She thought for a moment before she started to type. Looking for a babysitter to watch my 3.5 year-old son Monday-Thursday for the duration of the summer. We are a five minute walk from the community pool and have a membership you can use with him if interested. Erin paused because she wasn’t sure what else to say. Any age or experience is welcome. She read it over once more. The last part might sound a bit desperate, but she was, so what did she care? She went ahead and posted it to keep herself from overthinking it more.

Much to her surprise, it only took a few minutes for a message to come through from a potential babysitter. Hi! My name is Jan. I’m a retired teacher, mother of four, and grandmother of eleven. I would love to watch your little guy. I could watch him at your house or mine and am happy to take him to the pool anytime he wants. What hours are you looking for?

Erin smiled in spite of her gut reaction that this was too good to be true. I normally leave the house around 8:30 and am home by 6:00. Would that work for you?

Less than a minute later, a reply came through. That sounds perfect. What other questions do you have for me?

Erin knew she should have questions. This was the person who would be spending four days a week with her son, after all, but she had no idea what to ask. Well, except for the one not-so-minor detail. What is your rate?

When the reply came through, Erin blinked her eyes at the screen, because she was sure she was reading it wrong. $25/hour.

Erin quickly did the math, and it came out exactly as she expected. That was almost double what she would pay to keep him in daycare. That’s outside of my budget, but thank you for reaching out.

Erin waited for a reply, like possibly a counter offer that was at least ten dollars less. Instead, a message came through from someone else. She opened this one, hoping for better news. Hi! I just finished my first year of college and I’m looking for a summer job. I am an elementary education major and babysat my neighbor throughout high school. I am looking for $18/hour.