I went broke teaching your kids...

[TheHaitian]

I wonder if this guy read his own article before he published it?

www.salon.com/2015/10/10/i_went_broke_teaching_your_kid_the_real_story_about_life_on_a_teachers_salary/

Did he really go broke teaching our kids or did he go broke by letting his lifestyle creep up? Kids in private school?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

$17,000 in property taxes?

[giramomma]

I see the number of kids as being the issue. And yes, that's totally lifestyle creep.

Most of the families that I know that have four or more kids are low income.

Most middle class families around me choose to be one and done or stop at two. Upper middle class families (folks with 1.5-2x our income) have three kids.

I can count four families at my kids' school that have 4 or more kids off the top of my head between the grades for #1 and #2 (about 80ish families). The lower income folks I knew, the percentage was much higher than that.

I would have loved a fourth. Yesterday, on the bus, there was a lady with a baby in a front carrier next to me. I almost started sniffing the baby's head.

But finances. We have to stop somewhere.

That said, in my circles, I'm beginning to be surprised at the number of folks taking a second job.



 

[TheHaitian]

Oct 15, 2015 11:22:57 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

$17,000 in property taxes?

Lol... I thought the same thing but not surprising. I pay ~ $5,000/year compared to my parents ~$13,000 for similar size home. They are in NJ.

[Chocolate Lover]

I couldn't finish it, I got bored with the on and on and on about whatever it was just past the property taxes and such. Something about why he went into teaching? 4 kids being a dumb money move? Somewhere after that I got bored.


Did he ever actually make a point?

[movingforward]

Duh dude... you have 4 kids on a teacher's salary. 

He knows teachers don't go into the profession for the money.  Since I was a little kid I have heard about how teachers don't make a lot (though where I live they make as much as I do!) No one held a gun to his head and forced him down that road.

I going to assume he is proud of this article

And I agree with chocolate lover.  What exactly is his point anyway? 

[Lizard Queen]

Oct 15, 2015 11:29:30 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I couldn't finish it, I got bored with the on and on and on about whatever it was just past the property taxes and such. Something about why he went into teaching? 4 kids being a dumb money move? Somewhere after that I got bored.


Did he ever actually make a point?

  I read as much as I could--maybe 25%.  Then I just started scrolling down and say, "blah, blah, blah" to myself.  The guy makes 6 figures, I think he said, and his wife works as well.  Sorry if I don't feel too sorry for him.  Lots of jobs suck.  There's sucking while working all summer too, and then there's sucking with summers off.  Choose your poison, and don't spend every dime you make.

[Chocolate Lover]

Oct 15, 2015 11:36:52 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Oct 15, 2015 11:29:30 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I couldn't finish it, I got bored with the on and on and on about whatever it was just past the property taxes and such. Something about why he went into teaching? 4 kids being a dumb money move? Somewhere after that I got bored.


Did he ever actually make a point?

  I read as much as I could--maybe 25%.  Then I just started scrolling down and say, "blah, blah, blah" to myself.  The guy makes 6 figures, I think he said, and his wife works as well.  Sorry if I don't feel too sorry for him.  Lots of jobs suck.  There's sucking while working all summer too, and then there's sucking with summers off.  Choose your poison, and don't spend every dime you make.

Were you in my head while I was reading? 

And what exactly is a "medically surprising" child? 

[TheHaitian]

Oct 15, 2015 11:41:25 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Oct 15, 2015 11:36:52 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

  I read as much as I could--maybe 25%.  Then I just started scrolling down and say, "blah, blah, blah" to myself.  The guy makes 6 figures, I think he said, and his wife works as well.  Sorry if I don't feel too sorry for him.  Lots of jobs suck.  There's sucking while working all summer too, and then there's sucking with summers off.  Choose your poison, and don't spend every dime you make.

Were you in my head while I was reading? 

And what exactly is a "medically surprising" child? 

A vasectomy that did not take... Maybe


Archie

[Chocolate Lover]

Oct 15, 2015 11:43:53 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Oct 15, 2015 11:41:25 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Were you in my head while I was reading? 

And what exactly is a "medically surprising" child? 

A vasectomy that did not take... Maybe


Archie

#4 maybe?  I was also wondering if it referred to problems of some sort that the kid had, since he mentioned having a kid with learning disabilities. 

[busymom]

While I can sympathize with his having a learning-disabled child, there are many choices he & his wife could have made differently. Living in a lower cost-of-living area definitely would've saved them money on property taxes. And, as others have already stated, it didn't sound like a lot of thought went into having 4 kids. (My parents always were telling me as I grew up to never have more kids than you could support on your own, in case I ever got a divorce. I know that may sound harsh, but, I think they were right. So, even though I would've liked to have one more, DH & I stopped at 2.)

Also, things like lots of activities for the kids, and braces are NOT necessities. If they cannot afford braces now, their kids can always take care of that as adults.

