How to read this: SAME = use last year's number unless it changed UPDATE = changed since last year, pull current YOU = only you have it — fill before submit
One rule that protects the whole app: the income + expense numbers must match the tax docs you upload. Last year you hadn't filed, uploaded 2022 + W-2s/1099s, and told the school to waive. Whatever you put in sections 5–7 (income) has to line up with what you upload, or it flags. The generic numbers you used there need to be corrected to the real ones before Submit.
Section 8 — Monthly Expenses (the screen you're on)
Own or rent primary residence
Own (already selected ✓)
YOUMonthly mortgage — P+I+taxes+insurance
Your primary home only — the one you live in. ⚠️ Do NOT add the investment-property mortgages here (5th Third / Shellpoint / Selene are the rental/STR cluster — those belong in Sec 10 real estate, not here). Pull the monthly statement for your residence.
YOUOwn a second home (not a rental)?
Likely No — your other properties are rentals/investment, not a second home. Confirm.
YOUMonthly home-equity (HELOC) payment
Blank unless you have a HELOC.
Vehicle owned/leased?
Yes — Honda (Cheryl/HFS) auto-pay $475.85/mo is on file.
UPDATETotal Credit Card Debt
Last year: $114,500. Pull current — the balance-transfer you're doing changes this. Use today's real total.
UPDATETotal of all minimum payments due / month
Add the "minimum due" line off each card statement. Ballpark on ~$114K is roughly $2,800–$3,400/mo, but use the actual sum.
SAMEMonthly student-loan (family no longer in college)
$0 / blank
YOUOther monthly loan payments? (not cell/utilities)
Yes → Honda $475.85 + any Affirm ($77.98) / Klarna installments. Sum the real monthly total.
SAMEMonthly child support
$0
YOUHealth-insurance premiums / month
What you pay out of pocket monthly (after any employer share). Pull from a pay stub or the insurer.
Section 8 — Darchei (Mesivta Chaim Shlomo) extra questions
YOUSignificant change in rent/mortgage this year?
Yes only if a payment materially jumped/dropped — explain briefly if so.
YOULeased/bought a new car last year?
Probably Yes — the Honda auto-pay started Sept 2025. Give year/make/model + cost.
YOUAny expenses paid by your business/employer?
Be honest but consistent: e.g. car/phone/home-office run through the business. This is where self-employed gets scrutinized — answer it the same way your tax return treats it.
Section 9 — Annual Expenses (coming next)
These are yearly totals. Have these ready: OTHER tuition (the kids' yeshivos/Bais Yaakov + any not on this app), summer camp, annual unreimbursed medical/dental, charitable giving / tzedakah (you give — put the real annual number), vacation. All YOU — I don't hold these. Tip: tuition + camp at other mosdos is your biggest hardship lever here — don't leave it blank.
Section 10 — Assets & Liabilities (coming next)
This is the heavy one for you because you hold real estate. Have ready:
• Bank balances — checking + savings (Chase accounts), current.
• Investments / retirement — brokerage. MIS trading book ≈ $21,020 live; plus Fidelity/Schwab balances.
• Real estate owned — each property: market value + mortgage still owed (589 Hook St, the Davenport STRs 9312/9332, any others). The equity is what they weigh.
• Total liabilities — the CC debt + mortgages + car loans tie back to what you entered above.
All YOU / current balances. Consistency matters: the mortgages you list here are the property mortgages you kept OUT of the Sec-8 primary-residence line.
The "how much can you pay" anchor (you flagged this)
Last year's filed amounts — your starting point, adjust only if your picture changed:
• Libby (BYAM) — $9,500 • Yaakov (Darchei) — $9,500
• Eli (Darchei) — $7,500 • Shlomo (Darchei) — $0
That netted you to $25,100 total (~$2,283/mo). Don't pull these out of the air this year — anchor to these so you're consistent, and let the expense/asset hardship (high CC debt, mortgage load, self-employed volatility) carry the aid case. If your cash got tighter, these can come DOWN, not up.
Before you Submit (sec 13): go BACK and fix the generic numbers in sections 5–7 (income) so they match your uploaded tax docs. That's the one thing that can sink an otherwise-good app. Everything else you can refine — income must be true.