<p>Not much in the way of advice. H only testifies to what he knows well. He does not seek clients. They seek him. He answers their questions in his field of expertise and if it supports their arguments, they want him to testify. He has not ever had any qualms about testifying because he does not go out on the limb. He is considered expert in his field, has the experience, publications, education to back it. He would not take a case that would cause him to lose sleep. There have been occasions when potential clients and their attorneys did not like what he had to say, and after the consultation, that was the end of the matter. He does not charge by what the case brings, by the way, but by the hour. There is a standard that is paid for those who are considered expert in a number of disciplines and that’s what drives the fees. This is not a large enough part of his compensation that he could make a living on it. Perhaps you can seek this kind of work, but it seems to me that you would not be as effective of an expert if your principle job is testifying in court cases.</p>
<p>I stayed at my parent’s house in CA recently. Their Gardner does most of the homes on their block. Each pays $350 each month, they are larger lots. He has 1 assistant. In a 4 hour afternoon, they do 7 houses on the block. $2450. If they’re fully booked, and I believe they are, that’s about $25K per month. After expenses and taxes, they’re making a good living. Neither speaks much English. In my experience these guys may work for someone else for awhile, but eventually they go out on their own.</p>
<p>Bottom line, with initiative and hard work, there are plenty of ways to make money. I doubt most of these guys are even here legally. But Americans don’t seem to want these jobs, they are owned by immigrants, as you say, it’s hard work.</p>
<p>Actually, there is a lot in gardening that is pleasurable work. What is tough is fertilizing, pest control and the really difficult physical work. I enjoy planting a flowers and having a little garden. I can’t imagine paying someone to do that as I do it the way I want it. I have others do the work that is unsafe for us to do or for which we don’t have the equipment. </p>
<p>Have to have some concrete work done as it is dangerous as well as unsightly in front of my house. That is something that does require knowledge, equipment as well as the hard work. Would not be a wise thing for anyone in our family to do it. If we did not have the money, it just would not be done.</p>
<p>hmom5, I happen to be very intelligent & I have a degree from a college that has educated many leaders in industry. The fact that I make relatively little has nothing to do with my intelligence, education, or work ethic. I would venture a guess that there are many more like me. The sweeping generalizations on this thread just floor me.</p>
<p>cpt, yes, I do feel bad for many students with whom I work. However, the ones I really feel sorry for are the solidly middle class students … the ones whose parents make too much for grant aid but too little to realistically afford a state school. In order to send their kids to a state university, they take on a large amount of debt. I do worry about the future & hope the debt will be manageable.</p>
<p>Thanks cpt. Sorry I deleted my thread. Second thoughts. I don’t solicit, but I get “solicited”. It’s just stressing me out, the liabilty, the responsibility.</p>
<p>owlice and romanigypsyeyes: The FAFSA wasn’t bad, it was doing the CSS PROFILE that put me through the wringer.</p>
<p>Kelsmom, I would venture a guess that it has everything to do with choice. My point has been exactly that, many here who are slamming the high wage earners have equal educations and access to a wide variety of jobs. If income is low it would typically be based on individual priorities and choices.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse – </p>
<p>I am not asking you to explain or justify your spending. I don’t have a problem with you or your choices – I just wish people at your income level would acknowledge that they are choices. I feel a lot of respect, admiration & sympathy for you when it comes to your sons’ medical issues – that is quite a load to bear, and it can also represent a serious financial hardship given what medical bills can be. </p>
<p>But the gardener is a frill. As noted, its a frill I pay for as well – but it is a frill. Its an inconvenience to go without it… but not a hardship. </p>
<p>My comment about “hard work” was in reference to those 4-5 workers who come once a week. Since they are regulars, we can assume that they spend all day, every day, doing yard work. If you were paying the guy who owns the company $60/month, that means there was $15 spent to cover 4 or 5 men working in your yard every week. If there were only 4 guys and they only spent 15 minutes at your house, and the owner paid them 100% of what he got from you, that translate to an hourly wage of $15. But you have to factor in the cost of maintaining that equipment, the travel time to get to your house & then on to the next house – and you know darn well that the old Italian guy does not pay out every cent of income to his workers. So it is far more likely that those guys are working at close to minimum wage, some times in inclement weather, some days when it is blustery cold, some summer days in searing heat. THOSE guys work pretty hard – and I doubt that old Italian guy can afford to give them a health plan, paid vacations, or other benefits on the $60 he is charging for the job that your kids want $80 for.</p>
<p>
No one is “slamming” the high wage earners. We’re just saying that if you are so damn smart and have made such wonderful choices along the way and are so deserving of your 6-figure incomes, you ought to be able to figure out how to pay for your kids to to college without charity or a government handout.</p>
<p>Gosh, i think we should be outraged at the colleges that charge such high tuitions in the first place.
