Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
hiring a personal assistant
Old 10-02-2019, 08:50 PM   #1
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,865
hiring a personal assistant

One way to blow that dough would be to hire a personal assistant. Anyone done that? I'm not thinking live-in butler or even a full-time assistant, but someone part time to run errands, perform small chores, do paperwork, etc. It's the closest one can come to converting money into time. Are there service companies that vet and insure such assistants?
GrayHare is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 10-02-2019, 09:19 PM   #2
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 249
Quote:
Originally Posted by GrayHare View Post
One way to blow that dough would be to hire a personal assistant. Anyone done that? I'm not thinking live-in butler or even a full-time assistant, but someone part time to run errands, perform small chores, do paperwork, etc. It's the closest one can come to converting money into time. Are there service companies that vet and insure such assistants?

Some of my peers use nannys for some of this kind of stuff (since they have a few kids as well)

I believe that there are companies that vet them, but I don’t have any personal experience with this
nancyfrank232 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 05:57 AM   #3
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Senator's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Williston, FL
Posts: 3,925
I thought hiring personal assistants was illegal, even if you were just paying for their time?
__________________
FIRE no later than 7/5/2016 at 56 (done), securing '16 401K match (done), getting '15 401K match (done), LTI Bonus (done), Perf bonus (done), maxing out 401K (done), picking up 1,000 hours to get another year of pension (done), July 1st benefits (vacation day, healthcare) (done), July 4th holiday. 0 days left. (done) OFFICIALLY RETIRED 7/5/2016!!
Senator is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 06:02 AM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Huntsville, AL/Helen, GA
Posts: 6,002
My sister had a personal assistant. Started out as a maid who worked her way into being like a member of the family. She would often use the word "we" when talking to interior decorators, etc. and in making family decisions without first discussing the situations with my sister.

I think she ran off with a blackjack dealer in Mississippi.

Music stars like Carrie Underwood have personal assistants to do their hair, makeup and manage their clothing, etc. Not enough of them to go around.

Few individuals are being tugged on enough to where an assistant is needed. I'd rather have a "man friend" to chauffeur me around in a big black sedan.
Bamaman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 06:31 AM   #5
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 3,508
Quote:
Originally Posted by Senator View Post
I thought hiring personal assistants was illegal, even if you were just paying for their time?
Is that a joke?
joeea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 06:34 AM   #6
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 3,508
Quote:
Originally Posted by GrayHare View Post
Are there service companies that vet and insure such assistants?
Yes.

A Google search for "hire a personal assistant" will find some.

A nephew's wife is a personal assistant for a dual-physician family. I believe she answered an ad from Craigslist. Obviously they did their own vetting.
joeea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 06:38 AM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Florida's First Coast
Posts: 7,654
I already have one..... DW...…
__________________
"Never Argue With a Fool, Onlookers May Not Be Able To Tell the Difference." - Mark Twain
ShokWaveRider is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 07:30 AM   #8
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Philliefan33's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 1,677
Without hiring a personal assistant, you could cut down on a number of errands by using online shopping and delivery services. Target and Walmart deliver (either free or a small fee), you can get almost anything on Amazon, and grocery delivery vía Instacart. No vetting required.

We haven’t yet gotten to the point (money or temperament) where we pay for services that we can do ourselves, but when we do I will hire in this order: house cleaning, then yard work, then grocery shopping/delivery.

