Daycare Rates

[judytrickett]

The short answer - NO!

Never, EVER assume someone does not have the ability to pay you what you are worth.

Money is about priorities and NOT about money.

The same people who claim can not "afford" daycare would somehow manage to come up with $500 TOMORROW if their car or their refrigerator broke.

[originalkat]

I am pretty firm on my rates. The only two times I have gone down in rates was:
1. A current family needed to go down to 3 days per week (which I dont do). So I gave them the lowest rate I can afford to give per week which was $100 per week.
2. One time I was really needing a family and was not getting any bites. One mom called twice and the second time she called she asked if I could go down to $100 per week (a $25 per week discount). I went ahead and did it. I am so glad I did. I LOVE this little girl and her mom always donates stuff for parties and special stuff.

Both decisions have worked out.

[Abigail]

I am pretty firm on my rates. The only two times I have gone down in rates was:
1. A current family needed to go down to 3 days per week (which I dont do). So I gave them the lowest rate I can afford to give per week which was $100 per week.
2. One time I was really needing a family and was not getting any bites. One mom called twice and the second time she called she asked if I could go down to $100 per week (a $25 per week discount). I went ahead and did it. I am so glad I did. I LOVE this little girl and her mom always donates stuff for parties and special stuff.

Both decisions have worked out.

That is awesome it worked out. Did each family only have one child?

[Abigail]

I know what the minimum $100, average $125, and maximum $160 weekly FCCH rates are here, so my plan is to charge $130 weekly rate and keep it the same straight across the board. This seems really expensive in the end actually because almost everybody here gives a $10-$20 discount according to age, but I will not discount the rate....why take any pay cut when I'm limited so if they're preschoolers the cheapest rates are only $85/week! If I don't get any takers, I am willing to go down some, but I would take off $10 and see if they'd accept or wait for the next. Then start back up higher again for the next client. After I get going, it shouldn't be a problem.

I hope my plan works out!

[alyssyn]

No breaks here.

[originalkat]

That is awesome it worked out. Did each family only have one child?

------Yes------

[MyAngels]

Mine are. I have a "friends and family" rate, which is slightly lower than my general rates, but I do that because I want to encourage those families to attend my daycare. It's always given with the strict admonition that this is not something to be shared with other daycare families, and it's always been something that I offer, not something that the families have asked for.

In 18 years I've never had a problem with it, and those that I give my lower rate to are always the best families at any given time, so it works, for me anyway.