Hiring a babysitter is not cheap, especially here in the Washington, DC area. Fortunately, Dana at Frugal in Virginia has some great tips to make date night less of a budget-buster. Enjoy her guest post.

My husband and I are fortunate to have our parents living nearby. Thankfully, they are always willing to babysit for us. But I know that most families don’t have that luxury.

Babysitter rates can turn a moderately priced date into a budget-blower. I just looked up average sitter rates in my area, and even a short dinner date would cost over $30—not counting the meal. We certainly couldn’t afford that. And yet, I believe time alone with just you and your spouse is crucial. So what’s a frugal family to do?

Here’s how you can afford a sitter you’ll feel comfortable watching your kids.

1. Start a Babysitting Swap. Gather up some trusted friends with children, whether from a mom’s club, church, or your neighborhood. (You aren’t alone in your plight for inexpensive but reliable babysitting, so this shouldn’t be a hard task.) Then organize an hour-for-hour swap with these other parents.

There are a variety of ways you can organize this. You can use a point system (one hour = 1 point). Visuals cue like popsicle sticks work well in a point system. Your group might start with 10 popsicle sticks each, a stick representing a sitting hour. One stick exchanged for one sitting hour. The babysitting is rotated, so just because you watch someone’s children one week, does not mean that’s necessarily who will watch your children the next. (Although that could be the case!).

To start, gather your friends for a planning meeting, and begin drawing up swap guidelines. Figure out what works the best for your group. Then meet occasionally as the swap progresses in order to tweak the whole process.

This will provide you and your friends with free babysitting with people you trust.

Bonus: Your children get to spend time with your friends’ kids too.

Free babysitting + fun play date = good times for all.

2. Split Babysitter Costs. Plan a date night the same evening as another couple with children. You don’t need to double date, just plan to be out for the same time period.

Then hire one babysitter to watch all your kids, and split the cost at the end of the evening. (This works better for smaller families, of course.) Instead of paying for two sitters, you’ll just be paying one a little more. For example, I used the sitter rate calculator, and found that it recommended paying a sitter $11 for one kid and $13 for two kids. So instead of each couple paying over $40 for a four hour date, each couple can instead pay just over $25. (These figures are, of course, just estimates from the rate calculator. Sitter rates vary depending upon location, sitter experience, children being care for, etc.)

3. YMCAs and Local Churches. Be on the lookout for local YMCAs and churches having “Parents Night Out” events. I’ve heard of several churches and YMCAs hosting these evenings. You’re likely to find one in your area.

These ministries and organizations will watch your kids for little to no cost while you go out for an evening as a service to parents in the community. Nice, right? And typically, they have lots of fun activities planned for the kiddos while you’re out.

As always, make sure you get the scoop on the sitters for these events, just like any other babysitter.

Do you have any other suggestions for saving money on babysitting costs? Please share by leaving a comment!

Hiring a babysitter is not cheap, especially here in the Washington, DC area. Fortunately, Dana at Frugal in Virginia has some great tips to make date night less of a budget-buster. Enjoy her guest post.

My husband and I are fortunate to have our parents living nearby. Thankfully, they are always willing to babysit for us. But I know that most families don’t have that luxury.

Babysitter rates can turn a moderately priced date into a budget-blower. I just looked up average sitter rates in my area, and even a short dinner date would cost over $30—not counting the meal. We certainly couldn’t afford that. And yet, I believe time alone with just you and your spouse is crucial. So what’s a frugal family to do?

Here’s how you can afford a sitter you’ll feel comfortable watching your kids.

1. Start a Babysitting Swap. Gather up some trusted friends with children, whether from a mom’s club, church, or your neighborhood. (You aren’t alone in your plight for inexpensive but reliable babysitting, so this shouldn’t be a hard task.) Then organize an hour-for-hour swap with these other parents.

There are a variety of ways you can organize this. You can use a point system (one hour = 1 point). Visuals cue like popsicle sticks work well in a point system. Your group might start with 10 popsicle sticks each, a stick representing a sitting hour. One stick exchanged for one sitting hour. The babysitting is rotated, so just because you watch someone’s children one week, does not mean that’s necessarily who will watch your children the next. (Although that could be the case!).

To start, gather your friends for a planning meeting, and begin drawing up swap guidelines. Figure out what works the best for your group. Then meet occasionally as the swap progresses in order to tweak the whole process.

This will provide you and your friends with free babysitting with people you trust.

Bonus: Your children get to spend time with your friends’ kids too.

Free babysitting + fun play date = good times for all.

2. Split Babysitter Costs. Plan a date night the same evening as another couple with children. You don’t need to double date, just plan to be out for the same time period.

Then hire one babysitter to watch all your kids, and split the cost at the end of the evening. (This works better for smaller families, of course.) Instead of paying for two sitters, you’ll just be paying one a little more. For example, I used the sitter rate calculator, and found that it recommended paying a sitter $11 for one kid and $13 for two kids. So instead of each couple paying over $40 for a four hour date, each couple can instead pay just over $25. (These figures are, of course, just estimates from the rate calculator. Sitter rates vary depending upon location, sitter experience, children being care for, etc.)

3. YMCAs and Local Churches. Be on the lookout for local YMCAs and churches having “Parents Night Out” events. I’ve heard of several churches and YMCAs hosting these evenings. You’re likely to find one in your area.

These ministries and organizations will watch your kids for little to no cost while you go out for an evening as a service to parents in the community. Nice, right? And typically, they have lots of fun activities planned for the kiddos while you’re out.

As always, make sure you get the scoop on the sitters for these events, just like any other babysitter.

Do you have any other suggestions for saving money on babysitting costs? Please share by leaving a comment!