Two Tips for Frugal Baby Sittingby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 10 Apr 2007 12:47 PM
I'm ashamed to admit it, but my husband and I don't have a date night very often. With three young children, baby sitting expenses can turn a simple trip to the movies into a major expense. The average rate here is about $5-7 per child, per hour. So three hours away from home would cost us $45-63 before we even count in an actual activity like a movie or dinner. Sometimes a sitter will offer a lower rate for combining kids, so it ends up as more like $4 per child, but that still adds up when you have three children. I don't know if the rates are the same for you in your area, but there is always a more frugal way of doing things, so I offer these two tips to save money on baby sitting. "Hire" a relative: relatives often work for very low rates, such as free. You don't want to overly take advantage of relatives, but quite often, especially with grandparents, they are thrilled to baby sit. Just make sure to show your appreciation with a gift or incentive, such as dinner already prepared and in the freezer or fridge, a small gift certificate to a favorite store or restaurant, etc. Sometimes relatives are more likely to babysit if they can do it in their own homes. Share a baby sitter. This works especially well if you have a small family with only one child. Double up with another family who would like a date night. This way, you can get a good rate from the babysitter and split the savings. You'll need to pick which home you want to use, or simply switch off or rotate homes if you do this on a regular basis. You can decide to double date with the other couple or go your separate ways. Just make sure the pick up time is very clear to all involved. Be sure to check out a future article about setting up a free baby sitting co-op. Related Articles: Free Baby's First Birthday Cake Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments  Valorie Delp (49340) 10 Apr 2007 07:59 PMYou're tellin' me. . . we're very fortunate and only pay our helper $10 per hour. However, we knew when we had twins that this was simply a necessity. Community Tags babysitting, date night, frugal Discuss this article
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Want to save money on baby sitting expenses? Read on for these tips that will let you have a night on the town without breaking the bank.
