Ways to Reduce Your Child Care Expenses
Most forms of child care are expensive, but this doesn't mean that you have to settle for a plan that isn't a good fit for your child. To help you find ways of reducing your overall expense while still keeping your child's need for a comfortable, nurturing, and stimulating environment in mind, we've gathered the following tips and suggestions:
Take Advantage of Flexible Spending Accounts
If your employer offers a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), take advantage of this opportunity. An FSA designated as a dependent-care account makes it possible for working parents to set aside and use pretax dollars to pay for some types of work-related child care. In many states, this means that dependant-care account contributions are exempt from federal, state, and local taxes.
Keep in mind that married couples with one stay-at-home parent cannot use FSAs to pay for their child care expenses. Furthermore, even though it may be tempting to use an FSA to pay for babysitting services for a night, these accounts may only be used for child care services that enable parents to work.
Re-evaluate Your Work Schedule
If you have a flexible work schedule, you may want to talk to your employer and adjust your time so that your child will spend less time in daycare or with an individual caregiver. Even if your employer is only willing to let you work a flexible schedule on a short-term basis, this can really help financially in the long run.
Investigate "Share Care" with Other Parents
Sometimes called a "Nanny Co-op," this option is becoming an increasingly popular cost-cutting trend, especially for families with very young children. Share care literally means that one family shares a nanny or babysitter with another family. Typically, both families must find a caregiver willing to care for two children in one home at one time. The caregiver would be compensated enough to make the agreement worthwhile, but the families would be spending much less than if they each employed their own individual caregiver.
The biggest challenge for families seeking this kind of child care arrangement is finding other interested families. You may want to begin your search by getting in touch with parenting groups within your community, or by taking a look at local child care agencies either online or in the yellow pages.
Remember to be cautious as you look for ways to cut your child care costs. Investing in high-quality child care is an integral part of creating a bright, successful future for your child. Many nonprofit child care centers and preschools offer financial assistance to qualified applicants, so if you find a program you love, be sure to ask if they offer similar programs.
For more information about the types of child care available in most communities, visit our Consider Your Child Care Options page.