Many parents start saving for their child’s college fund during the first few years of their child’s life. But, according to new research by the State Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) Network, saving for child care should be a parent’s main concern. One year of child care is reportedly more expensive than college tuition in more than half the country. If parents spend an average of 18 years saving for college, when should they start saving for child care?

The research shows that in 36 states, the cost of one year of center-based child care for an infant is higher than one year of tuition and related fees at a public four-year college. The least affordable states for child care include Massachusetts, New York, Hawaii, Colorado, Minnesota, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, Montana, Wisconsin, Vermont, Maine, and Pennsylvania.

The ridiculously high cost of child care has many parents thinking in terms of overall cost instead of overall quality.  But, parents shouldn’t have to choose between quality and price.  One area where au pair child care really shines is affordability and quality.  AuPairCare child care offers family high quality child care, with a low caregiver-to-child ratio, while also being more affordable than many center options.

And, since saving for college isn’t going to go away, every little bit helps!

 ‘In this economy…’ is a phrase we’ve all heard one too many times in the last couple of years, but for better or worse being mindful of spending and saving money has become our new reality. While we don’t want to become miserly, I do think it is important to go over some penny saving tips with your Au Pair when she arrives, both to help out your wallet and hers. If you are uncomfortable making the discussion seem only about money, you can just as easily make the talk about helping the environment, about setting a good example to the children (being both financially and environmentally conscious), as well as explaining the importance of just being a ‘Good Roommate’.

Some of the points below I have discussed in previous blogs (“Is your Au Pair and Energy Star” and “After Travail comes Travel”), but I felt it would also be useful to collate these points and more  in view of the topic that has been, and still is, in the forefront of Americans minds. Please feel free to take, reject or add to any of the following:

• Providing Room and Board is a prerequisite of the Program, but outside of this, think about where you draw the line and expect your Au Pair to provide for herself. In the interest of avoiding future resentments, discuss this with her: For example; who will foot the bill if your Au Pair has a penchance for lobster or expensive chocolates?! Are you okay with her helping herself to other things around the house, such as  toiletries? Medicines? Stamps? wrapping paper, batteries etc, etc…?
• Remind your Au Pair to turn off lights and electronics when not in use
•  Keep water consumption low, eg full loads of laundry, shorter showers, turn off taps.
•  If driving, combine multiple trips in car where possible
• Be mindful when driving to avoid car accidents and parking/speeding tickets
• Offer advice on free or cheap parking places when out and about with kids or free time
• Share family responsibility for monitoring whether food should be eaten before it goes off (eg looking at use by dates) or thrown out
• Where possible pack lunches and drinks when taking kids out for a trip or going out with friends 
• Consider free or cheap local things to do with the kids and in free time eg library & associated events, walks/bike rides, museum free days, local festivals etc
• When it comes to exchanging presents at birthdays and Holidays, it doesn’t have to get expensive. Thoughtful is better anyway. Perhaps think of something uniquely American, or to your area? have the kids make her something?, or perhaps you like to knit, paint, take pictures? Also, consider something small or lightweight so she doesn’t have to hawl that heavy paperweight back in her luggage at the end of the year. Reassure your Au Pair that neither you nor the children expect pricey gifts from her, and that you recognize she does not have much money.
• If your Au Pair will have a cell phone, make sure she understands the plan she is on so there are no heinous phone bills for you or her to pick up!
• Encourage/set up skype for international calls
• Educate your Au Pair about which shops in your neighborhood or online stores she would be best off shopping at for certain things eg Dollar Store, Target, kayak.com (for flight comparison shopping) etc 
• Consider giving your Au Pair an AP entertainment book and any other coupons you might have for use in her time off
• Have your Au Pair get a library card

Seldom discussed, always present, money is an interesting cultural issue in the au pair-host family relationship. I can think of a dozen directions to go here, but think I will skim the surface and invite others to comment and blog on their own experiences. For example, my Polish au pair told us that he was brought up to consider anything besides brick construction flimsy. So the wood-frame houses in our neighborhood looked cheap to him. Perhaps our family was not wealthy. Yet because we are in the San Francisco Bay Area, any house in our community sells for an astronomical price. From that standard, we were rich beyond his wildest dreams. And we had three computers in the house. Rich! But what is this? We buy all the kids' clothes at a second-hand shop? This did not compute.

It is often difficult for au pairs to fathom the way money is used here in the U.S. compared to their home country. They see what appears to them to be conflicting evidence. We didn't discuss this much, and maybe we should have. I believe it was difficult for my au pairs (from Poland and Brazil) to understand why we didn't have meat on the table more often. In truth, this results from our belief that it is less healthy than other choices, the fact that it is expensive, and that I have never learned how to cook a variety of cuts. Hamburger, I can handle.

These perceptions can affect you. Your au pair might ask for something that is unreasonable. Say no, and try not to be offended. They are working from a very sketchy database of what is normal for the U.S., for your neighborhood, for your family. What's needed is some cultural perspective, not Finances 101. So I sprung for the amusement park tickets...but I packed them a lunch cooler!