Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

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wickedwitch
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by wickedwitch »

Cassard wrote:
I do sometimes feel that people miss the point of the financial assessment and seem to treat the whole business as a how-little-can-I-get-away-with-paying exercise rather than a stage in the 'deal' that they are making with the school when they accept a place, that they will do their utmost to make a contribution towards the expensive education their children are receiving. I know many families who would be considered well off it it weren't that they had decided to privately educate their children, and who have sacrificed nice houses, second (and often first cars) and family holidays to this end. Fair enough, that's their choice ..... and, income or not, you are actually making the same choice - you are having your child privately educated: if you do not want to have to scrimp and save and lose luxuries and perhaps even what you regard as essentials, then like every other parent you have the option of a free state education, which may or may not be a good one. Count yourself lucky that the bulk of your fees is probably being footed by the generosity of others, and count yourself even more lucky if you have friends and relatives who are willing and able to contribute to the cost of the education of your child. They are not giving the money to you - they are giving it to the school; they are not chipping away at your share of the fees, they are reducing the amount that the school needs to subsidise your place by, so that money can go to people who need more help.

Oh believe me, we are VERY grateful that we are getting a good education. I'm not trying to 'blag a cheapie' from CH. I'm really upset by your response and your assumption that we are trying to cheat the system. It was a simple enough question and one that i'm sure other people will have wondered about. My mum has saved £250 for fees. She wants to contribute and she wants to know if she should write a cheque or bring it in cash. That's all.
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KenHo
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by KenHo »

Here is my suggestion for such circumstances.

If I understand the issue fully, then the grandparents have about £250 (a year?) to contribute. In this case (and assuming that you can afford to do this) I would suggest getting your daugter her own account (one where she can get cheques free of charge) and putting the money in there. Then she can pay for all kinds of extras over the year out of her own pocket and it is perfectly reasonable that a grandparent should help a child with "extras".
ReallyMissingHer
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by ReallyMissingHer »

The "contribution" we receive from family is they often pay for the dry cleaning, give her pocket money and pay for most of her normal clothes, and often drive her there and back etc etc etc

I think the contribution is fair and resonable however I am heartbroken to be going back to work full time (opposed to not working at all) to only be £85 per week better off and then £40 of that will have to go toward the mortgage otherwise that will be going on fees as well :rolleyes: , it's a quite sad I will be trying to go part time as soon as possible before I end up having a breakdown! I still have 3 much younger children so it's going to be very hard not able to take them to and from school so they are missing out yet again :(
lonelymom
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by lonelymom »

ReallyMissingHer wrote:and then £40 of that will have to go toward the mortgage otherwise that will be going on fees as well :rolleyes: (
How does that work? Do you mean that you're making a mortgage overpayment? And if so, are you saying that mortgage overpayments reduce fees? :shock: Or have I completely misunderstood (and not for the first time :D )
lonelymom :rolleyes:
ailurophile
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by ailurophile »

ReallyMissingHer wrote:
I am heartbroken to be going back to work full time (opposed to not working at all) to only be £85 per week better off and then £40 of that will have to go toward the mortgage otherwise that will be going on fees as well , it's a quite sad I will be trying to go part time as soon as possible before I end up having a breakdown!
You'll need to watch out here! If I understand correctly, the Foundation will consider any voluntary reduction in your working hours as a 'lifestyle choice', and they won't reassess your fees until the next financial year (and maybe not even then!).
ReallyMissingHer
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by ReallyMissingHer »

We can increase/decrease our mortgage payments by altering the term. This could be the first time ever we get close to have payments down to near 12.5% of gross income, bearing in mind we have a maxed out mortgage with a 33 year term at the moment :shock: for the smallest 3 bed terrace in a hideous area.
lonelymom
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by lonelymom »

Oh, got it .
lonelymom :rolleyes:
ReallyMissingHer
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by ReallyMissingHer »

I'm sure when I spoke to the assessment person she said they did take mortgage overpayments into account, it was completely irrelevant to our assessment anyway at the time because our basic payments are more than the 12.5% anyway. However please don't take my word for it and check with them first.

We use our mortgage as a "savings" account put every spare £ into it and then draw it back as and when we need it which they said was fine to do.
lonelymom
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by lonelymom »

ReallyMissingHer wrote:I'm sure when I spoke to the assessment person she said they did take mortgage overpayments into account
Really? If that is true (I know you said you weren't sure) I would think that is a loophole that needs closing to prevent people making MASSIVE mortgage overpayments, resulting in much lower fees and a mortgage paid off early.
lonelymom :rolleyes:
ailurophile
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by ailurophile »

I would think that is a loophole that needs closing to prevent people making MASSIVE mortgage overpayments, resulting in much lower fees and a mortgage paid off early.
Lonelymom, I would imagine that the loophole has already been closed by CH setting a limit of 12.5% of gross income for mortgage payments. Most people already spend considerably more than that on their mortgage - the average payment is closer to 25%! For the fortunate minority who do spend less, then yes, it could benefit them to make sure that their mortgage payments do account for 12.5% of earnings by reducing the term - but I guess there will be far more families struggling to make ends meet than there are trying to fiddle the system!
lonelymom
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Re: Financial Contributions - Ready Reckoner

Post by lonelymom »

More than 12.5% here too :( for a little mid-terrace. I'm not complaining though, it's worth it :)
lonelymom :rolleyes:
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