[The Captain]

Oct 15, 2015 11:41:25 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Oct 15, 2015 11:36:52 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

  I read as much as I could--maybe 25%.  Then I just started scrolling down and say, "blah, blah, blah" to myself.  The guy makes 6 figures, I think he said, and his wife works as well.  Sorry if I don't feel too sorry for him.  Lots of jobs suck.  There's sucking while working all summer too, and then there's sucking with summers off.  Choose your poison, and don't spend every dime you make.

Were you in my head while I was reading? 

And what exactly is a "medically surprising" child? 

He mentioned being ok with the taxes because he had a learning disabled child in a good school system.

Personally, I'm over the "You should feel guilty because I'm not paid as much as I think I should be, to go into a profession I choose" articles.

So, he didn't go broke because:

1.  He was an adjunct for years before he decided he had to get serious about earning a living
2.  He had four kids (already covered).  At least he admits this is financially stupid.
3.  He had a kid presumably with medical issues and maybe having to spend more on as special needs (because you can't say your kid made you broke)
4.  Spending a lot on kids education (I presume college because you pay high taxes for a good school district) even though kids would get free tuition where mom works.

Yea, it's our fault he's broke.

[Lizard Queen]

So, the problem is not that he doesn't make enough, it's that he's spending a shit ton on private school tuition, even though he lives in an excellent public school district, and he has a special needs kid.  So don't blame it on your insufficient 6 fig salary, dude.

ETA: now the captain is in my head! 

[TheHaitian]

$32,400 for 2 in private school even with a staff discount....

I am pro-education as the next person, but if you are complaining you are broke, maybe spending $16,200 after discounts per child in private school is not the way to go.

Since you are paying $17,000/year for a great public school you seem to like for your disabled child, maybe you can send the other 2 kids there too.

There, I just saved you $32,400

[thyme4change]

I can't read that article. I think he was bragging about all the things he has, or whatever.  I try and keep my mouth totally shut whenever the subject comes up.  I know teachers don't make a lot of money - but so many of their gripes are called "having a job."  We all work nights, and weekends.  We all deal with assholes.  We all have unsecured futures.   We all buy our own office supplies.  We are expected to do continuing ed.  If I made ten million memes about answering emails at midnight, everyone would roll their eyes.  So, I quietly roll my eyes when they whine.

That said - this came up the other day with my crew.  And one lady said the most brilliantly obvious thing - ditch the pension and raise pay.  Young people don't have faith that they will be in a single district for their lives, so they don't value the possibility of future pay.  If they could get the cash now, the pay differential won't seem quite as large, and it is more of an apples to apples comparison.  I wonder how much that would really add to salaries.

And - my state has cut salaries for teachers the last few years - and I'm pissed about it.  

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I can't ever tell if these types of articles are designed to make me sympathize with their plight or if it's part of a conspiracy to keep me focused on whiney people like him while distracting me from the real issues going on in this country.

I think I've spent too much time over on P&M.

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Can I have his job? I promise I won't complain about the salary.

[TheHaitian]

Oct 15, 2015 11:50:41 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Oct 15, 2015 11:41:25 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Were you in my head while I was reading? 

And what exactly is a "medically surprising" child? 

He mentioned being ok with the taxes because he had a learning disabled child in a good school system.

Personally, I'm over the "You should feel guilty because I'm not paid as much as I think I should be, to go into a profession I choose" articles.

So, he didn't go broke because:

1.  He was an adjunct for years before he decided he had to get serious about earning a living
2.  He had four kids (already covered).  At least he admits this is financially stupid.
3.  He had a kid presumably with medical issues and maybe having to spend more on as special needs (because you can't say your kid made you broke)
4.  Spending a lot on kids education (I presume college because you pay high taxes for a good school district) even though kids would get free tuition where mom works.

Yea, it's our fault he's broke.

yes and no for #4

Oldest child tuition is getting paid by his in-laws, so you were right it is probably an ivy or very expensive private school or the kid could have gone where his mom is a tenured professor.

The private school tuition is for his twins that are going to the school where he is at and paying $32,400/year for the two of them even after a very generous staff discount.

I wonder how much is that school a year before the very generous staff discount; because it seems very expensive to me even with the discount.

[movingforward]

And just for the record teachers seriously need to NEVER talk about having to work hours in the summer.  Yes, teaching is a hard profession but so are a lot of other professions which DO NOT receive several weeks off in the summer.  Teachers are allowed to complain about a lot of things but working summers is not one of them!  Are we supposed to feel bad for him because he picks up extra work in the summer? 

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Oct 15, 2015 11:28:16 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Oct 15, 2015 11:22:57 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

$17,000 in property taxes?

Lol... I thought the same thing but not surprising. I pay ~ $5,000/year compared to my parents ~$13,000 for similar size home. They are in NJ.

