As parents, we have to make some tough choices in life. We want to provide the best we can for our children but sometimes we also need to have that second income to pay the bills - not for luxuries but just to cover the mortgage, put food on the table, and maybe save some for college. But working usually requires child care for our little ones and that can cost a fortunate, as well as requiring your child to stay in a stranger's home.

A better solution is free in home child care. Now you're probably saying that would be an obvious solution but not necessarily a practical one. Where are you going to find free child care?

The answer is through a work in exchange for rent program. If you have a spare room in your home and can spare enough money to feed an extra person, you could have the child care you want for your child at no additional cost and done in your home.

Obviously, there are some risks associated with bringing a stranger into your home to care for your children. However, you can do background checks on people and other criminal history checks to ensure your child is safe and receiving the best home care you could want. Plus, since you'll be receiving free in home care for your child, you could take additional steps, such as placing cameras in the home (this is not something I would recommend because it can be an invasion of privacy for both your child and the caregiver).

Take your time and get to know the person who will be providing the care in your home before they arrive. And make sure your children meet them, too, and get along with them. Whether the babysitter is living in your home or has a place of their own, you are still trusting your child to someone you don't know very well. But with this type of arrangement, you can get to know the care provider better and take precautions to ensure your child is going to be save while also receiving child care for a price you won't find anywhere else.

With the economy struggling and most families feeling the pinch, doing something as simple as home care and maintenance can be a challenge. If both parents are working and are feeling stressed about their finances, household chores are likely to get neglected and funds are scarce for outside help for lawn care, home repairs, or even maid service.

One alternative is to become a host family. You could provide a person with free room and board in exchange for providing some of the help you need around the home.

Here are some ways this could be useful:

• Affordable lawn maintenance - The live-in person could mow your lawn, trim the bushes, even tend to your garden if he or she has a green thumb and no pesky allergies.
• Help with laundry and other chores - If you have a large family, doing the laundry, cooking meals, even loading the dishwasher can be a time-consuming struggle. Having another pair of hands to help could be a huge asset.
• Home maintenance help - If your home is like most, there are some minor repairs that need to be made. Maybe the front door is sticking or the screen door in back is ripped. Maybe you need to replace the tiles in the kitchen or the carpet in the living room. Bringing someone in to help with these problems can save a lot of time and money.
• Maid service alternative - Instead of paying someone a lot of money to clean your home, you could be offering someone a place to stay and warm food for their services. They could be a college student, a retired person, a traveler, or a recently unemployed worker.

Additionally, you could bring them into your home to be both companions and homemakers. If both parents are working, the children may like having someone available when they come home so they don't have to go to a babysitter. Stay-at-home parents might appreciate the grown-up company and the extra hands as they struggle to keep the house running smoothly. Overall, this arrangement could be a win-win situation for everyone involved.