It’s no surprise that childcare is extremely costly, but one woman is urging that people check whether they can get it through a little-known means to save themselves money
If you need childcare over the summer months, it can be a huge expense – but one woman has shared how to get hundreds of pounds worth completely free of charge.
If you have an under-two at nursery full-time, it can cost thousands, and with the cost of living not easing up any, many families will be really struggling to make ends meet.
However, Zoey Iwuala, who lives in London, has managed to save money by taking advantage of a scheme launched by her employer – and she’s spreading the word to see whether you can also take advantage of it.
Zoey told inews that her employer offers 50 free hours of healthcare, which will save her a whopping £750 each year. VertoFX, an international payments company, runs childcare through an app called Bubble, and users of the service find it invaluable.
Zoey says, there is no limit on how the 50 free hours are used, which is beneficial. With the average babysitter charging around £15 an hour, it’s estimated that the hours would cost £750.
Zoey believes it’s a great step in the right direction, sharing: “It’s also a massive thing for us to support diversity and inclusion, as it’s often mothers that are expected to take a day off if a child is sick or other childcare has fallen through.”
She also shared that her children loved it when they were cared for by the babysitter, and even asked when they would be coming again to look after them. “The babysitter took them to the park, on scooter rides and they did dance competitions and baking”, Zoey said.
Bubble, an app that helps people find local, vetted babysitters at short notice to book by the hour, has also partnered with big names like Uber, Deliveroo and the National Gallery to offer free back-up childcare packages to its staff.
Bubble founder and chief executive, Ari Last, said: “Childcare is really at the top of the public consciousness, but still not a lot of companies offer this service. We work with a lot of smaller companies as we want this to be something thousands of companies will offer.”
The Bubble scheme is available to all 70 of the company’s employees that are based in the UK.
If you need help with the cost of childcare, click here.
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