To the OP, fill out FAFSA and the CSS. Don’t apply for aid. You won’t get any need-based this year, but things may change in following years.</p>
<p>No justifications needed. A lot of frills in life when you have kids. However, it is not just a frill when it something considered very affordable in your financial situation, but a responsibility. A lot of my frills fall in that category. Yes, I could let my MIL go without teeth, have her stay at our place mean inaccessibility, not pay for the sports and music. Frills, yes. However, I would be one cheap, stupid jerk if I did not put out for these things given what our finances are. Someone in my income bracket whose kid asks for music lessons or wants to join the rec team has some social and familial responsibility to come up with the money. In fact, there is a social responsibility for us to put some money in the pot so that those in our community who cannot make this available to their kids due to finances, can. </p>
<p>Our public elemenatry school is about 2 miles away requiring a walk on a road with little shoulder, much less sidewalk. It is hilly, winding and dangerous. Under the best of circumstances, it is something an adult should do with caution. There is no busing available within this radius. Yes, there are some kids who do walk it. But if my kids went there, I would certainly drive them to the school, because it would be a foolish risk for me to take whereas there are families who HAVE to take that risk. I have lists of these frills, that those who are not as fortunate as our family do without but for us to cut those things would be unwise.</p>
<p>Oh, and I no longer have the gardener since my younger ones have taken the duty. So far neither neighbor nor I have benefitted one red cent since we have had to buy equipment and materials. I don’t think the neighbors will save anything this season as they bought the lawn mower.</p>
<p>“We’re just saying that if you are so damn smart and have made such wonderful choices along the way and are so deserving of your 6-figure incomes, you ought to be able to figure out how to pay for your kids to to college without charity or a government handout.”</p>
<p>Five kids x $50K/year/kid x 4 years/kid = $1,000,000. It can still be a considerable challenge to educate kids on a six-figure salary. That said, those that do so are providing charity to those on financial aid. And a government handout to those on government aid.</p>
<p>One might try to figure out how to pay for your kids to be in college without the discount that those with lower incomes get. But why? If you have coupon, you use it. If you can negotiate a discount, you do so. But what’s galling is that the system is rigged against you.</p>
<p>$60/week for the gardener, $80/month for the kids, right? </p>
<p>Five months of growing season (likely more), for 20 weeks of mowing. $1200 for the gardener, $400 for the kids, and a mower is $200 or less.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>There are many many many colleges that do not cost $50K/year. No one is entitled to attend a college that costs that much.*</p>
<p>I second your suggestion of The Millionaire Next Door; I think it should be required reading in every high school in the country. </p>
<ul>
<li>except my kid. 
No, not entitled, but he is going to such a college because I want him to have same-age peers, and the college he’s going to is the only one which will provide that for him.</li>
</ul>
<p>But hired gardener comes on time every week, kid mows when he has nothing better to do and when he needs the money.</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t be paying my own kid at all for mowing the lawn, but that’s just me, and if the kid wanted to eat, use the computer, or borrow the car, the lawn would be mowed first!!</p>
<p>“There are many many many colleges that do not cost $50K/year.”</p>
<p>The college sticker price may not be $50K/year but it’s amazing how incidentals like transportation, books, clothes, additional food, shoes, etc. add up.</p>
<p>
But don’t you also have a responsibility to plan and budget and allocate accordingly? If you have 5 kids and 5 college tuitions to anticipate – and now you are frustrated because you don’t have the money to pay for the elite private colleges you want your kids to be able to attend — doesn’t that mean that some part of the high income should have been put away into college savings, even if it meant economizing on the music lessons or whatever?</p>
<p>I’m not saying that you had to completely deprive your kids – but I know that there are a lot of alternatives along the activity spectrum that have differing costs. You don’t have to go all out and buy the “best” or the most expensive of everything. </p>
<p>When you talk about “social” responsibility it sounds a lot like you are spending at least some of the time to keep up appearances rather than on priorities you set for yourself. It’s one thing to decide that you want to provide certain amenities to your family - its another to feel that you have to get them everything they ask, or that you have to keep up with some sort of competitive standard that means you end up paying more than you can really afford. </p>
<p>You paint a very depressing picture of being “high income”. You make it sound like having money is a huge trap where you have to buy into a certain standard of living and then you have to pay all sorts of money to maintain that standard – and the way you describe it makes it sound like it is stressful for you and you find yourself feeling obligated to spend more than you want in many cases. If that’s the case, who would want to be rich?</p>
<p>These boards are a fascinating study in divide-and-conquer nature of American society. We should be supporting each other to effect the change necessary to ensure AFFORDABLE education for not only our own children, but all the TALENTED children born to any socioeconomic status. Instead, we sadly seem to begrudge each other our gardeners or career choices in public service, or begrudge assistance or abundance. I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but IT JUST DOESN’T COST AS MUCH to go to school in other countries. Hmmm. I wonder why!</p>
<p>
No, cpt said she paid $60 a month for the Italian gardener, now it will be $80 a month for the kids, but that’s shared with the neighbor - so she’s paying $40 instead of $60. (Not exactly a huge savings).</p>