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Childcare is a major expense for many families. Keep reading to learn how you may be able to save while still ensuring your children are in good hands.
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Covering the costs of childcare can quickly drain your bank account, as daycares can cost thousands of dollars per month. If you are struggling to afford the costs of daycare or are even ending up in credit card debt because of high care bills, you may be looking for solutions to slash your spending.
Finance guru Dave Ramsey has some suggestions, including these six tips. But could they work for you?
1. Try to work from home or do a split schedule with your spouse
Ramsey’s first recommendation for trying to reduce childcare costs is to try to use it less. And he has a few different suggestions to do that.
“Some day care centers charge by the day instead of the week,” Ramsey said. “If you can swing working from home once a week while also taking care of your kids, that could help you save a lot of money.”
He also suggested trying to work opposite schedules with your spouse so one of you can be home with the kids.
Obviously, if you’re able to make this happen, this could dramatically reduce your care bills. But you need to consider the impact on your career and your marriage before adopting this approach. If you lose out on work opportunities because you can’t effectively work from home or if you never see your spouse because you’re splitting care time, the downsides of this approach may be too great.
2. Get help from family
Ramsey also advised asking family members if they can help to provide you with some childcare assistance so you can reduce your reliance on paid care.
“If you have family members nearby who are willing to help, take them up on their offer,” Ramsey said. “Grandparents would probably love the extra quality time and cuddles.”
This is a great suggestion if it’s feasible for you, but it won’t always work — especially if you don’t have family members willing to commit to a reliable schedule and you must be at work on set days.
3. Be strategic in spacing your children
If you can space out your children so you only end up having one child in daycare at a time, Ramsey said this can help you to foot the bill more easily. Of course, family planning doesn’t always work out exactly as you’d like, so you may not have this option.
You may also prefer to have your kids closer in age so they can develop a better relationship with each other — and you can potentially score sibling discounts for having two kids in childcare at the same time.
4. Ask about scholarships
One of Ramsey’s best suggestions for reducing childcare costs is to ask your daycare if they provide any scholarships or discount opportunities for families. While they may say no, it’s worth asking if you’re having a hard time and in a best case scenario, they’ll have lower priced options for you.
5. Take advantage of tax credits
Another great suggestion you absolutely should listen to is to take advantage of the opportunity to save on taxes in order to reduce your care expenses.
Ramsey recommends a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) or qualifying for the Child and Dependent Care Credit.
“A DCFSA is a pre-tax benefit that parents can use to pay for dependent care services, like day care, preschool and summer day camps,” Ramsey explained. While you do need to use the money in your plan during the year you contribute to your account, putting money into a DCFSA that you’re sure you’ll use for childcare is an easy call.
6. Consider a nanny share
Finally, Ramsey suggests considering a nanny share, which would mean getting together with other families to split the cost of a nanny. This can come out cheaper than daycare and allow your kids more one-on-one attention (depending on how many children the nanny is looking after). But you’d need to make sure you find the right family to share a nanny with and the right childcare professional as well.
Each of these options is worth considering to help you save on childcare, and the right one will depend on the specific needs of your family.
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