FT Nanny Share or PT Nanny?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

My husband and I both have flexible jobs. He can set up his appointments to work around mine, but mine have to work around the client and are always sporadic. He also teleworks 100% of the time. I'd love to do a FT NS, but then we have to work around someone else's schedule who might work more than us (we only actually spend 25-30 hours a week working). So we'd potentially be paying for 45-50 hours a week while we are sitting at home hanging out. On the other hand, we can try harder to find a PT nanny who would hopefully have a flexible schedule as well, or at least solidify 20-30 hours of her time. I worry that the problem here is our Nanny selection would be narrower.

Does anyone have any insight or opinion? How much should we expect to spend on either option? We live in Alexandria City.

Thanks in advance!!

[Anonymous]

Of the two options, I would choose the full-time share. You might be able to find a 40-hour per week nanny share (we did). The other family needed a few hours extra per week than we did, so their portion was a bit higher than ours. We paid $10 per hour for our 40 hours per week, and they paid $10 per hour for their first 40 hours per week, then overtime for an extra 4 hours.

Using that example, the share would cost you $400 per week (40 hours x $10/hour) plus applicable employment taxes and any bonuses you decide to give.

A part-time nanny will cost you around $18/hour (or even up to $20/hour since it is only part-time). Using the $18/hour example, it will run you between $360 (for 20 hours) and $540 (for 30 hours).

If you need the 30 hours, the share for 40 hours will still be cheaper. Then you have up to 40 hours if you need them. I would caution you against thinking you can work while taking care of a baby, and remind you that you might want time to exercise, run errands, go to dr. appointments, etc. The 40-hour share would give you a really nice work-life balance if you can accept the fact that you are paying for more hours than you use most of the time.

On a side note, how do you and your DH get away with only working 25 hours per week each?! I am jealous. What line of work are you in?

[Anonymous]

Do you want up to 45 hours of availability but only plan to use 25-30?
Pay more then average and you should find someone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of the two options, I would choose the full-time share. You might be able to find a 40-hour per week nanny share (we did). The other family needed a few hours extra per week than we did, so their portion was a bit higher than ours. We paid $10 per hour for our 40 hours per week, and they paid $10 per hour for their first 40 hours per week, then overtime for an extra 4 hours.

Using that example, the share would cost you $400 per week (40 hours x $10/hour) plus applicable employment taxes and any bonuses you decide to give.

A part-time nanny will cost you around $18/hour (or even up to $20/hour since it is only part-time). Using the $18/hour example, it will run you between $360 (for 20 hours) and $540 (for 30 hours).

If you need the 30 hours, the share for 40 hours will still be cheaper. Then you have up to 40 hours if you need them. I would caution you against thinking you can work while taking care of a baby, and remind you that you might want time to exercise, run errands, go to dr. appointments, etc. The 40-hour share would give you a really nice work-life balance if you can accept the fact that you are paying for more hours than you use most of the time.

On a side note, how do you and your DH get away with only working 25 hours per week each?! I am jealous. What line of work are you in?

Based on my experience working from home with a very flexible schedule, this response reflects very well the reality. I was also in the same situation, deciding between a share of a part time nanny while relatives do some hours of child care here and there and I work some hours at night or during baby naps. Not a good idea. Even if you have a flexible schedule, it's really nice to have some predictability on your work hours vs family hours. It also helps to be able to run some errands if you have some additional child care. The cost is also pretty much the same or lower, depending on the nanny you get.