Are you and your significant other in need of a night out on the town?  Do you need to go to an appointment and can’t bring the kids?  If you are a parent, especially if you don’t live near family, you will inevitably find that you need a babysitter, at least every once in awhile.  However, babysitters are expensive; in our area they can run $15 an hour.  At that price, enjoying a night out is hard to do.  Yet with a little creativity, you can find ways to save on the cost of having a babysitter.

Swap with another parent.  If you have a friend with kids close in age, you may want to consider a swap.  She watches your kids for 3 hours one day, and you watch hers for 3 hours another day.  You each get some time away without spending the $45 it might normally cost to hire a sitter, and your kids get to play with other kids their age.

Start a babysitting co-op.  If you have a group of parents you are friends with, perhaps from an organized play group or preschool, consider setting up a babysitting co-op.  Every time you babysit kids from the co-op, you get a “credit” in your account.  Then, when you have someone from the co-op watch your kids, the hours are deducted from your account.

Consider bartering.  If the other party is receptive, you may be able to barter part or all of your child care costs.  If you love to cook, perhaps you can supply your babysitter with meals for a few days.  If she is single, you may need to supplement the meals with pay as your meals for her probably won’t add up to the equivalent you would pay her per hour.  If she, too, has a family, she would probably welcome taking a few nights off for cooking for her family if she watches your kids for two or three hours one night.  Another alternative might be to change her car oil when she needs it, assuming you know how to do this and already do this for your own car.

Set up a traveling “school”.  If you are a stay-at-home parent and live in an area with several stay at home parents with kids the same age, consider an educational swap.  Maybe on Mondays, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. you host the kids and have an English theme—you read them stories and play games with nursery rhymes.  Maybe on Tuesdays, another neighbor has a science theme and takes the kids on a leaf finding expedition and teaches them about how leaves lose their color.  If you have three families involved, you host one morning a week, and two mornings a week your kids go to a different location.

While hiring a babysitter can be expensive, there are creative ways to save on this cost while still providing your child with a good care experience.  The key is to make friends with other parents and set up a mutually beneficial situation.  Just make sure that you know the parents well and are comfortable with them watching your kids.

Baby pools are a fun way to get your friends and family more involved and excited about your new baby’s birth.  They’re pretty easy to run and you can even outsource the details if you don’t feel like running the pool yourself.  Here’s how to get your baby pool, also known as a pregnancy pool, up and running.

The exact rules of the baby pool are up to you to decide, but typically you allow your friends, family, and co-workers to guess on the date and time when your baby will be born.  For each guess they make, they have to chip in a dollar or two for the pot.  When your baby little one arrives, whoever’s guess came closest to the actual delivery time wins the pot of money.  Some baby pool winners are required to split their winnings with the new parents since they’re going to need lots of baby stuff!

Of course you can add lots of other details to your baby pool to make it more challenging and fun.  In addition to guessing the date of birth, some baby pools also let you guess on the baby’s gender, height, weight, or even how long labor will last.  If you have a lot of friends who like to gamble they might really enjoy this!

 How to Organize Your Baby Pool

In the old days, all that was needed to run a baby pool was a piece of paper.  The organizer kept a master list of all the guesses made and also tracked the total amount of money received for the jackpot.  The problem was that guessers were in the dark as to what everyone else picked.  Things improved a bit in the computer age as most baby pool organizers starting tracking everything in Excel.  Guesses and results could be emailed out to participants regularly, though that was still far from perfect.

These days there are websites that allow you to run your baby pool completely online and in real-time.  Participants can set up their own free accounts and log in to see what kind of guesses everyone else has made before making one of their own.  They even let you send an invitation email out to your friends so you can get as many people to sign up as possible.  This system is much more user-friendly and it almost feels like you’re taking part in a fantasy baseball league and not a baby pool.

Whatever method you choose to set up your baby pool, you’re bound to have some good laughs and enjoy spreading the good news about the new addition to your family.

If my son had his way, he would be taking tap dance, playing soccer and baseball, and taking piano and guitar lessons.  However, we simply don’t have the money or the time to put him in that many activities.  If you have children who want to explore many extracurricular activities, here are some ways to keep them active without spending more than you can afford.

