At the first sight of a weakening economy, families start tightening their purse strings, spending less on luxury items for the kids, and less on vacations, extracurricular activities, toys—even child care. The peace of mind that comes with a quality caregiver may be priceless, but it can cost you a pretty penny. Is there a way to save on child care without sacrificing the quality of the caregiver or the peace of mind that comes with it?
Yes! In fact, there are several, whether you're looking for ways to keep your current caregiver or you're in need of tips to hire a more affordable one. By incorporating a few creative child care solutions, you'll be able to save money and find a balance between quality and affordability.
Keeping Your Current Caregiver
Children often develop an emotional bond with their caregivers, so it's understandable if you'd like to keep your current one. You've got three money-saving options:
- Option 1: Use your current sitter less but keep paying her standard rate.
- Option 2: Enter into a share care with another family and share the sitter.
- Option 3: Use your current sitter the same amount but for less pay.
Let's explore these options to see which one may be right for you:
Option 1: Using the Sitter Less
How it works
Give your sitter one extra day off each week or an extra hour off each day. If you can't adjust your schedule, perhaps a family member could step in for the last hour. By cutting back one hour each day, you could save quite a bit of money—if you pay your sitter $10 per hour, for example, this could save you $50 each week.
What to do
If you're going to reduce your caregiver's hours, you must have a talk with her so she knows what to expect. Be honest, and be prepared for her to seek out other work to supplement the new reduction in her take-home pay.
Whether you know of a friend looking for the occasional sitter or a manager looking for part-time workers, let her know of extra ways she could supplement her income. The sincere efforts you demonstrate toward your sitter can also help foster additional loyalty.
Option 2: Entering Into a Share Care
How it works
A "share care" is when two different families let their children stay with the same sitter while the parents are out. Since the parents are sharing one sitter, they each pay around 20 to 35 percent less than the going rate and give the total to the caregiver.
So, if you typically pay $12 per hour for a sitter to watch your two children while your friend pays $10 per hour for her one child, you could each cut back by 30 percent and pay the sitter a total of $60 for four hours of work (rather than each paying $48 and $40, respectively).
What to do
First, pick a reliable family to share a sitter with and make sure you have similar parenting styles. If you choose a family whose rules mirror your own, it's easier for the caregiver to manage both sets of children under one roof.
Make sure you communicate everything beforehand to help the evening go smoothly. (Whose house will the children stay at? Will all of the children be eating dinner beforehand? What will each family owe? Exactly which adult will be paying the sitter?)
Once you've got the plans figured out, stick to them! If the sitter is expecting four children, for example, resist the urge to add another child to the mix. You might think, "What's one more?" but the reality is that it increases the sitter's workload.
Option 3: Paying Your Sitter Less
How it works
Generally, reducing your caregiver's pay should be a last resort. If you absolutely can't reduce her hours and have no one else to turn to for a share care or free help, then this option may be on the table—but you must be fully prepared for your caregiver to bow out of the arrangement so she can find a job that does pay a standard rate.
If reducing your sitter's rate is something you must do, think about what you can reasonably afford and whether or not it's a significant difference from what she earns already. Try not to reduce her current salary by anything more than 20 percent, otherwise you may risk offending her and burning that child care bridge for the future.
For example, if you pay a sitter $10 per hour for a 40-hour week, just reducing her rate by 5 percent can save you $20 each week.
What to do
When you are talking with your sitter, be completely honest and explain that the economy is affecting your family and that you simply must offer lower pay in this job. Notice how you don't say that you're offering her lower pay (assuming she'll stick around). Tell her that you completely understand if she can't continue working for the reduced rate, but you wanted to at least give her the option.
Creative Tip: Since you can't offer financial incentives, do other things to make the job more appealing. Perhaps you make it clear that there are no light housekeeping duties, you always include the sitter in the meal plans let her use your car to drive the kids instead of her own, etc. Whatever you can do to compensate for the pay cut may make her consider your offer more seriously.
Finding a More Affordable Caregiver
Some families might be more comfortable seeking out a sitter that fits their price range rather than adjusting the rates and/or schedule of their current caregiver. If you're thinking of going this route, you have two options:
- Option 1: Find a brand new child care provider in a more affordable price range.
- Option 2: Find a new "combination caregiver," a hybrid babysitter/housekeeper.
Option 1: Finding a New Sitter
How it works
The first thing to understand about looking for a more affordable caregiver is that by lowering the rates, you may have to adjust your expectations for the kind of caregiver you'll attract.
If you want a 24-year-old sitter with 10 years of experience, training in first aid and CPR, and glowing recommendations, chances are she won't accept a job for minimum wage. That's not to suggest that an 18-year-old sitter with less experience isn't a good caregiver, but be realistic about who you're hoping to entice with the new rate.
What to do
Determine what you're willing to compromise on and what you're not, especially in terms of age and experience. For example, if you only feel comfortable with a caregiver over the age of 18, you may want to check out local colleges or Sittercity.com.
When you post your job, be sure to state your rate range so that sitters know what to expect when they contact you about the position. If you leave it open-ended by putting "negotiable," you may end up with a pool of applicants whose own rate falls outside your range.
Creative Tip: Use your reduced rate offer as "starter pay," and create a schedule through which the rate will increase after certain points. This type of incremental raise helps you absorb the cost of child care while still getting the sitter to where she needs to be financially.
Option 2: Hire a Hybrid Caregiver
How it works
Lately, many parents have been exploring the "combination caregiver," a hybrid babysitter/housekeeper that costs less than hiring two separate employees. The hybrid caregiver focuses on tending to the children, but also spends time cleaning up the home—beyond the typical mess made by the kids. This can include vacuuming, dusting, making all the beds, doing laundry, folding clothes, cleaning bathrooms, etc.
What to do
Never assume that a current caregiver can "become" a hybrid. All it would mean is that you're dumping extra work on her and completely changing the job expectations that she signed on for. Instead, it's better to hire a new, willing caregiver to make the hybrid arrangement work out.
In your job posting, be very clear about what the expectation is and what types of housekeeping tasks the caregiver would be responsible for. Make sure you pay fairly to compensate the caregiver for the additional workload.
Remember, the more time a caregiver spends tending to your home, the less time she can spend tending to your children, so think carefully about whether this option would be a good one for your family.
Do you have any strategic tips for keeping the piggy bank full in your home? Share your advice here!
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