Comments on: Trimming the Average Budget: Household Operations

By: jgonzales

jgonzales — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:12:13 +0000

I don’t have a babysitting co-op, but a friend of mine runs a daycare out of her home and on the first Friday of the month she & her husband will do a “date night daycare”. It’s substantially cheaper than your average babysitter and a chance for parents to get out. What we do is plan a night with our friends with the intention of meeting there when we drop off our kids.

You can also trade services that may not be exactly the same. I do housekeeping for my mom in trade for my & my husband’s portion of the cell phone bill. She does babysitting when my husband & I have evening meetings and I cat sit for her when she’s out of town. It helps save money on both sides.

By: J

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:59:57 +0000

We used to ask our neighbors to watch our cat while we were on vacation … but they have no cat of their own, so there was no opportunity for reciprocal help and now we hire a cat sitter to come by. It felt a lot like we were taking advantage of them, even though they said that it was no trouble.

By: Java Monster

Java Monster — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:17:41 +0000

I was the informal co-op for one of my neighbors for a while for her son. I didn’t mind at the beginning, but she took advantage. She said she *felt* badly about it, since my son didn’t like going over to her house, but after a while, I had to say no thanks. I also wouldn’t babysit for free when she asked me later on–I pointed out to her she used to get paid for what she was asking me to do for free.

My daughter used to go to a co-op preschool in our area. One of the women tried ousting the teacher, and turned out she also stole several thousand dollars from the treasury. She wasn’t arrested or anything because the new president of the co-op wouldn’t press charges. Many of us left after that.

I’m not down on co-ops; another neighbor and I do trade off watching our kids. We’re just very careful not to overstep the bounds and take advantage.

By: DivaJean

DivaJean — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:17:11 +0000

I can’t imagine that my household spends anything in this category unless you are counting the occasional plumbing or electrical that is beyond our own capabilities (maybe one or two calls/year–certainly no more than $200-$300 at most).

We have what is basically an informal co-op of babysitting; my hubby does some before and afterschool care as needed- our kids get some respite time with those parents when we could use it.

By: Susanna a.k.a. Cheap Like Me

Susanna a.k.a. Cheap Like Me — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:35:08 +0000

We go the other direction by always saving money by doing things ourselves. I am debating hiring someone to rebuild our back door (long story, but a new door would cost $1200+ unknown damage to the crazy 1950s cement bunker we live in!) with insulated panels and an insulated dog door. My husband wants to do it himself, but I keep saying, “Is that how you WANT to spend your free time if we can pay someone a few hundred dollars to fix it?”

On the cleaning front, we have started setting a timer for 15 minutes in the evening and having everyone pitch in and pick up. Our small home can easily look cluttered, but after a night or so, the clutter can be put away and basic tasks (emptying the dishwasher, etc.) completed in just a few minutes. Then we turn to cleaning. In 15 minutes last night (while I was out!) my daughter picked up her room and emptied her backpack, and my husband quick-mopped the kitchen floor and vacuumed the whole downstairs and the steps. The more we pitch in together, the more the house is done in no time and our weekends are free (with no housekeeping cost).

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:33:34 +0000

Every situation is different. I have fibromyalgia and have some sinus issues that are bothering me as well, but I can’t see hiring a housekeeper. I have just had to lower my standards. Today I will vacuum the living room floor where there are pistachio hulls from Sunday’s football game! However my sister is single, works full time and has a special needs child, and she has a housekeeper. For her, this is the right thing to do. It gives her more time to spend with her daughter, who needs more of a parents time, and a little time for herself just to unwind, watch a movie, read a magazine. i think that a housekeeper is a need for her.

By: Steffie

Steffie — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:31:34 +0000

About those ‘butt-ugly’ yards, my neighbor’s yard started to look a bit overgrown and abandoned. Turns out he was getting too old to do so much physical work anymore. He was 80 at the time. I would talk with him while I was doing my yard work and offered to cut the ‘higher’ branches, pick up the ‘heavier’ stuff etc and it didn’t seem like I was taking over but helping instead. Plus I got some good info about gardens etc. It could be that they want to keep up but can’t. I also got my children involved, taught them to do for others with no monetary award, just a thank you. If there is a neighborhood group maybe they can help or some communities have services to assist the elderly with their yards. I know that this is not really a money saving tip per se but keeping up the other homes/yards in your neighborhood ultimately keeps up property values etc.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:44:23 +0000

