Im the same as you, charge an hourly rate and no extra for meals or snacks.

Im careful how much milk I put on the cereal so as there isnt loads left over, but Im really lucky and the local shop sells 4 pinter for 99p which is great

I claim for my under 5's through the nursery milk scheme online which pays for the little ones 1/3 pint a day, but dont get reimbursed for the older ones, so I just make sure I dont give too much that gets wasted.

If they drink it then fine, but leaving lots of milk or tipping it out is just waste!

I dont charge extra because I like to have control over what I give them and wouldnt want to justify what I was providing. I charge a fair hourly rate and the food I offer is balanced, healthy fruit and cereals and meals and treats like chocolate biscuits or ice cream.

Im getting more savvy with keeping my costs down, the asda own brand or smart price treats, digestive bars or cereal bars are really nice and you get quite a few in a pack. I dont mind paying for ice creams on a friday as I think the parents pay me good money to look after their children and once a week treat that may cost a little bit is my way of treating the children and I put it in my accounts as an expense so it will help my tax bill at the end of the year although its coming out of my pocket.

I dont charge for weekly groups as they are a minimal charge ( that I would pay anyway to take my own as its not per child). I take them to a jumping gym which can work out quite a bit when there are 4 to pay for including me but I usually only go once a week and again, £1.60 per child out of the money the parents pay me weekly really isnt worth worrying about. The way I look at it is I am doing lots of fun things with my own children too, getting paid to look after the others and to give a bit back is my way of saying thanks.

I would charge extra for any other planned trips that would perhaps be in excess of £5 per child like the farm etc but this would be planned in advance