

 

We need you

But don’t quit. We need you. And you need us.

 

Benjamin Franklin

“The used key is always bright.”

― Benjamin Franklin

Skip the Tip! Take it to go and eat at home.

July 23, 2018 / / 0 Comments

This took me many years to discover but it has served us well. Despite being on the frugal track we occasionally eat out (ok, more than occasionally). Sometime as a family sit down dinner or for a special occasion but most often because we go out because it would be fun to go out.

To save 15% at a restaurant, skip the tip by taking the food to go. That will save 15% (or 20%) on the bill because there is no tip. And, after a while, you realize you have drinks at home. And bread. And that is another few dollars saved.

Electrical candlelight!

Instead, set your home up to be a delightful place to eat with a fancy and clutter free table that include  forks that haven’t been in a million people’s mouths (a no cost bonus!). At the Café De Your Place there is never ever a wait. The table is always open, there are just enough seats and it’s the best table in the joint.

Plein Air!

In the summer we eat out on the ‘rustic’ wood table that came with the house. This year we added a coral maple to enhance the view at our fine dining establishment. How many restaurants do you visit have this kind of greenery? Get creative (but low cost) and set up your own ambiance.

G Ruga Coral Maple Tree Photo

Paying for Private School’s  Frizzy Coral Maple Tree of Awesomeness.

If you are like most families where eating out just overtook the grocery sales then you probably spend around $2625 on dining out.

Ha. I know the truth.  If you have the income to consider a private school tuition and live in metropolitan area that number is much higher. It is more like $6000 a year. Lets go with $6000. That is $900 a year in tips if frequent wait in line and then sit down establishments. Toss in another $100 on desserts and drinks over the course of a year and we will make it an even $1000.

Show em’ the sink!

I know some of you are secretly cringing because you spent way more than three or even six thousand on dining out last year. This is a judgement free zone. We are here to help. You just have more opportunity to save! Start with an immediate 15% discount on many (and soon to be rapidly declining) restaurant meals. And enjoy the further benefit from having your children rarely hearing  the phrase “I will be your server for this evening”. They need the gift of responsibility and can get up and get their own water when they need a refill.

This one slight change in behavior nets you $1000 a year and comes with a free side of humility for the entire family. A $1000 here and  there starts to look like a tuition payment and there are lots of easy ways to save big money.

Paying for Private School French Country Kitchen

Paying for Private School French Simulated Country Kitchen- comes with reading materials. How many restaurants do that? Don’t worry, we bought those chairs used.

Reasons people send their children to private school

April 12, 2018 / / 2 Comments

Recently on a message board I occasionally read, a parent was wondering if they should send their child to private school. So she asked the parents of other private school children if her child would feel poor compared to other families and feel bad about themselves as a result.

One respondent decided to inform the original poster on the real reason they were considering private school:

If it were truly “education” that you care about, your kid would be in a high performing public school. Private school parents care more about the “experience” which is code for “rubbing shoulders with rich people to learn their values and customs and not hard working immigrant values.”

Angry person art

By Smurfy – Own work, Public Domain, Link

Wow, I am glad that respondent cleared it up for them – I bet the parent didn’t even know they were against education!

This kind of shaming response is quite common and the main reason for this web site. Those kind of knee jerk responses assumes that parents send their kids to private school to “rub shoulders with the rich people and learn their customs”.

I attended private schools for 12 years and have paid for a child to attend one nearly as long.

Not once in this time have I seen or heard anyone doing some sort of anthropological study of the ways of the wealthy. Indeed, all the kids attend all the same classes and, at many schools, are required to wear the same clothing (uniforms) to avoid status from being an issue.

Here are the reasons I have actually heard from parents sending their children to private or independent charter schools, as well as home schooling.

  • School matches the families religion
  • Alignment with the family values
  • Specialized learning environment where the private school focused on particular area such as
    • Special needs
    • College preparation
    • Military career preparation schools
    • The arts (dance, theater etc.)
    • An international based education where the child learns the language of their culture (very good for diplomats who will need to return to their country at the end of service)
    • Greek tradition (sports and academic having equal weight)
  • Smaller class size enabling better learning outcomes
  • Additional learning resources are available in some of the private schools – one I know of has Ipads, the other offers horseback riding for kids (apparently it calms the kids who have sensory issues).

I am sure I am missing some. And I would love to hear from any parent that sends their kids to private school to study the culture and norms of wealthy people to learn their ways!

And for everyone else – I do want to assure you that selecting a private school means you are focused on providing a good education for your child. And an educated child becomes an educated adult which benefits all of society. Keep up the great work and sacrifice and thank you.

 

Think multi-purpose

April 5, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Ever noticed all those low profile and uninteresting hatchbacks, mini-vans and station wagons wheeling around?

Time to get excited about them because they are awesome.

We purchased our battle wagon for a net of $8000 even though it only has $70K miles and gobs of air bags.

Last month we needed a new side board (well, a side board, we never owned one).

New side boards were $1000 for low end ones unless you go with those glue and saw dust ones that have to be replaced soon anyway.

Too much! Guess those boxes stay on the floor.

We looked on Craigslist for weeks. And weeks. Even the cruddy stuff at low end stores was $500. Sigh. We were very close to dishing the money out for a new piece and cutting in other areas to make it work.

But wait, Craigslist has a 5 foot solid wood one for sale that on the Havertys awesome web site sells for $1000 new (love their stuff – so cool). And it is only $200 bucks and within a few miles of the house!

If only we had something to move it with – I am too lazy to rent something and it would take too much time. It might be gone and what if I don’t like it when I see it. In comes the incredible station wagon with seats that fold down! volvo-wagon-blueAn hour later the sideboard was now gracing our home instead of headed to the trash heap.  Money saving environmentalism.

On the way home I couldn’t help but realize the $800 saved was the equivalent of a 10% yield pay out on the wagon. That is pretty sweet contribution to the tuition.

Keep costs low and think multi-purpose.

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