Frugallife

**You need a babysitter, but hate to pay so much for one? Try swaping with college students. Let the students use your washer/dryer to wash their clothes while they watch your children.This could cut your babysitter costs in half easily.

**Join or start a Babysitting Co-Op. Participating parents get a certain number of "coupons" when they sign up. (These can easily be printed on your computer, or done by hand & copied.) One coupon is worth one hour of babysitting from the other members. This is how you "pay" each other. Parents are free to specify if they prefer to babysit daytime, nighttime, or weekends, and are allowed to say they can't if the time is not convenient. To keep up with the members, and to get a list of parents involved with their phone numbers, you have a quarterly pot-luck dinner!

**Try to swap other things...For example, college students that you know well, you may let take your children to the park, while you, the parent, go grocery shopping. When you go to the grocery store, simply take the babysitter's list with you...the amount to spend should be agreed upon before you go.
Another idea is to offer to take a teen that cannot drive yet someplace they need to go-i.e. the mall, in exchange for babysitting services. If you run around carpooling anyway during the day, this could work out well.

**Ask a neighbor or grandparents to watch your children while you go out. Oftentimes, this is a prime time for the people that love your children to have some great playtime with them. Usually they will do it for free, or alot cheaper than a regular babysitter would.

**Have one parent stay home with your children. With some frugal budgeting, this can be very rewarding for both parents and children. If one parent doesnt want to quit their job completely, try working part-time or working from home.

Note: If you decide to work from home, depending on what you do, you will probably need to get a babysitter or some form of child care for the hours you work. Still, even if you pay for part-time daycare, the cost is tons less than having your children in full-time daycares.If you can work from home at night, when a spouse is free to watch the children, then you may not need the babysitter at all!

**Look into a family day-care. This is usually someone who watches children in their home. The prices can be significantly lower than the "regular" daycares in your area, and often, your child will get more individual attention.

**If you work part-time, find out if your area has a Mother's Day Out program. These generally watch your children one, two or even three days a week. Prices are based on their hours usually. They offer you a day or two to get things done, and your child some social interaction.