1. Institute the one activity rule.  Allow your child to participate in only one activity that costs money at a time.  I instituted this policy because, while I want my son to participate in activities, I don’t want it to be a financial strain.  We have two little girls who will soon also be participating in extracurricular activities, and another motivation for this rule is so I won’t be spending my entire day in the car driving from one activity to another.
2. Pay upfront and save.  Some places allow you to pay for the entire season upfront and receive a discount.  My son is currently taking tap dance, and the dance class for nine months cost $500, but because we paid that all upfront, we received $50 off, bringing the cost down to $450.
3. Explore free options in school.  Even in elementary school there are plenty of free extracurricular activities such as choir, band and sports.  Of course, you will have to pay for the instrument or the personal equipment, but there will be no fee for the actual activity.
4. Look into park district services.  Our local park district offers many classes for kids from dance to karate to soccer at a very reasonable price.  However, I have found that you often get what you pay for.  In my experience these classes are best for small children who are just beginning to explore their interests.
5. See if you can barter.  Though many of us don’t feel comfortable doing it, bartering is alive and well.  Seeing if you can barter may be worthwhile.  When I was a teenager, I used to take piano lessons from a woman with three young kids.  I watched her girls for a few hours a week in return for free piano lessons.  At my son’s old dance studio, I used to clean the studio for two hours one Saturday a month in return for getting his lessons for free.
6. Use daily deal sites.  Many people are familiar with using daily deal sites such as Groupon and Living Social for restaurant deals, but these sites do occasionally have deals for kids’ extracurricular activities.  These vouchers can give your child the chance to try something new at a fraction of the cost for you.

Having well-rounded kids is important for both their personal development and their future college applications.  Most kids are interested in learning and practicing new activities.  As a parent, you can foster their interest without breaking the bank by using some of the strategies given.

What are your favorite ways to save on kids’ extracurricular activities?

This is the first post written by new staff writer Melissa from Momsplans.com.  I’m excited to have her on board so please give her a warm welcome!

In 2011, I quit my full-time job because the cost of daycare for my younger children, ages 3 and 20 months now, would have cost me nearly my entire monthly salary.  Essentially, I would be going to work to pay for daycare so I could go to work.  Instead, I opted to work from home as a freelance writer and virtual assistant, and now I am making more than I would have had I gone back to work.  However, working while caring for young children is challenging.  Here are some strategies to work from home when taking care of little ones.

1.  Spend time with the kids first.  If you take the time in the morning to play with your kids, read them books and talk with them, they are more willing to go without your undivided attention later in the day.
2. Invest in busy bags.  I have been reading about busy bag swaps on the blogs I read, and a few months ago, I decided to join one.  Basically, you choose an educational activity that will keep preschoolers busy such as a laminated paper with the ABCs written on it and a dry erase pen and eraser or pipe cleaners and beads so kids can make their own necklaces.  Make up 30 packs of the one activity and send it off to the busy bag organizer.  In return, you will receive 30 different busy bags.  My girls love playing with these!  They can easily stay occupied for 20 or 30 minutes with these, giving me a bit of precious time to get some work done.
3. Let them watch one favorite tv show.  While I would never advocate sitting your child in front of the tv all day, both my girls enjoy watching Sesame Street, so once a day, they watch their show and I work on my laptop in the room with them.  For the most part they are occupied, and I am able to get some work done while also being available for their questions, comments, and need to cuddle.
4. Work during their naps and at night.  Nap time is precious, so make sure to use it to your advantage.  I get the bulk of my work done during their 1.5 hour naps and after they go to bed at night.  However, because I spend this time working instead of say, cleaning, some aspects of the house are not as I would like them.  The dishes aren’t always done and the house isn’t always as clean as I would like, but both my husband and I are willing to make that sacrifice so I can work from home and care for our kids.
5. Hire help if you need to.  If the messy house drives you crazy, hire a housecleaner to come in once a week.  My business has grown to the point that I am now interviewing babysitters to find someone to come to my house one morning a week so I can have a bit more uninterrupted work time.  I will still be home when the sitter is there, so I will be available if the kids or the sitter need me.  Because I am making so much more per hour than I need to pay the sitter, it is a worthwhile expense for our family.

Being a work at home parent really offers the best of both worlds in that you can forego the high expense of day care and spend the bulk of your day caring for your children.  However, you will still get to bring in an income.  Doing so can work if you are flexible with your home and family arrangements.

Isn’t it amazing how quickly kids grow out of their clothes?  It seems like as soon as you buy them a new outfit it is already getting too small for them.   Some outfits only get worn a few times before they are outgrown, so they look almost like new.  What should you do with them?

If you’re planning on having more kids, your best bet is to pack them up in a plastic bin and put them somewhere safe.  When your next little one comes crawling along you’ll be grateful that you have plenty of hand me down outfits.  Of course you’ll still want to get the new baby some outfits of her own, but you’ll save a lot of money if you can re-use some of the clothes from your first child.

If the clothes are still in good shape and you’re sure you won’t be needing them you can try to sell them and make a little money.  Baby and toddler clothes are very popular items at garage sales.  When we had our garage sale one woman bought over $50 worth of baby outfits.  If a garage sale doesn’t work for you, you can always try listing them on eBay or Craigslist.