My brother pays $800 a year... ...in ND.

[TheHaitian]

Oct 15, 2015 11:59:16 GMT -5 mojothehelpermonkey said:

Oct 15, 2015 11:28:16 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Lol... I thought the same thing but not surprising. I pay ~ $5,000/year compared to my parents ~$13,000 for similar size home. They are in NJ.

My brother pays $800 a year... ...in ND.

Lord!!!

I am just happy they passed a law that they can only increase it by 2.5%/year.

So they find another way to pass on the expenses to the town folks : like having to buy garbage bags....

[The Captain]

Oct 15, 2015 11:52:00 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

$32,400 for 2 in private school even with a staff discount....

I am pro-education as the next person, but if you are complaining you are broke, maybe spending $16,200 after discounts per child in private school is not the way to go.

Since you are paying $17,000/year for a great public school you seem to like for your disabled child, maybe you can send the other 2 kids there too.

There, I just saved you $32,400

Yea, I missed this - which makes no sense whatsoever. 

[giramomma]

Oct 15, 2015 11:49:06 GMT -5 busymom said:

Also, things like lots of activities for the kids, and braces are NOT necessities. If they cannot afford braces now, their kids can always take care of that as adults.

I don't know if i would agree with this about braces.

We paid over 7K out of pocket for DS's braces..Total treatment was 9K. If he wouldn't have had braces (and oral surgery), he'd have adult teeth that would have never come in.

His adult tooth is already gimpy (mis-shapen) because it didn't come up when it should have 5ish years ago.

Most health insurance plans do not cover braces as adults. I can't imagine asking my DS to pay 10-12K (or more)  for ortho treatment when he's in his 20's because I didn't do anything to fix it when he was young. Actually, if I did that, I'd feel like a parent that failed, because I couldn't take care of my child's medical needs.

[Ryan]

I know he has 1 kid in college, but why does he mention having to pay $32K for tuition for 2 of them?  I assume that he has 1 kid in college (fully paid for), 2 of the others goes to private schools @ $32K/year, and 1 of them is special needs and he sends them to public school.

So put the 2 kids in the public school and you just saved yourself $32K/year.  WTF?  

He has a house that he pays $3716/month for?  Also a wife working that makes "less than him", but how much less?  He's making $100K/year.

[movingforward]

Yeah, he talks about his willingness to pay taxes because the school system is good but then he sends 2 of his kids to private school.  Okay...

[skubikky]

Oct 15, 2015 11:29:30 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

I couldn't finish it, I got bored with the on and on and on about whatever it was just past the property taxes and such. Something about why he went into teaching? 4 kids being a dumb money move? Somewhere after that I got bored.


Did he ever actually make a point?

Me too....he lost me when he started in on the philosophical stuff.

If their finances are that tight, maybe they should apply some good old common sense to the problem?

Perhaps they can't afford to pay $32k/yr for two kids in private school?
Maybe they need to stop eating out?
Maybe they don't need a mini-van to transport the wife and three kids.  There are smaller, more efficient vehicles out there.

I won't touch the fact that it's costing them $3716/month for their mortgage and property taxes.
Hey, that's just the cost of housing in NYC.  Done.

The fact that they aren't adequately maintaining their home is just ill advised and lazy....yeah lazy.

He's broke because he and his wife are fiscal idiots.  Not because he's an educator.

[Ryan]

I will admit there are things that seem a little mind boggling when you stop and think about it.  My grandparents raised 6 kids, all going to catholic schools, sent 4/6 of them to college, and owned a house in a nice suburbs....all while my grandpa was working as an employee at a department store (not management).  For periods of time, my grandma also worked at a department store as well.

They definitely roughed it when it came to certain things...small house, no vacations, no extra income, etc.  But that is mind-boggling to me?!?

[movingforward]

The fact that they aren't adequately maintaining their home is just ill advised and lazy....yeah lazy.

This part annoyed me to no end.  He admits to ordering too much takeout instead of spending money maintaining his property.  He should be ashamed to even put that in the article.

[Deleted]

Ummmmm, yeah.

Childless folks are paying for two of his kids to go to public school and he is whining (note I am not personally complaining, just stating that if I am not complaining he sure as f should get called out when he does).

And private school, la de da, personal choice bre, not our problem.

Another rambling point, 17k? In Illinois which is a hair away from NJ on property taxes 17k is a McMansion.

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Oct 15, 2015 12:03:57 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Oct 15, 2015 11:59:16 GMT -5 mojothehelpermonkey said:

My brother pays $800 a year... ...in ND.

Lord!!!

I am just happy they passed a law that they can only increase it by 2.5%/year.

So they find another way to pass on the expenses to the town folks : like having to buy garbage bags....

Your state should look into fracking. Just make sure you don't have to live too close to the oil fields.