5 Top Money-Saving Tips: Guest Post from Everyday Life on a Shoestring

If you haven't visited Sarah's Everyday Life on a Shoestring, it's high time you did. This blog is full of fantastic money-saving tips for parents of young children. It's personable, friendly, and charming, and we're honored to have Sarah with us on Babysitting Co-op 101 today. She's sharing some of her best money-saving tips with us. After you finish reading this post, we suggest you hop on over to her blog and learn some more!

Having kids is an expensive business. According to the Guardian newspaper, in 2013 the cost of raising a child in the UK has risen to an astronomical £222,458 ($374,042).

You would be right in thinking that the expensive part of raising a child would be getting them through college or university, but the next most expensive years are from age 1 to 5.

Armed with that knowledge, how can parents of young children save money?

Here are our five top tips (excluding childcare, which is well catered for on this blog!)

1. The Guardian cites parental guilt over technological gadgets as another major cost; UK expenditure on kit for kids amounts to £302 annually. For young children this simply isn’t necessary. We all know that too much screen time is not good for anyone, especially young children. Our kids are expected to use the family computer and TV rather than having their own and a secondhand console is used for games. Both kids now have phones, but are on the cheapest contract we could find. This approach has not impaired them in any way – they are digital natives and are far more literate in all this stuff than I am.
2. Buying secondhand also applies to many other things that have been required. From birth we bought clothes, toys, baby equipment, buggies and books secondhand, as well as never saying no to any offers of hand-me-downs. The world is awash with plastic toys and kids equipment, so don’t contribute to this ocean by buying new. Check out charity shops, eBay, school sales and Freecycle.
3. From an early age, encourage children to save their own birthday, Christmas or pocket money to buy the things that they want. This teaches them the value of things and helps clarify whether an item is something they really want or just a whim.
   
4. Avoid peer pressure! Just because other friends are going on expensive holidays or cinema trips, attend multiple after-school clubs, or have the latest gadget, it doesn’t mean that everyone has to. A camping holiday, playing in the garden at home, having a friend to play or watching a DVD together as a family can be just as fun. And today’s busy children need down-time as much as we do.
5. The best things in life really are free! Parks, puddles, trees, the sky, museums, libraries, street entertainers, time with friends and family. It’s all available if you seek it out and costs nothing!
   

Many thanks to Sarah at Everyday Life On a Shoestring for this post!

McLean Gardens Babysitting Co-op

The McLean Gardens Babysitting Co-op in Washington, D.C., has been operating for more than 10 years. Based on Gary Myers' Smart Mom's Baby-sitting Co-op Handbook, this co-op usually has about 10 to 15 families at any given time. Parents in the co-op have graciously shared some details about how the co-op works to help people who are thinking about starting their own co-ops.

Structure

The McLean Gardens Babysitting Co-op works on a point system, and a secretary handles all transactions. If you want to find a sitter, you call or e-mail the secretary who arranges a sit for you by sending out an email to everyone to see who's available. After the sit is over, the sitter contacts the secretary to report the amount of time that should be deducted and added to each parent's total.

As parents come into the co-op, they start with a zero point balance. They earn points by babysitting, but they can "go into debt" and have a negative point balance as well. When people leave the co-op, they're supposed to pay an hourly fee to the co-op for any points below zero.

Communication

The parents in the McLean Gardens Babysitting Co-op have set up a Yahoo groups e-mail distribution list, which they use for setting up sits as well as communicating about monthly meetings. They also keep a database of points on paper that gets passed from secretary to secretary.

Roles

There are several roles that have to filled at all times for this type of co-op to function: Leader, Secretary, Treasurer, and List Serve Manager. The Secretary role rotates monthly among the members, and the Treasurer and List Serve Managers rotate quarterly:

• Leader. The leader makes sure the co-op runs smoothly, settles any issues, and organizes monthly meetings. This role rotates quarterly.
• Secretary. As you probably noticed from the description above, the Secretary is a busy person. That's why this job switches monthly. Taking requests and finding sitters can be time-consuming, but the Secretary is compensated with extra points. The secretary receives 2 points from each person in the co-op during his or her month in office.
• Treasurer. The treasurer keeps track of the money for the co-op. The McLean Gardens Babysitting Co-op collects $20 per family per year. The Treasurer is compensated with 1 point per quarter per family, and the job rotates monthly.
• List Serve Manager. The List Serve Manager maintains and operates the List Serve and earns 1 point per quarter from each family. List Serve Managers serve for one quarter at a time.

