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Dueling Daycares

August 17, 2022 The next few weeks are shaping up to be an eventful few for our family. We just finished up back-to-school shopping for our daughter, who is starting kindergarten this year. She is super excited to be a “big kid” in kindergarten after being in 4-K last year. She is also starting at a new daycare for before and after care, one that offers transportation between her school and the daycare center. And because Robin and I really like the daycare that our kids are currently at, we are keeping our younger son enrolled there when our daughter transfers. So begins our foray into the dreaded dual daycare scenario.Initially I was opposed to the idea of dual daycare providers and the different complexities it adds (slightly different policies and procedures, more complicated drop off and pickup routines, and having to pay two separate places instead of one). But upon weighing our options, and the school districts associated, felt that getting our daughter into school with what will likely be her cohort through high school now would be ideal. And since we’ve had such a great experience with our current daycare provider that keeping our son there for another couple years until he is ready for 4-K or kindergarten seemed to make the most sense.We have been planning to make this switch for a while now, and outside of the time commitments for the additional stop for drop off and pick up and having to write two separate daycare checks instead of one, the only other impactful item to our budget will be losing a 5% discount at our current center for having multiple children enrolled. But as luck would have it these changes also coincide with a few milestones which should reduce our overall childcare bill. Now that our daughter will be in school for full days her rate will be at the “before and after care” rate, which is lower than the “full time” rate that she was previously at. In addition, our son will have his second birthday next month, which corresponds to a reduction in his current rate that are based on age ranges.So, while we are gearing up for what will inevitably be an eventful next few weeks and getting into our new routines, we are looking forward to realizing some savings in our childcare expenses and exploring where we could make the best use of those funds. You might also be interested in As the year comes to a close, so does Season 14 of Project Money. In preparation for writing our final blog post we reflected over what has occurred over... In the last week we had to take Robin’s car, a 2019 VW Atlas, in for a couple of recall notices we had received. Nothing completely out of the ordinary... One of the topics we had mentioned in our posts from earlier this year was an employee stock purchase plan offered by Robin’s employer. We have never participated... Being part of Project Money has pushed our family to take a more active role in managing our finances, necessitating weekly conversations that have spurred... With Thanksgiving behind us, the countdown to Christmas has “officially” begin. This year, as part of our Project Money journey, we have been planning... I had been putting this off for a few weeks/months now, optimistic that Fall might stretch on a little bit longer – but this past week’s winter weather... Over the last few weeks, we have been working to refocus, and get back to some of the basics as we start to head into the end of year holiday season... Over the past few weeks and months, I had seen several news reports about I Bonds, usually with a corresponding endorsement of their attractiveness as... We have reached the point of the year where we have one foot firmly planted into heating season and thought we would reflect on what energy saving tips...