Another way to squeeze more value out of those old clothes is to trade them for something else you can use.  Maybe you know a mom who really needs clothes in the sizes that you have, and she has some toys or dvds that you could use.  A friendly swap can make everyone happy.  And if you can’t find a trading partner locally, you can find one online using site like swapmamas.

If all else fails and you can’t sell or trade your old children’s clothes…don’t throw them out.  There are plenty of children in need of clothing and it would be a sin to just toss good clothes in the garbage.  Contact a local charity and donate them instead.  Many charities will pick them up right at your door and they’ll even give you a receipt so you can get a tax deduction too.

This is guest post by Kiley Theiring.  Kiley is a film student at Chapman University who also loves to write. She currently writes many freelance articles about saving money and living frugally in every aspect of life.

Even in such a harsh economic climate, it’s tempting to spoil your kids rotten. Giving your little ones everything they want may put a smile on their faces now, but later in life they won’t be prepared to give up their spending-happy lifestyle. It’s important to teach your kids how to be frugal, even at a very young age. They may not grasp it at first, but understanding will come with repetition and constant learning. Think about it – your kids won’t really need to use complex math until they are older, but you wouldn’t wait to teach them everything right when they need it. So why not do the same with finances?

It’s never too early to start teaching your kids. Even a child as young as two or three can benefit from a lesson in frugality. At that age, kids are much more likely to listen to you and absorb what you say, especially if you do not waver from what you teach them. If your children are constantly nagging you to buy them things, simply sit them down and explain why you can’t buy them things in terms that they can understand.

Patience is key. Ignoring your children’s nagging and constantly having to say no can be difficult, but if you are going to teach your kids about finances you must not fail to practice what you preach. If you constantly tell your kids no then crack under pressure, all your lessons will be wasted. All they will learn is that they can get what they want as long as they are persistent.

Teach your kids to use their own money wisely. If you give your kids an allowance or pay them for doing chores around the house, teach them to spend wisely. If there is a toy that is burning a hole in your child’s pocket, encourage them not to go out and spend it right away. Show them how they can find the same thing cheaper somewhere else or have them put half of it in a savings account of their own.

Show your kids how to use coupons. Since clipping coupons is quickly becoming an activity of the past, introduce them to online coupons when they are old enough to use the computer. Even if you aren’t too comfortable navigating the internet, your children are “digital natives,” so they will be more likely to use coupons to help themselves save if they can do it online instead of cutting them out of magazines and newspapers.

Don’t let your kids get in the habit of throwing things away that can be used again. Show your kids how to recycle and reuse. If your kids pick up these habits now, they will keep them for the rest of their lives. Practices like this can help them save money and can even help save the environment. No matter how you teach your kids to save, start now so they will be well on their way to financial success!

I’m sure you’ve seen the recent Toyota Highlander, Camry, and Corolla recalls plastered all over the evening news and newspapers, but not every consumer product recall gets that kind of media coverage.

Pretty much every day there is at least one product recalled due to safety or quality concerns.  Some of them could be in your home right now.

Fortunately there is the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site where you can find information on over 4,500 (and counting) product recalls.

You can search by date, product type, manufacturer, type of hazard, and more.  Plus you can sign up for product recall alerts so you can receive immediate notification whenever a new recall is announced.   You can subscribe to their RSS feeds or you can have new alerts delivered right to your inbox via email.

Since I have 3 young children I subscribed to the Children’s product recall list and I’m amazed at how many products are recalled.  I probably receive an average of 3 to 5 alerts each week, and some of those alerts contain more than one recall notice.   The most common recall reasons I see are toys that contain lead paint and shirts or jackets that have drawstrings which can strangle children if they are caught on something.

You can research various recalls and sign up to receive product recall alerts at CPSC.gov.

When you’re a parent of young children it seems like all you do is change diapers, make lunches, help with homework, and drive to soccer practice.   It can be tough to actually carve out a little time for yourself and your spouse.

But your relationship will suffer if you don’t make an effort to have some adult time with each.  This makes finding a reliable baby sitter a necessity.   But finding a baby sitter you can count on is easier said than done.  And the good ones don’t go cheap.

So do what we’ve done…find another couple with young kids and trade baby sitting services with them.  One night you drop your rugrats off at their house for a few hours so you can have a relaxing and peaceful dinner with your spouse.  Another night you look after their kids while they have a night out.

You can save money too by bartering baby sitting services with another couple instead of paying cash for a babysitter.   After all…you deserve a night out once in awhile don’t you?