Forseeable Money Problems- What to do?

[SunshineMama]

Are you charging a holding fee of some sort for this sib family? Even if you aren't...you still can. I have often made arrangements with a family because I could and then my situation changed and I had to go back and basically say,
"Dear DCF;

I had no issues offering you the leave you wanted to take without a holding fee as I was financially able to do so. However, my situation has taken a drastic turn and I am unfortunately no longer able to be as flexible as I was and will now be requiring a holding fee for your space. If you do not wish to pay to hold your space, I will need to fill the spaces in order to maintain my own economic stability. Thanks for understanding.

Sincerely,

DCP"

The mom who pays late, I assume you are charging a late fee for her late payments? If not, you need to start. You can make a lot of extra money by collecting off of someone's else poor payment behavior. I increase the late fee for every time the payment is late. Why should their poor planning or payment behavior be your problem?

If she needs your services, she will find a way to be on time. If not, then she will pay the late fee and you will make a little extra cash. Honestly, right now she is paying late because YOU are letting her.

As far as planning, I would also subscribe to some thrifty newsletter/blogs as there are hundreds of them out there that can give you tips, tricks and ideas on how to save money. I would start here as this site has a list of the top 20 thrifty, frugal and penny pinching blog sites to give you some great ideas on how to save a penny or two: http://www.greenecoservices.com/frug...thrifty-blogs/

This is also a popular one:
http://penny-pinching.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the links!

I also have a fear that if I do ask them to pay to hold a spot- what will I do if they decide they dont want to and replace me? I know I will have 3 months to fill 2 other spots but that isn't always easy to find. Well, there are a ton of people who want me to watch their infants, which I could always do if I have to, but Ireally do not want to provide infant care with a newborn. I think it would be too hectic. I will have to think seriously about this. Of course, I will make whatever difficult decision that has to be made to protect my family, but I want to find every other option first.

I do like the idea of a yard sale as well. Back when things were good, I gave away an entire kitchen set (fridge, gas stove, microwave, dishwasher) for freee to friends and family. I wish I would have kept those! Sigh

[MarinaVanessa]

If you're $1,500 in the hole total for all of the months you'll just have to be a little more creative when it comes to savings.

Make a list of what you are going to buy at the store based on the store specials. Then look for coupons for those items. Pay close attention to the prices per oz. Buy store brand and generic for the time being if it's cheaper. Don't buy anything that isn'ton your list. Freeze what you can.

Use coupons. As obvious as it sounds there are LOTS of people that don't because it's time consuming.

Like others recommended, use cloth diapers. You'll need at least 12 and will have to wash them every day or two. I recommend Bum Genius pocket diapers because they are adjustable and will work from newborn to toddlers. I'd also get disposable liners, this will catch the #2 and make it easier for you to clean them and keep them looking nice. I used them with my son and spent a little under $150 for the diapers, disposable liners, extra cloth liners (for extra absorbancy) and 2 wet/dry bags and I made that money back within the first 2 months of using them ... easy.

Another way to save is to use household items as cleaners instead of commercially made cleaners. For example instead of buying glass cleaner use white vinegar, it works just as well and costs less. A 2 liter bottle of Windex from Wal-Mart in my area costs $4.98 which comes out to .13oz. and a 1 gallon bottle of the wal-mart brand of white vinegar is $2.50 which comes out to .02 an ounce.

I also use white vinegar instead of dishwasher rinsing/drying aid, floor cleaner, carpet spot remover and in combination with baking soda as a drain cleaner which is WAY less than buying the store stuff. Baking soda instead of Ajax, isopropyl alcohol as a disinfectant, cornstarch to polish furniture and borax and washing soda instead of dishwasher soap.

Instead of paper towels use washcloths/terry cloths and reuse them.

If you use a swiffer use terry cloths instead of buying the refills.

The positive thing about using these as cleaners is that you can advertise as a Eco-Healthy daycare since these are "green". Using less waste allows you to advertise as Eco-friendly.


As far as losing the kids for a few months, I agree with others and say that I wouldn't have saved the spot for that long. I would have required a holding fee or just advised them that they were taking their chances and not held it at all. I dislike taking on siblings (one of the reasons that I don't give sibling discounts) because you run the risk of losing much more of your income at once if the family goes on vacation or leaves. I prefer singletons but do take siblings as long as they keep their financial obligations (pay full tuition, give 2 week deposit and pay the first week of childcare for EACH child in full) and I wouldn't hold a spot for that many months. The most I do is 2 months. JMO of course.

And I wouldn't feel bad about letting a PT child go either to stay within ratio. Business is business, it's not personal. On that note you may just want to play with idea of finding a different family to take the place of the family that will be gone if they are planning on doing this every year. Either that or raise their rates. Food for thought

[SunshineMama]

Thanks for the cleaning advice! I am going to look into making my own cleaners and less paper towel use!

I am a super-couponer and am pretty good about getting really good deals on groceries. I also unplug everything when not in use, which saves almost a hundred dollars a month (try it sometime and see- its awesome)! This is why I am so scared about things to come: because I am very thrifty and money conscious already. I am not on cloth diapers though- I will have to look into that a little more.

I figured the amount of extra money that I need to get us by for those months is about $6,000.00. So as I see it, I have 4.5 months to save and get that amount. I'm going to sell some things around the house, advertise another part time spot, save extra now, and take a lot of the advice given on this thread.

I agree about not wanting to take sibs in the future, especially sibs who need 4 months a year off without paying. I had no idea how financially devastating it would be to my family. It was bad last winter when I had 2 other full time daycare kids and I didnt have to take time off to have a baby. I'm probably going to only get a week off from my oldest dcb for maternity leave before I have to be back to work.