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<p>I drive an average of 500 miles/week, between two jobs each 40 miles or more each way and an aged mother 30 miles in the opposite direction. I actually get closer to 28 mpg in a 2001 car with 180K miles, so I do OK. Sure wish I could work closer to home, but my occupation is rare enough that I have to take the jobs no matter how far away. My husband has to live within 10 minutes of his work, so that pretty much dictates how it works out. By IRS standards, according to our accountant, my last year commute expenses were easily that according to how many miles I’d driven. And I pay extra for insurance on all those miles.</p>
<p>I do feel for the OP, but also understand how it can be that $200K – which is a lot of money, yes – does not mean that 25% of that pre-tax income can go to support a private school career. Especially if a NCP is unwilling to participate, as so many are. I hope all our kids can find a way to have their dreams. I’ve made DD sign up for Cappex and Fastweb. There are some not-so-difficult ways to make money. One of them involves writing an essay and getting friends to vote for it on FB. Given that DD has over 1300 “friends” (not sure I know that many people), she should have a shot at it. And I know that people are reluctant to take “corporate” money. OTOH, many reputable companies do offer excellent scholarship money, and although it’s late in the game, there is still money out there if the kid puts the time into it. Hard to do – I swear our school has piled it on more than ever this second semester of senior year – but if you win $500 for a two-hour essay, why not?</p>