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Single Mom Savings: How to stretch your child care dollars
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Child care can be one of the most costly expenses a single mom faces every month. In fact, the average cost of a year's worth of child care expenses is over $12,000 according to the State of Care index. So, making every dollar count -- and getting the most for your child care dollar -- is important for everyone, especially single moms.
MSN offers 8 suggestions on stretching your child care dollars:
- Use the web instead of a nanny service - nanny services can be very costly, and oftentimes websites such as Care.com and Sittercity offer a similar service for a much lower cost. Although nanny agencies will screen potential candidates, the above mentioned websites do background checks and verify the sitters identity before allowing them to reply to your "help wanted" ads. If you are interested in searching through Care.com's providers, you can view all care providers available in Salt Lake City here.
- Team up with another family - you can split the cost of a nanny with another family, as long as you and the other family agree on issues like diet, discipline, TV viewing, etc. If the schedules for both families work, having one nanny care for both sets of kids can be very cost-effective. You do run the risk of the other family no longer needing the nanny though, leaving you to pay the entire salary or to find a new family to share her with.
- Form a baby-sitting co-op - "A co-op is a group of families that rotate caring for each other's children. One way to manage the co-op is for parents to earn points for watching others children, and then using those points to "buy" their own child care time. Factors such as the number of children each family has can play into the number of points earned while caring for other children.
- Seek out family day cares - Family fun care centers are generally far less expensive that traditional daycares, but may lack the regulation that daycares have. If you are able to find a family daycare you are comfortable with though, this can be a great cost savings.
- Take advantage of increased competition - The recession has left many people out of work -- college grads, laid-off employees, etc. Many of these people are turning to care-giving as a way of making ends meet. It is estimated that the average hourly rate for child care has dropped $1-$1.50 an hour in most cities. Single moms can look up the average rate in their area using Sittercity's cost calculator. The average rate for most Utah cities is $9.75 an hour for one child.
- Find a "hybrid" provider - With the increased competition, many sitters are looking for ways to be of more assistance to parents to make their services more attractive. Look for a sitter that offers French lessons, karate lessons, or even housekeeping to help reduce your own costs on having to pay for these services separately.
- Turn to your parents for help - If your family is close, and willing, using them for child care will be a great savings for you. If your family is not close, don't be afraid to accept offers of help from others.
- Hire an au pair - An au pair is a foreign national that comes to live with their host family for up to a year. They are generally much cheaper than nannies or daycare centers, and provide up to 45 hours of child care every week. The program is regulated by the State Department, and does not allow a single au pair to stay with one family for more than a year. This can be a drawback for some, as it will result in frequent caregiver changes for your children, but can also give your child many new experiences, influences, and introductions to other cultures.
How do you stretch your child care dollars?
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