I’ll be honest. Now that it’s gone, I kind of miss the shelter costs typo. Now I don’t know WHAT to believe in. :(

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:04:21 +0000

I get the house cleaned every other week. I grew up helping my mom clean houses, so when I clean, I _CLEAN_. But during the pregnancy the smells made me sick, and once the baby was born I could never get enough time to even scrub the bathrooms. And no, using Scrubbing Bubbles does not clean bathrooms to my standard. My husband attempted to take over cleaning duties, but it didn’t help. This way I can be a more sane SAHM and have more time for HW and studying for my classes.
As for the babysitting co-op, that requires for ppl to be out going, the shy or awkward will not fare as well.
I did give up on the idea of getting a lawn service to keep up the back yard. My husband does an awful job at it -think untrimmed bushes and mulching that has disappeared,very tall grass and weeds all over the lawn, but he likes to do it. On days that he feels like doing it, maybe 1 a month, he will stay out there pulling weeds for HOURS.

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:11:15 +0000

I love the ‘babysitting co-op’ deal. We’ll look into that. Good post!

By: David/Yourfinances101

David/Yourfinances101 — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:43:54 +0000

If I can save enough money for myself by doing something myself, and I have the time to do it, then I usually do it.

The issue is defining what is “enough” money.

For me, if I can save over $15 for each hour I must devote to whatever it is, then I do it.

Of course, it is also providing that I have the time to do it.

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:31:11 +0000

I don’t have kids, but for those who do, the babysitting co-op or babysitting exchange seems like a great idea — especially if your kids are friends with the other kids (so it’s fun for them, too).

By: Bill in Houston

Bill in Houston — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:02:11 +0000

We have no lawn (the previous owner put in decorative gravel). We do any landscaping ourselves because my wife truly loves it. I’ll rake leaves and get on the roof to clean the skylights.

The bug inspector checks for termites once a year. Gotta be done in tropical Houston.

We do all the house cleaning (tile floors) and laundry, and our only cleaning expense is dry cleaning (incredibly cost effective for me), which costs $15 a week for my wife and me.

Our total household operations expenses, including soaps and polishes and dry cleaning and pest control/inspection is about $825 a year. Not awful.

Hiring a kid to cut the lawn? Even our small property would be $25 a week. A maid? $50 a week. That’s nearly $4000 a year.

No kids yet, but all the neighbors offer, and my folks are in town. We hope to keep that stuff down, too.

By: frugalscholar

frugalscholar — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:57:00 +0000

We informally swapped babysitting with another family. Since babysitters cost $10 an hour, you are earning a nice pretax hourly wage–for playing with your kids. What could be more fun?

Ditto for housecleaners–mot services charge $35 for an hour or so. Another nice pretax hourly wage…

By: Sherry

Sherry — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:12:09 +0000

I wanted to pass along a change I made in the past which has ultimately saved money. With a very hectic work schedule (RN/oncall many nights of the week), I had a gal come & clean my house every other week. This was my gift to myself!! But about a year ago, her school schedule changed & I was trying cut back on expenses. So..no more cleaning lady!! Have I saved money, absolutely, but has my sanity been preserved & has my house been cleaned regularly…NO! My husband has stepped up & helped with the cleaning but for the most part, it falls on me. One thing I did to help “streamline” the whole cleaning process was to get organized & de-clutter. That has been a MAJOR payoff!! My home was in good shape before, but now it is great! Overall, it was/is the right decision, but do I miss walking into a clean home & knowing I don’t have to do it myself-ABSOLUTELY!! In this economy, we all need to save where & when we can, but I also believe our time has a value to it. We are all stressed as it is….be kind to yourself as you cut back….

By: Tyler @ Dividendmoney

Tyler @ Dividendmoney — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:27:49 +0000

@Chcha1 – That’s a great idea! I despise yard work and would gladly offer up some of the space for a garden to anyone who would look after the yard.

By: chacha1

chacha1 — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:13:07 +0000

Shannon, don’t you mean “with this series”?

For heaven’s sake, it’s not a grammar blog.

My fave tip here: cut back and see if it makes a difference. A tip I’d like to suggest: if you need a yard service, ask around among your friends who don’t have yards to see if someone wants to adopt yours. (I would love to get my hands on some of the butt-ugly yards in our neighborhood.) Maybe offer part of your backyard for garden space in exchange for cutting the grass in front, etc.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:02:44 +0000

No more shelter costs :(

Trent, at least acknowledge the numerous typos you’ve made with series.