Benefits

Members of the McLean Gardens Babysitting Co-op enjoy many benefits, including the following:

• Great community. Most of the co-op members live within walking distance of one another. They're very supportive of each other. If one parent is late getting back from a doctor appointment, she know she can send out a text and have somebody else pick her kids up from school.
• Hand-me-downs. This co-op doesn't just help each other with child care; they also pass around gently used clothing.
• Social gatherings. Co-op members get together bi-monthly for social gatherings where they can get to know new members and enjoy each other's company.

If you're in the D.C. area and want to know more about the McLean Gardens Babysitting Co-op, you can email them at mgbcsits@gmail.com.

This co-op is a great example of what a babysitting co-op can do for you. It's structured differently than the co-ops you can learn about in Babysitting Co-op 101, which don't rely on a secretary or require fees, but the principles of cooperation and mutual benefit are the same. Again, we thank the members of McLean Gardens Babysitting Co-op for sharing their expertise and experiences with us.

Goodreads Giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Babysitting Co-op 101

by Samantha Fogg Nielsen

Giveaway ends March 31, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

4 Huge Benefits of Babysitting Co-ops

If you haven't yet experienced the benefits of participating in a babysitting co-op you're in for a treat. When people say that their babysitting co-ops changed their lives, they're not exaggerating. The benefits are real, and you start to notice them from the very start. Here are 4 of the most noticeable benefits:

Save Money
Babysitting is not fun to pay for, especially when you're hiring a sitter so you can go to the dentist. Since participating in a babysitting co-op doesn't cost you a single dime, you'll notice the financial benefits immediately. What will you use that money for?

Find Time
Have you ever gone away from your kids for just an hour or two and come back feeling refreshed and ready to be a mom again? What if you could count on time like this on a regular basis? You could take up that hobby you've been putting aside for someday.

Build Community
Life is happier when you have a group of other parents and their children that you know and trust. Your kids feel more secure in a world where there are other adults looking out for them and seeking out their best interest, and your babysitting co-op can become a force for good in your community.

Make Friends
Moving to a new area is tough. Your social life has to start from scratch, and this can be quite difficult. By starting or joining a babysitting co-op, you can make a group of friends that may last for years and years. Often, we hear of women who have been friends since their babysitting co-op days, even though their children are now grown and gone.

Enrich your life by starting a babysitting co-op in your neighborhood.

5 Rainy Day Toddler Activities

It's that time of year when you just don't know what to expect from the weather. Your babysitting shift could land on a beautiful sunny day, or it might land on one of those days when you just don't want to get out of bed because it's so miserably cold.

That's why it's always good to have some rainy day activities in your back pocket. No matter what the day, we've got a list of co-op shift activities to keep the kids happy and keep you sane.

The Child Went Over the Mountain

This activity comes from our friend Jaimi at The Stay-at-Home-Mom Survival Guide. It's pretty simple but lots of fun. Pile up a bunch of couch cushions and pillows to make a mountain, and then have your toddler climb over them. Make sure the floor is safe for little heads to fall on (i.e. don't try this on tile).

Salt Paint

This is the coolest. But, okay, maybe it won't keep you entirely sane. You can make salt paint by combining Elmer's glue and Epsom salt. It's sticky and gooey--what a fantastic sensory activity. The results look a lot like beautiful shimmery snow. Thanks to Hands On As We Grow for this one.

Hat's Off!

Raid your newspaper recycling stash and get enough newspaper for every child in your babysitting co-op. Show them how to turn their newspaper into hats. For a wizard hat, roll the paper into a cone and tape the ends together. For an old-fashioned paper hat, fold the paper in half and lay it down with the folded side farthest away from you. Now fold the top two corners down so they touch in the middle of the page. You'll have a piece of paper with a triangle at the top and a long rectangular section across the bottom. There are two layers of paper making up the rectangle. Take the top layer of the rectangle and fold it up to the bottom of the triangle, then up again. Now turn the hat over and do the same thing with the bottom layer. 

