Babysitters and nannies take care of your most precious asset: your child. In between wiping runny noses, building lego castles, and making the tastiest grilled cheese sandwich in town, they also spend family money.

Both parents and caretakers need a reliable system for this responsibility. While many people share their credit card accounts, not everyone is comfortable doing this.

But besides cash, what are your other options?

Keep reading to learn how other parents manage money with their caretakers, along with the pros and cons of each method.

Spending money needs to be transparent, flexible, and reliable

Whether you employ a full-time nanny or an after-school babysitter, they sometimes need to spend your money.

This is a unique financial scenario. And in order for it to go smoothly, you need your system to be transparent, flexible, and reliable. Take a look.

Transparent: you need to know that your money is being spent on what you intend.

Flexible: the turnover of caregivers is about 60%. You need a system that’s flexible in case you need to hire someone new.

Reliable: a reliable system works no matter what’s going on in your life. If you forget to take money out at the bank or forget to pay the credit card bill on time, your babysitter’s job gets disrupted - and so does yours. The right system helps you avoid this.

Braid is the ideal tool for this financial scenario because it checks off these and many more needs. But before we explore Braid in greater detail, here’s a quick look at the other options and why they pale in comparison.

Start a free money pool for your babysitter’s spending money now!

5 outdated ways to give babysitters or nannies spending money

People give caretakers access to spending money in the following five ways. They’re not without drawbacks though. Check it out.

1. Cash

Leaving cash on the windowsill shows caretakers exactly how much they have to spend that day or week.

However, the cons outweigh the pros:

Cash is discouraged in many places
Cash is easy to misplace or lose
Babysitters must keep cash separate from personal money and return accurate change at the end of the day/week
Babysitters must keep every receipt
You need to review receipts and make sure they match the total amount spent
If you forget to withdraw cash, it forces the caretaker to either cancel the child’s plans or spend their own money

Caretakers are already busy keeping your children safe and happy. It may not be feasible for them to also accurately bookkeep.

And considering how many commitments you have, you may not want to do this time-consuming task either.

2. Money transfer app

The key difference between using cash or a money transfer app, like Venmo or Cash app, is that you give spending money digitally.

But you still have to contend with the main issue that cash presents:

Once the money is transferred, you have no idea how it’s spent unless you collect and cross-reference every receipt.

3. Reimbursement

For most families, reimbursement is the exception, not the norm. Once you see the drawbacks, it’s easy to see why.

Babysitters must keep every receipt. Otherwise, they don’t get reimbursed
You must calculate the reimbursement amount
You must either pay accurate amounts in cash or transfer funds to their bank account
Many caretakers live paycheck-to-paycheck and waiting for reimbursement can create financial hardship and feelings of resentment or tension
Caretakers may feel embarrassed asking for reimbursement

4. Prepaid reloadable card

Some families resort to a prepaid reloadable card to give caretakers access to spending money. This method smooths out some issues that we’ve seen with both cash and reimbursement.

For example, you can:

Load money to the card at any time online
Purchase a new card if you hire a new caretaker
Track spending online (depending on the card features)

But prepaid reloadable cards aren’t perfect. For example:

Many cards have monthly fees and/or charges
If your caretaker leaves, they may take the card and its balance with them

5. Credit cards

Giving babysitters or nannies access to your credit card communicates your trust in them. Additionally, it gives you more oversight over their spending.

For example, you can:

Assign your caretaker as an authorized user on your account
Set lower credit limits to prevent overspending
Set dollar limits on individual transactions
Set daily limits on the number of transactions they can make
Easily track purchases with mobile notifications or online banking
Use for long-term caregivers

The cons, however, are strong deterrents for many parents. Take a look.

Poor credit scores and defaults can prevent caretakers from getting approved
An authorized user is not legally responsible for paying back charges on your account. You are.
Caretakers can’t access the account to check the balance to ensure they stay within budget
You need to contact your bank and remove your caretaker if it becomes necessary to do so
It’s inconvenient for temporary caregivers

The biggest drawback to these five methods is that once you give money to your caretaker, you are not able to track it. The exception is credit cards and some prepaid reloadable cards.

Understandably, some families aren’t comfortable sharing credit cards or credit accounts. That’s where Braid Money Pools come in handy.

Set up your free money pool for your babysitter today! Click here to learn how to set one up.

Why Braid Money Pools are the ideal tool to manage spending money

There are so many reasons why Braid Money Pools make it easy to give - and manage - your caretaker’s spending money. Keep reading to see how you both can enjoy a seamless, stress-free money experience.

Money Pools are a dedicated place for Babysitter & Nanny money

Braid Money Pools give you the ability to collect, manage and spend money together.

Once you invite your caretaker to the pool as a member, they will be able to spend from the pool with the Braid debit card. Then, they can start making purchases for your family.

With Braid, spending money always stays in this dedicated money pool and never mixes with personal funds.

This makes it easier for both you and the caretaker to keep track of it.

Braid doesn’t check credit scores or report anything back to credit bureaus. Therefore, you can essentially create a joint financial account without credit approval or jeopardizing credit scores.

Braid Money Pools are simple and lightweight.

Enjoy financial flexibility

Braid Money Pools offer parents the flexibility they need when sharing money with a caretaker.

Whether your nanny is responsible for routine spending, like weekly gas expenses, or one-off purchases, like museum tickets, they can make purchases using the free Braid debit card. (More on that below.)

Managing your pool is easy, too. As pool admin, you can add or remove caretakers without any headaches.

This ensures that the pool, along with its debit cards, is accessible only to you and your current caretaker.

Invite your partner to join the pool to easily add funds

You don’t have to remember to stop at the bank to withdraw cash. And you don’t have to be the only one responsible for replenishing the pool.

Easily add funds to the pool via bank transfer. Your partner can add money too by either inviting them to join the pool for bank transfers or sharing the pool link with them for debit and credit card contributions.

This ensures your caretaker always has adequate funds to cover family-related purchases.

Ready to set up your free Braid money pool? Click here to start.

Caretakers spend with the free Braid debit card

Every pool comes with a free digital debit card that they can use wherever Mastercard is accepted. A physical debit card for in-person purchases can be requested, too.

Your babysitter will have their own debit card that they can keep in the “Kid Wallet”, together with other relevant items, like membership cards, transit passes, etc.

If necessary, you can freeze the debit card at any time from the app.

See balances and transactions in the app

Both you and the caretaker can see the balance and transaction history anytime in the app. This allows the caretaker to give more time and attention to the kids.

Ready to set up your free Braid money pool? Click here to start.

Always stay on budget

It’s important to establish rules and expectations around spending money:

What is your babysitter responsible for paying for?
How much are they allowed to spend on specific categories, i.e., meals, toys, entertainment, etc?
What is the daily, weekly, or monthly budget?

Never worry about maxing out the credit card or needing more cash.

As pool admin, you set daily spending limits to ensure the caregiver stays within your agreed-upon budget.

Braid is free to use

There are no monthly fees, transaction fees, overdraft fees, or service fees. The amount you put in the pool is the same amount your caretaker has to spend.

We do charge a 3% fee to credit card contributions through the pool link but debit card contributions and bank transfers are free of charge.

If you need to give your babysitter or nanny spending money, use Braid.

It’s ideal for this unique financial situation because it’s designed for multiple users, and it keeps your money transparent and trackable.

Start your money pool today so caretakers can make purchases on your behalf while you enjoy greater peace of mind.

How To Give Spending Money To Your Babysitter & Nanny Without Credit Cards