 Like with most things, the price of child care and day care centers has been steadily rising over the last few years, whilst wages have remained the same. In the US, a month of full time child care now costs on average $600, and in some big cities $1000. This presents a huge challenge for many parents who want to find quality yet affordable child care. If you are one of these parents, do not despair. Listed below are some money saving options to consider when trying to find budget child care: |
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Asking Family and Close Friends to Babysit
Don’t be shy to ask your relatives and close friends for help in watching your child once or twice a week. Assuming that they live close by and have the time, they will most likely welcome the bonding opportunity. You can offer to pay a little, or just cover the costs for their expenses. If the child's grandparents or other family members live far away, they may be more than willing to visit for a short time to help you take care of your child. |
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Babysitting Co-ops and Sharing
An increasingly popular option for saving money on child care, is to join a babysitting co-op. This is a group of parents who arrange to all take turns in caring for each other's kids. This may be on a daily basis or less frequent. Some groups will use a points system where you will gain points for each time that you look after other parent's kids. Then you can spend the points earned if you want your child looked after. Ask around about babysitting co-ops in your area, or search online. A good resource to get you started is BabyExchange.
If there are no Babysitting Co-ops in your area, then why not start one?. There will surely be many other parents who would love to participate. Ask friends or post flyers on local billboards, in libraries, and in coffee shops.
On a smaller scale, you could share babysitting with friends on a casual basis. Take it in turns to look after each other's kids, or if you and some friends of yours need babysitting on the same day or night, use one babysitter and share the cost. A babysitter will increase the rate for multiple kids, but it will still work out cheaper. |
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In-Home Child Care
Having a nanny or sitter care for your kids, is generally the most expensive child care option. However, if in-home care is what you want, there are some affordable child care alternatives that you could consider:
- Firstly, you could hire an au-pair (babysitter from another country), for full time care (up to 45 hours a week). You will need to provide room and board, plus a weekly fee of around $180 and some initial fees, but it still works out at about half the price of a regular nanny. A good resource to find an au-pair is is at AuPairUSA.
- If you just need some part-time babysitting, you could hire a student at a cheaper rate. Some high schools may be able to recommend trustworthy pupils, and then local colleges, universities and sororities will also be a good place to look.
- Another source of cheaper part-time child care, is to enlist the help of older people. Many retirees are struggling financially, and would welcome the opportunity to supplement their income while enjoying the company of your child. Ask retirees that you know of and can trust, or ask friends and family for recommendations.
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Public and Non-Profit Day Care Centers
Many local governments have publicly funded child care programs for kids aged between 2-5 years old. A bulk of the costs are covered by the fed, state or city. The fee for the parent will then usually be determined on a sliding scale based on income. A great resource that will help to put you in touch with a local no- profit child care organization, is ChildCareConsultants.Org
You can also check with your local YMCA or church to see if they run any cheap child care services. |
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Child Care Discount
You may be able to offset your child care costs by offering to volunteer at your child's day care center. Other than volunteering, you could also make different helpful contributions. Maybe you can offer goods or other useful services. |
| Believe it or not, you may also be able to find coupons for a child care center in your area. Just do a Google search for “child care coupons” along with the name of your city, or check the local newspaper. Failing that, it does not hurt to ask at the day care center if they offer any discounts, especially if it is a first time enrollment, or you have multiple kids. |
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Tax Credits and Flexible Spending Accounts
The IRS offers some support when it comes to child care, if you have paid someone to look after your child (under 13), whilst working or looking for work. You may be able to reduce your tax by claiming the Child and Dependent Care Credit on your tax return. The credit can amount to up to 35% of your child care expenses, with a maximum of $3,000 for one child and $6,000 for multiple. See this IRS web page for further details.
A flexible spending account allows you to set aside up to 5,000 pretax dollars specifically for child care expenses. However, there are some restrictions and limitations. For example, you do have to bring your child to a licensed child day care center, and furthermore, not all employers offer flexible spending accounts. Find out if your workplace offers FSA’s. For more info, visit FsaFeds.
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Alternating Work Hours
If you or your spouse have the flexibility of adjusting work hours, alternate your schedules so that between you both, you can spend more time at home and cut down the hours you need to hire child care. Maybe one person can work an early shift and the other a later shift. If you do not have the flexibility in changing your hours, then you could consider finding a new job that will fit your schedule accordingly. |
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After School Programs
If your child is old enough, you could have them participate in after school programs instead of splashing out on child care. Even if you have to pay for a specific program, it should still work out cheaper. Speak with the child's school about what programs they have. If there is a program away from the school, ask about possible transportation between the school at that programs location. |
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Work From Home
Working from home is a fantastic way in which you could save money on childcare. If you are able to start a home business, it will provide you with all the flexibility you need to be able to juggle looking after your kids and making some money.
It takes some self-motivation and hard work to get started, but it can be very rewarding. You could even consider opening your own child daycare center, where you would be able to look after your kids and get paid for looking after others at the same time. You can find advice on this and other home business ideas in our "Make Money" section.
Another option, depending on the type of work you do, is to ask your boss if you would be able to work part-time from home. Offer to start on a trial basis, and once you prove you are just as effective if not more so, your boss may be happy for you to telecommute for longer.
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Final Word
There are many ways to find budget child care, and hopefully now you will be able to make some of these tips work for you. More important than any of the above points is that you feel comfortable with where you child is being cared. If a certain situation of caring arrangement does not give you peace of mind, then it may not be worth the potential savings. |
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