Play Dough

It never hurts to have a stash of homemade play dough in your refrigerator for those rainy day co-op shifts. Use the following recipe for making your own dough, and then check out these fun play dough ideas from Sheryl at Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds.

• 2 cups plain flour (all purpose)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
• Up to 1.5 cups boiling water (adding in increments until it feels just right)
• food colouring (optional)
• few drops glycerine (optional- adds more shine!)

Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl. Add the boiling water and stir continuously until the dough becomes sticky and thoroughly combined. Add the food coloring and glycerine. Allow it to cool until it isn't comfortable to handle, and knead it vigorously for a couple of minutes. If it's too sticky add just a little flour. Keep it supple by storing it in a sealed plastic container in your fridge.

Shape Scavenger Hunt

Cut shapes out of paper: oval, circle, triangle, square, rectangle, hexagon, star. Give a shape to each child and start exploring your house looking for items that are shaped like the pieces of paper the children are carrying. It's amazing what you can find when you're looking for something simple and specific!

Have fun on your rainy day babysitting shifts! It might be so fun at your house on rainy days that you'll start hoping the sun won't come out! 

Story Time: My Name is Not Isabella

Pick up Jennifer Fosberry's My Name is Not Isabella and save it for a day when you have all girls at your babysitting co-op shift. On that, pull out this short gem-of-a-book and read it aloud. At least once.

Isabella is a character with a big imagination, but her heroes are real women who did really extraordinary things. The book includes short biographies of the featured heroines: Sally Ride, Annie Oakley, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, and Elizabeth Blackwell. What I love most of all about this book is the admiration for mothers. Yes, all of these women did wonderful things, but the story makes it clear that mothers are extraordinary for their everyday sacrifices and work. And that's a message that girls haven't heard enough over the last 40 years.

This line says it all: "A mother is a person who uses love and wisdom to raise children to be caring, accomplished adults." That's a goal worthy of any amazing girl.

You'll love Mike Litwin's bright, colorful illustrations that accompany the text as well. Check out his website for animations about Isabella.

Co-op Christmas Cookie Exchange

What's a cookie exchange? You bake one kind of cookie, and you go home with a beautiful assortment of cookies that will last throughout the holidays (presumably).

Are you looking for a great way to bring your babysitting co-op together for the holidays? Why not organize a co-op Christmas cookie exchange. It's simple to organize, doesn't require much work, and allows everyone to get reacquainted. Here's a simple checklist you can use to get your co-op cookie exchange in motion.

• Send invitations. Invite everyone in your co-op, and if you're in need of a few more families in your co-op, invite a few extra friends or neighbors who might want to participate. This would be a great chance for them to see your co-op in action and get to know the other parents.
• Determine how many cookies each guest will make. If you have fewer than 10 participants, ask each guest to make a dozen for each attendee. If you have more people than that, half a dozen cookies for each attendee should be plenty.
• Find out who's coming and what kinds of cookie's they're bringing. If everyone is bringing coconut macaroons, gently suggest some variety, like these white chocolate brownies.
• Decide on a simple menu of snacks and drinks. Cider or hot cocoa are great, along with some vegetables and hummus or finger sandwiches.
• Find a large table for the cookie spread. If you don't have a large dining room table, set up several card tables and cover them with a large tablecloth.
• Borrow serving trays. If you can't locate serving trays for displaying the cookies, ask guests to provide their own. In a pinch, cookie sheets draped with cloth napkins work just fine.
• Purchase extra plates, storage bags, and plastic wrap. If guests don't have a way to transport all of their loot home, you'll have supplies for them.
• Have the party! When you invite guests in, have them set out there cookies and then mix and mingle while they snack. Allow each guest to take 6 or 12 of each kind of cookie at the end of the party.
• Collect the recipes. Ask guests to email their recipe to you. You can compile them and send out a master list to everyone as a thoughtful Christmas gift.

What's your favorite holiday cookie recipe ever? We're hungry, and we want to make them.