Op-Ed: I Only Earn 150k, Please Help!
by Anonymous
My heart is heavy with the weight of a burden that my family and I are struggling to bear. The rising costs of Yeshiva tuition and summer camps have placed an unbearable strain on us. What was once a manageable expense has now become a daunting financial challenge. For my family, the dream of providing our children with a strong education and enriching summer experiences has turned into a cycle of debt and anxiety.
Imagine having to break your tuition payments into 12 parts instead of 10, only to still face an outstanding balance at the end of the summer. This is our reality. My husband and I both work hard, yet our combined income of $150,000 feels insufficient to meet these escalating costs. The financial stress is constant, and it’s impacting our ability to provide for our children in the way we always hoped we could.
I hesitated to share our story. I wondered instead if I should make myself a fundraiser “Help a Poor Family Who Only Earns 150k”. Would I actually collect anything? Will it resonate or evoke the sympathy needed for a fundraiser? But I realized that our narrative is not unique; it represents a silent cry for help from numerous families within our community. We are not facing eviction, nor are we a single-parent household, but we are struggling. Struggling to keep our heads above water while maintaining our dignity. It’s just so hard to put together the money needed to send my kids to camp, a cost of over $20,000!
The financial pressures we face are real and escalating, and they threaten to turn stable households like ours into tragedies. I recently discovered that my life insurance does not cover suicide, a grim reminder of the desperation that can arise from financial stress. This is not a path any of us should ever consider. We need to find hope and support within our community before we reach such dark places.
This op-ed may come across as a vent, but it is also a heartfelt plea. To those reading this, please recognize that your neighbors, your friends, and perhaps even your family members are struggling. Extend a helping hand. Offer your support before the pressure becomes too great to bear. It is far cheaper and kinder to assist now than to address the aftermath of a family’s collapse.
Chana
I agree with this. I’m also working very hard and so is my husband and we can’t cover tuition costs. We applied for vouchers and were thrilled to get accepted. But we were shocked to discover that the yeshiva wants the entire voucher for themselves. Instead of getting free tuition as in communities in Williamsburg and boro park, the local yeshiva doubled our family’s tuition. What Chutzpah!
Lilly
Maybe spend less on takeout food, restaurants, manicure, new clothes, and ready made food. I see pp spending soon much on groceries and half of the things are not necessary. So many cakes, cookies, sushi… pp can survuve with less.
friend
You dont understand that we dont buy sushi etc, We are paying inflated gorcery prices while the stores cater to ppl with fs instead of middle class people who are actually on a tight budget.
A
Thank you for your bravery in writing and publishing this issue.
Unfortunately, it is real.
Shmully
We feel your pain. You don’t write how many children you have.
We make less then you & have 7 children.
Unfortunately, your situation can be said about MOST of the shechuna.
We wish you well.
community member
So true, I feel like you took the words out of my mouth. We’re also in the same boat, making “too much to die and too little to live.” With rent, food, school, and medical costs, our $110,000 income isn’t enough. We can’t afford vacations, a car, or even new clothes. Despite working full-time and part-time jobs, we still struggle. The community needs to understand the silent suffering of many fami
Shlomie
Please dont put Vacations and clothes in the same sentence. It detracts from the point. One is a necessity, while the other is a luxury.
To R shloime
Unfortunately too quick to judge. For some, a vacation is necessary. I hope you never reach such a situation. But it’s never the less true. Please don’t criticize those lumping the two unless youre in their shoes.
Anonymous
Dear friend, Your not alone. Any one who is working on the books is struggling. We get punished for getting a degree. I do not get vouchers, I am over the limit by just a bit. I can not go produce paper work to qualify since I have a real job. NO food stamps or hand outs. The struggle is real . The playgroup says ” No vouchers dont come or match the price.” How is that right? How is that fair?
parent
Dear friend, I understand your struggle please know you are not alone. I worked hard for my degree and now punished for not sitting like a bum in kosher town with foodstamps. No vouchers here as i make slightly above limit. cant produce paperwork for headstart so there goes that. The best part? the playgroup says I only take vouchers go match that. THIS IS COMMUNITY ! Every one should be accepted.
parent
It is very sad that there is no help for the people in the middle. The people who are working hard! The “poor” get from the government or from this organization or that one. We are also suffering. No new clothes for kids, no meat for yom tov and camp is a serious challenge. Just know there is other ppl like you.
Same here
120k bh family of 11. Happy to have the expenses on good things.
Anash
The Chabad Moisdos all became a business. It’s about how much money we can pull , not how much we can do for people.
The community get all chesed focused when there’s a crisis, but to help people struggling is not on the rader . It’s now much can we shlep from them .
OT
The board of OT turned the school into a private organization. Raising tuition every year like crazy. And treating parents like garbage when trying to negotiate, no dignity left.
Now they took over the day camp which was basically free and charging for that as well.
Shame on them.
Same here
Fyi OT runs on a huge deficit yearly. The we need geverim to step in and allow the schools to run and be more accommodating
Sarah
Tuition is the number one killer. It is raised so much every year claiming that everything went up. But teachers checks don’t go up much. If not for tuition, I think most pp would be able to finish the month bc if there is no money ,you can choose to cut in cleaning help or certain foods that can live without and get hand me down for clothes. But if you don’t have for tuition, you are stuck!!
Joe D
Thank you for writing this. The real answer is we need moshiach. The less exciting answer is that the cost of living is become a form of B.C. that’s just the reality. Any family with north of 3 kids making only 150k can’t live. They actually get messed over from both sides v’chulu.
Same here
I’m in the same situation, 120k with a large family. 100k credit card debt. More other debt. At the same time one must always have betachon. One must always realize that there are income opportunities that are not tied to work. One must always realize that even if the situation is horrible it will not stay that way forever.
Gevirim
With the moisdos already struggling to keep up with salaries and the rising costs, the responsibility needs to be placed upon the gevirim who need to be supporting our community first.
Let’s not blame the moisdos, who in order to keep their doors open for your kids, need money to operate. It is the community that needs to support chinuch.