Top tips for cutting child care costs

Working families spend around 7% of their annual income on child care. Of course, child care is one place where you want to be careful about cutting corners.  There are however, some safe and painless ways to reduce the cost of ensuring your little one is cared for when you are away.

How much does childcare cost?

• According to Runzheimer International, Full-time day care for a 2 year old averages $611 a month.
• Larger cities like New York and Boston are more costly, with average costs of around $1,000 a month.
  
• Smaller cities in less expensive areas, like San Antonio, Texas, and Jackson, Mississippi, have lower average costs,in the $350-$400 range per month.

 Saving on Day Care

• Claim your tax breaks!- the Federal Child and Dependent Care Credit can help subtract these expenses.Some states have additional deductions or credits.Contact the IRS for more information. Visit the IRS Top Ten Facts about the Child and Dependent Care Credit.  You can also calculate your potential tax credit online.
• Trade-off child care duties with another family- Find a family friend that is having similar trouble, and offer to swap child-care duties to ensure everybody's needs are met, without making a dent in your bank account. This is commonly referred to as "share-caring"- Or sharing child care with one or more friends that have similar child care needs. Check out e-hows guide on How to Save money by Sharing Child Care
• Ask the day-care provider about a multi-child discount- They often have "initial" rates for the first child, and a reduced price for each additional child.
• Talk to your extended family- They may just love your kids as much as you do. Even if they can only help out one or two days a week, that does help with costs.

• Check out the local school district- A growing number of school districts have "Pre-K" programs for children that should be entering kindergarten next year. The program usually lasts about a half day.These are usually very affordable, if not free.
• Rethink your work schedule- If possible, try and get a schedule where one parent is at work, while the other is at home, eliminating the need for outside childcare. For example, you could work weekends while your partner works weekdays. If you have school-age children, you could try to get most hours in while the children are at school, so only 1-2 hours of childcare per day would be necessary.

 With your Employer

• Have your employer foot the bill- Many large corporations and other employers have programs where they pay for a fraction of childcare costs. Look into this at your company, and if its available, take advantage of it!
• See what ties your company has- Sometimes companies have alliances and partnerships with certain Daycare and child care centers. If not, they may be able to work out a deal with a more local provider for you. It never hurts to ask.
• Ask your employer about a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account- This allows you to set up to $5,000 aside in pre-tax dollars, and will help you out come tax time.
• Get flexible- Try working more flexible hours, job sharing, or telecommuting. Telecommuting is a growing trend because much work is done on a computer anyway. Employers love this idea because they spend a large amount of money on helping employees out with childcare as it is.

Shopping Around Safely

It can be difficult to figure out which day care providers have good reputations.  Here's three great sources for vetting out potential providers, as well as a list of accrediting and other national associations for child care providers.

Resources

• The Medem Network offers a good list of things to consider when selecting day care. Includes: location, hours, licensing/accreditation, visitation policies, caregiver experience and training, staffing, costs and services.
• BabyCenter has suggestions that include talking to other parents about their experience with local day care centers.
• The Better Business Bureau has guidance on child care

Accreditations / Associations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
• National Accreditation Commission
• National Early Childhood Program Accreditation
• National After School Association
• National Association for Family Child Care
• Council for Professional Recognition