I Lost 5 Daycare Kids in One Week. Same 50 hours, half the pay.

<p>Leave us a voicemail at 651-300-2277. Your question could help thousands of providers.</p><p><br></p><p>One of us lost five daycare kids in two weeks, four to kindergarten and one who only comes in summer, and almost half her income went with them. Same hours, longer days, smaller paycheck. This episode is what we actually do when that happens.</p><p><br></p><p>If you run a home daycare or family child care program, this one is about planning for the next enrollment drop before it lands: saving while you are full, building a three-month emergency fund, cutting the food bill, and filling spots.</p><p><br></p><p>CHAPTERS</p><p><br></p><p>00:00 Intro: lost five kids, and what to do when it happens to you</p><p>01:20 Housekeeping: yes, we talk over each other</p><p>02:22 This week: down to five kids, and why five is harder than six</p><p>07:21 It was planned. It still hits: almost half the income, same hours</p><p>11:39 Ratio math: no under-twos until October, no working alone until January</p><p>13:19 Planned vs unplanned: losing four kids at the end of COVID</p><p>14:26 Save while you are full: retirement, emergency money, $800 brakes</p><p>16:22 Parents, tell your provider early</p><p>16:51 Bonus weeks and provider networking for extra income</p><p>18:24 Pay housing before food</p><p>20:27 Grocery strategy: only what you need, bulk, buy ahead, teenagers</p><p>24:12 Garden, CSA pick-your-own, and a farm-to-table grant</p><p>28:59 Eat the freezer and cheap vegetarian meals</p><p>31:46 Homemade tortillas, pasta, and bread at nap time</p><p>34:22 Emergency fund: automated weekly savings, three months minimum, prepay summer</p><p>37:22 Budget from what you spend, not what you make</p><p>39:29 College apartment heat and rotating streaming subscriptions</p><p>44:26 You can make plans, but plans can change</p><p>46:05 Filling spots: Facebook groups, location, yard signs</p><p>47:53 No panic, just budget conscious (come on, chickens)</p><p>51:36 Fewer kids, same work: the food program math</p><p>54:44 Parent Aware and grants: not free money</p><p>57:38 You need less than you think: the toy purge</p><p>58:47 What parents don&#39;t see: expenses stay the same</p><p>1:01:55 Narrow margins: this is a business, and we deserve nice things too</p><p>1:04:41 The truck died, then the battery died</p><p>1:06:57 Cheap resources: library, food shelf, phone, internet</p><p>1:08:56 Call the voicemail: how are you filling spots?</p><p><br></p><p>KEY TAKEAWAYS</p><p><br></p><p>- Fewer kids does not mean less work. Hours, expenses, and food program paperwork stay the same.</p><p>- Save while you are full. Automate a weekly transfer, cover at least three months of what you spend, prepay summer.</p><p>- Pay housing first. Food help is easier to find than housing help.</p><p>- Cut the food bill: buy only what you need, eat the freezer, cook from scratch at nap time, grow what you can.</p><p>- Parents, give notice early. It lets your provider plan.</p><p>- Network with nearby providers. Their summer kids can fill your open weeks.</p><p>- Filling spots: local Facebook groups worked for a brand-new provider. Results depend on location.</p><p><br></p><p>RESOURCES MENTIONED</p><p><br></p><p>- Think Small provider grants, Minnesota (regional, start-up, emergency, Parent Aware): https://www.thinksmall.org/providers/</p><p>- Parent Aware, Minnesota&#39;s early childhood quality rating and improvement system: https://www.parentaware.org/programs/</p><p>- Farm-to-table food grant through Think Small: NEEDED grant name and link</p><p><br></p><p>WATCH NEXT</p><p><br></p><p>- Full Episodes playlist: NEEDED link</p><p>- Related episode: NEEDED link</p><p><br></p><p>ABOUT THE DAYCARE SISTERS</p><p><br></p><p>Brandee and Erin are two sisters, business owners, and home daycare providers with over 30 years of experience between them, parenting nine kids of their own. Isolation is the dirty little secret of home daycare, and nobody should feel alone doing the work they lo