Is This a Crazy Idea

[caflme]

I am a single mom and have been figuring out how to save $240-$300/month on daycare and a way to get a bit of housecleaning done.

I keep reading about all of these people out of work and losing their houses and having to live in homeless shelters or with their families.

Would I be crazy to try to find someone (a single mom or a single mom with a elementary age child)... to move in with me and stay home and take care of the house and my son in exchange for a place to live. I mean she would only be actually watching my son/helping with the house from 7-10 a.m. and from 3-6 p.m. mon-fri so that would be 6 hours a day/30 hours a week. Plus I could watch her kid if she worked a night job as her kid would be winding down and going to bed.

If she had to rent a place to live anywhere around here she would be spending at least $600-$800/month. Therefore the tradeout would be way fair for her in order to have a clean, safe and well located place to live and only 2 blocks from the elementary school.

Am I not thinking of something here - I mean there would have to be some kind of 'contract' in writing but I feel like there is something I am missing - other than my privacy, which admittedly that is huge.

[caflme]

But how would I find someone who wouldn't steal and/or pawn my stuff... how would I find someone trustworthy?

[epril]

Originally Posted by caflme

I am a single mom and have been figuring out how to save $240-$300/month on daycare and a way to get a bit of housecleaning done.

I keep reading about all of these people out of work and losing their houses and having to live in homeless shelters or with their families.

Would I be crazy to try to find someone (a single mom or a single mom with a elementary age child)... to move in with me and stay home and take care of the house and my son in exchange for a place to live. I mean she would only be actually watching my son/helping with the house from 7-10 a.m. and from 3-6 p.m. mon-fri so that would be 6 hours a day/30 hours a week. Plus I could watch her kid if she worked a night job as her kid would be winding down and going to bed.

If she had to rent a place to live anywhere around here she would be spending at least $600-$800/month. Therefore the tradeout would be way fair for her in order to have a clean, safe and well located place to live and only 2 blocks from the elementary school.

Am I not thinking of something here - I mean there would have to be some kind of 'contract' in writing but I feel like there is something I am missing - other than my privacy, which admittedly that is huge.

I personally don't like having to split my work shift up into two segments of the day. That's one problem I see. Otherwise, I've had people live with me, and my son, and had little trouble with it.