You wouldn’t just trust anyone with your child would you? But, can you afford to be a bit of a bargain hunter when it comes to child care? Here are some tips on how to save money and get high-quality care for significantly less than what you’ve been paying:
Childcare Co-op
What’s great about setting up a co-op is each family contributes time instead of money; and childcare is less burdensome because several families share the load. This is a great arrangement for families that share a community – you can’t beat it for convenience. Your childcare center is housed within the community in the clubhouse or recreation room.
Trade-Offs
What if you aren’t part of a community that can make a go of a co-op? You can use the same strategy on a smaller scale. Instead of relying on a community, chose one or two families that you can share childcare duties with. Two families can provide childcare for one another one Saturday each month. Or you can make your own parent’s morning out by trading off Tuesdays. When you trade-off, you eliminate the cost of child-care and cut “date night” expenses nearly in half before you even leave home.
Re-arrange your work schedule
You might also consider the option of working at a different time than your spouse so that one of you is with the child more, leaving less time needed for daycare of a babysitter. Rearranging your work schedule isn’t always an option, but if your employer is willing, it will help cut costs on daycare.
Final Tips
Be sure you share childcare responsibilities with people you trust. These should also be people that respect your parenting values. Concerns may come up; address your concerns honestly and calmly. Agree about a solution or how the situation will be handled if it comes up again.
Sharing responsibility with other parents for the care of the children is a great way to trim a bit off of your budget. These arrangements are also a great way to build a support system around your family. After all, who couldn’t use a hand or a shoulder every now and again?
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