Childcare while job hunting, what worked? - any advice?

The daycare near me wants more than I can pay. There are 15 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. A neighbour offered help but not every day. How long did subsidies take?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 9 months ago, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

I swapped afternoons with another parent. It took some planning and saved us both money.