Is this ok for a nanny kitty?

[sparklygiraffe]

I was thinking £5 a day. We have a 3 year old and a 1 year old, it's 3 full days a week and my 3 year old goes to preschool each afternoon. Park, library, playgroup, swimming pool all within easy walking distance but would be bus journey to museum or soft play.

Too much? Too stingy?

It should be ok however, perhaps an Oyster card (if in london) to pAy for the bus.

As long as the bus isn't too pricey it'd be okay. Down here a three stop bus trip would be £2.10, or all day pass is £4.10, so it probably wouldn't be enough if there was a trip that required payment.

I'd say maybe an extra fiver a week as soft play will likely cost more to get there and go with two children than £5 would cover (I'm assuming?!) along with other activities that are paid. Also, if the weather is horrendous it would be a relief to know that Nanny and kids aren't pushing through in the pouring rain and can just jump on a bus if need be. I used to do a pick up that was three bus stops from the house, a fifteen minute walk which would be fine usually, but on a Friday evening when they had all of their bags to bring home from school and they were tired, if it was [more than a light drizzle] raining we'd just jump on a bus, it made the afternoon go much more smoothly!

Check your local buses too. Down here I can get an app on my mobile that I can buy bus tickets on, which makes them cheaper. They can also be bought online and there are varying deals (1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 28 days and 90 days).

And here's me thinking you were getting your nanny a kitten! Clearly I am a sleep deprived idiot but you would have been the best employer!

In my jobs I have a pot which is refilled once it runs low. In one of my jobs I do have to write down expenses. Maybe budget for £20 per week & see how it goes. For me, working term time I would normally spend no more then £5-£10 but school holidays this could easily double/triple.

booboo My boss keeps trying to give me a kitten or two, she'd be the best employer ever if my landlady allowed me to take them home!

Well, personally I thought the OP was going to use a cat as her nanny, much like Nana in Peter Pan.... though I was surprised that the cat was looking for money rather than, say, Dreamies.

Unfortunately DH is allergic to cats

£15 a week sounds ok or top up when needed - some weeks I spend barely nothing - the other £25 - soft play for two older kids lunch and parking

£15 a week should be enough during term time. I'd maybe put a bit extra in during school holidays.

I reckon that most days £5 would be plenty. I am a cm and look after three children a day and don't spend that much on activities each day. But if you can afford it, maybe mention to nanny there is an extra £5 per week/fortnight for bigger trips and bus fares. How much is swimming? I'm always unsure how other nannies work. When I nannied years ago, I never had a set amount each day, my family just put money in a tin, which I took out of and replaced the change as I went along. Does what's left of the £5 roll over, so nanny could save the change each day and have a more expensive trip every now and again does the family take the change from the £5 (in this case) and every day is a new day type thing.

Yes, would have it rolling over so they might have one day where they stayed home and didnt spend anything and then went to something the next day.

Tbh, I don't think I spend a fiver a day at the moment (am on mat leave). We tend to do free or cheap stuff and I take a packed lunch, so fifteen quid over three days would be plenty for me. But I don't want the nanny thinking oh ffs, the play park again then. I want her to enjoy her job and not be bored because her employer is tight! (I am a bit tight by nature )

If you would prefer her to do free/cheap things mostly, then you can just ask. Most nannies won't mind :)

My old employers used me to do the things with the kids on my two days that they didn't like doing, like going to the farm parks, they just didn't realise how expensive they were until I gave them the invoice for my expenses at the end of a month where we'd gone three times so they asked me to go to a cheaper one further down the road and every other week. I was fine with it, I liked the free things just as much as the farm park, I only really went to the farm park often because the kids went through a phase where it was their favourite place in the world!

Seems fine, I usually only spent £2 a day on play group entry. If I buy shopping (eg run out of bread/milk or kids want to do baking and no stuff in) then I buy it with my own money and give receipt and get it back. Maybe consider a no purchases over X amount without asking first? So you don't have £40 of expensive top of the range art materials!

Start off with that amount, ask them to keep a track of what they pay. Then revise the amount after the first month and stop tracking the amount.

When children are very young, things tend not to cost that much but as they get older things do. For example, we used to go on train trips quite a lot, as the children liked trains and it was cheap. Now it is expensive, ticket costs have gone up and no free travel due to childrens ages.

Some things can be paid for monthly, or annually. That can help with cost. So if they go somewhere frequently, ask nanny to look into if there is an annual pass/membership scheme. We do this for swimming now, pay a yearly fee and can then go as often as we like.

You mention bus journey, so are you including travel within this budget? I use a car so get mileage paid, it's in addition to the weekly budget. So normal travel to activities I feel should not be in the activity budget but kept track of and have it's own budget if necessary.

I think it depends what it's supposed to cover. If just the odd playgroup entry, fine. If you would expect it to cover expensive travel, lunches out, entry to more expensive places like farm parks or soft play, bits and pieces of shopping, art materials, taking the children for a haircut etc., then probably not. The important thing is to be realistic and to communicate your expectations to your nanny. I'm sure they won't mind working to a budget if they know that's what is expected.

I have frequently spent £200+ in a week buying holiday clubs, swimming lessons, new shoes at £40 a pop, don't even get me started on taxis to nursery and back twice a day! All depends on the location and if your nanny is doing PA type stuff like getting kids haircuts and picking up your dry cleaning etc

My family when I was nannying gave me £20 in a purse each week in cash, plus made me a second holder on their credit card for other expenses like big days out or the weekly shop! I also got to fill up with petrol on their account at the local garage whenever I needed it. This current nanny job I get £20 in a wallet which is topped up occasionally with no credit card or fuel allowance. Every job is different you need to do what works best for you.

I gave our nanny a separate purse and put 20 to start with. She keeps a log of the main spends and lets me know when it's running low. Sometimes it lasts for ages (e.g. in summer when it's park/library/playing with friends) and other times it I need her to buy bread/pay for haircuts/pay window cleaner so it goes quickly.

I just top it up when she needs more but I would say she rarely spends more than 10 a week on average (we're oop North though!)

My nanny also uses her own car (fully insured) if she wants to take the kids further afield and I pay her an agreed rate for mileage. Any big expenses such as shoes/swimming lessons etc I make sure I pay for directly.

Unless the OP is completely delusional I don't think she's expecting the nanny to pay for school shoes and haircuts and holiday clubs out of £5 a day!