Nannies: Quick question regarding kitty money

[BornToShopForcedToWork]

I started my new job in January and it is all great. My boss is very generous with kitty money, she would leave me 25-30£ a week for activities with the LO and for me to have lunch&coffee when we are out and about. I usually go every day out with the little one to have a coffee (When I am at the cafe to feed the LOL). I have never paid for my coffee&lunch from the kitty and MB asked me why I never spend money? She said I can pay lunch etc. from the kitty as well, but I feel slightly uncomfortable about it.

Nannies, what do you do when going out with your LO? What do you pay out from the kitty/what do you pay for yourself? Maybe I should add that I am a live-in nanny, if that makes a difference.

I think you are very lucky! I've had to almost fight to get kitty money from one job in the past- literally list everything I planned to do and spend! At the moment I have to account for everything I spend, I feel uncomfortable spending too much. I've never, ever taken a charge for a coffee or anything like that, I only feed them in a cafe if there is no other choice. Far cheaper to take a packed lunch! If I did need to feed them in a cafe I do pay for my own stuff from the kitty. If I'm at soft play and need to buy a drink for myself I buy my own though. When at home I have a meal from stuff in the fridge and occasionally buy something mainly for me- a pack of ham or something I intend to eat myself rather than add to the household stuff, and pay from the kitty. But usually if I want something special at home, something they don't already have, I pay myself. I'm live-out but it was the same when I did live-in.

I drink a lot of tea and coffee so I normally buy my own when out and about.
If my MB wants me to take the kids out for the day and have lunch out then I pay for mine out of the kitty money when I pay for the kids. If I'm out because its my choice to be out (ie, starving and can't be bothered to wait 20 minutes for a bus home or we've been invited to have lunch at play area with friends etc) and not requested by MB then kids food comes out of kitty (normally just a sandwich as we take lots of food with us when out) and I pay for my own.

anything i eat or drink during working hours comes out from the kitty if out

obv i dont have cavier or smoked salmon lol but the usual sandwich/pasta/jackets etc

Thanks for the replies. Yes, same here. Its wlso not everyday that I go out and have lunch, its mainly a coffee/tea.

As a mum, I would expect the kitty money to be used for our nanny to pay for her lunch, and lunch for DS, if she is out over lunchtime. No problem at all with that. But I wouldn't expect them to be eating lunch out every day. Maybe once or twice a week, max. In our situation, that is because DS goes to pre-school in the monrings, and so they are likely to come home after pre-school for lunch, and then go out. But I would 100% expect a nanny's lunch out to be paid for by the employer, live in or live out.

Thanks Happy. I am not going out a lot. But I take my little one a lot to Heaven in Nutfield and the journey takes me about an hour as I don't drive so I stay usually there for a few hours and you can't take your own food there.

Another mum here...3 ds under 5 and live out nanny
I leave £50 kitty per week and waitrose voucher.... I expect my nanny to either eat with the kids at home or if out to buy a "light" lunch... She also gets drinks etc and on my weekly shop I make sure the drinks she likes are in. Friends who employ nannies do similar. Nanny doesn't take the mickey, she is sensible and leaves all the receipts. Sometimes she crosses something off the receipt if she decided to pay for it herself I.e if a bit more expensive.

everything i ate or drank while nannying came from the kitty too.

saying that i took picnics for us all when possible (ie when somewhere that allowed picnics) and where-ever we went i took a bottle of water / snack for each of us, so didnt need to buy many single drinks or snacks.

If the children had an ice cream, then so did i. Often did picnic from home followed by an ice-cream for pudding

TBH we normally took a picnic, but on the odd occasion we didnt the kitty paid for my lunch. (just something simple, perhaps a jacket potatoe, not a 3 course banquet!)