WAH day care moms

[sosurreal09]

im looking to start a family daycare in MA i have a class about it on the 13th and im wondering what people charge per day and how long the day is? also do you include meals? if you include meals/snacks do you charge more? i was planning on making organic healthy meals for all the kids...

roughly how much do you make a month? do you have to pay any fees to the state or anything? how do you do taxes for the year?

TY ladies just trying to find a solution to my unemployment and my lack of daycare to get a different job. i have a 9 m/o DD and would really love to SAH with her so i figure this will be a good solution for us.

[westcoastlady]

First I would check out liscencing regulations. Where I live you can watch up to four children (including your own) without being liscenced. You can have 2 children under 2 and two pre-schoolers. Any more than that and you need to become liscenced. I only watch one other baby (14 mos) so I don't need to be liscenced.

Where I live the going rate for a child under two is $45 per day. And that generally includes food. But I think that really varies according to your area... I am in a high cost of living location. What I would do is call around to other dayhomes/daycares and find out what they charge (you don't have to tell them that you are planning on opening up your own )

I really enjoy watching the little girl that I babysit... but I am glad that I only watch one. I have done some research about opening up a larger dayhome but decided it wasn't for me. With only two children I can still get lots done during the day (i.e. groceries, laundry, dishes) and I can fit them both in my car/double stroller so we can go out all the time.

It's a great way to make extra money while at home but not always an easy one... some days/moments are challenging and I do really enjoy the weekends when I only have DS and I get to spend some alone time with him.

Hope this helps.

[Goddess's mom]

[ how do you do taxes for the year?

Thus far I haven't made enough to really pay taxes. Keep your reciepts! In Manitoba I can write off a portion of my utilities, based on how much of my house gets used for daycare and how much is private, any toys bought specifically for daycare, field trips, food.....anything that is a daycare expense. If you think your expenses will not be enough then arrange to put a little aside monthly so it doesn't hurt as much at tax time, you may be able to pay this directly to the government and then get it back at the end if you have paid too much.


What I have found best for pay is to figure out how many days in the year the child will be with you. (What I did was: 52 weeks/year with 4 weeks off=48 weeks= 240 working days - 10 days for Statutory holidays and sick day for appointments for me or my daughter = 230 days @ whatever you are charging ($50/day I think you said in another thread) so...$10500/year. I then divided that number by 26 to get $403.84 every two weeks. Doing it this way means that they can budget, you can budget, you get paid even when you are on vacation. They pay slightly less every two weeks than the straight $50/day or $500 every two weeks but it means that you are never without an income. I have done it both ways. I love the way it works pro-rating it over the year. The parents seem satisfied as well.

I hope that made sense!

[aunt2jmss]

Originally Posted by anielasmommy09

im wondering what people charge per day and how long the day is? also do you include meals? if you include meals/snacks do you charge more? i was planning on making organic healthy meals for all the kids...

I have a daycare in California. I charge $40 per day if they are full-time 5 days per week. I charge more per day if they are part-time. What you charge depends on where you live. I know providers who charge more than I do and those who charge significantly less than I do, depending on where in the country they live.

I would call the Resource and Referral program in your area to get an idea how much people in your area charge.

Currently, my day starts around 8:30 AM and the last child is picked up between 5:30 - 6:00 PM. For me, that varies according to the families I provide care for. I don't have official open / close times. I contract with each family separately. I won't work past 6:00 PM or open earlier than 7:00 AM, but that is just my own personal decision.

I do include meals. I don't charge more for meals. My meals are not organic, but I try to make them as healthy as possible. I belong to the USDA Food Program so I get reimbursed monthly for the meals I serve.

Originally Posted by anielasmommy09

roughly how much do you make a month? do you have to pay any fees to the state or anything? how do you do taxes for the year?

I can have 6 kids here at one time by myself. I am actually licensed for up to 14 kids if I have a helper. How much I make obviously depends on how many kids I have and if they are full or part-time. Right now I have 6 kids registered, but not all are full-time.

I pay a yearly licensing fee to the state as well as fees to my city for a business license and fire permits.

I now do my own taxes, although in the past I've paid a CPA to do them. I agree with the PP - save every receipt!! You can deduct a portion of everything from the rent on your home to your cable bill. Redleaf Press has some great resources for home childcare providers.