I have a love/hate relationship with grocery shopping. I love being at the store to see what’s on the shelves because i sometimes get inspired to cook by what I see. But it bothers me, how many times I have to move the items on a typical shopping trip: from the shelf to the cart, from the cart to the checkout conveyor belt, sometimes into the bags (depending on the store) and then from the bags to the pantry or fridge when I get home.
Philliefan33 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 07:48 AM   #9
Moderator
sengsational's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 10,622
Timothy Ferris talked about setting up an arrangement with someone online to do basic tasks that take you time or you'd rather not bother with. This dialog was in his book "The 4 Hour Work Week". This idea was more about things that were managed online, though. In the US, it seems more common to engage by task (one to get produce, one to schedule travel, one to do laundry, etc), wheras in some expat references, one person is hired for everything. I think the latter doesn't have a good business case in the US due to higher pay requirements, taxes and regulations. The most common US assistant is probably a "nanny".
sengsational is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 07:50 AM   #10
Moderator
Jerry1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 9,070
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philliefan33 View Post
We haven’t yet gotten to the point (money or temperament) where we pay for services that we can do ourselves, but when we do I will hire in this order: house cleaning, then yard work, then grocery shopping/delivery.
I agree with this. ^^^

Housekeeping would be my number one if I were to hire out basic services. I’ve never done it, but I’m sure it would be great. The yard work is a very close second. I’ve had a lawn service in the past and loved coming home to a cut lawn that I didn’t do. However, that was when I was working and I just don’t feel I can justify it in retirement. If I had health issues on something else extremely satisfying to do with my time i would consider it though.

For some of the chores you mentioned, you might try neighbors teenage kids. Not as reliable as a service, but you may be helping them out by earning money and learning responsibility. Do you have Nextdoor? It’s an app to connect with local people. I’ve seen posts on there for things like rides to the dr office.
__________________
Every day when I open my eyes now it feels like a Saturday - David Gray
Jerry1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 07:56 AM   #11
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: NW Ohio
Posts: 1,156
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeea View Post
Is that a joke?
Obviously a joke...lighten up Francis !
ckelly78z is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 08:07 AM   #12
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
SumDay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,862
DH has one. Her name is SumDay.

Seriously, we have someone clean our house every 6 weeks. I run the vacuum and clean the bathrooms weekly, but they do the floors, take the stove apart, windows, etc. Worth every flippin' penny and then some.

When we downsized, we looked for a maintenance free community, so every Monday all kinds of loud machines show up in our yard and mow, trim & blow. In the winter, when it snows, the guys with shovels appear.

Our local grocery chain shops for us, and we run and pick it up when they text us. They would deliver, but we live <1 mile from there and they charge $100 per year for delivery.

If I'm too lazy to run to Target, I just order whatever off Amazon and it's here the next day.

Only thing left I can think of is a personal chef, and I've seriously considered one of those "you cook it" meal delivery companies for at least 2 days a week.

I guess you can pay people to manage your $$$, but hopefully that's a long way out. I don't mind that stuff - 99% of it is automated too.

And, I wouldn't want someone creeping around my house, waiting for me to tell them what I want them to do.

Let us know what you decide - it's an interesting concept!
__________________
FIRE Class of 2018 @ 61

Old men and women sit in the shade of trees they planted long ago
SumDay is offline   Reply With Quote
I used to think Kelly green was the color of uniforms worn by Kelly Girls
Old 10-03-2019, 08:29 AM   #13
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Mdlerth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: The Shire
Posts: 1,504
I used to think Kelly green was the color of uniforms worn by Kelly Girls

You can get robots to mop and vacuum the floor, mow the lawn, or even wash your windows. They aren't perfect yet, although some are pretty good and they're all getting better. When they perform their tasks well, they can save you lots of time and effort.

Of course, these are single-purpose machines. What OP wants would require the robot to reprogram itself to adapt to tasks of indefinitely wide variety. R2D2 is still a ways off in the future.

However, a number of companies provide temporary employees, with virtually any skill set, from part-time to full-time. The company vets the assistant and deals with the administrative aspects of being the employer. All you do is give work direction.
__________________
Paying it forward is the best investment.
Mdlerth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 09:32 AM   #14
Moderator
sengsational's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 10,622
There's a thing called "taskrabbit", where they'll come and assemble your Ikea furniture, and stuff like that. Never would use them, personally, because doing those kinds of things is what makes life worth living (for me at least).
sengsational is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 09:39 AM   #15
Moderator Emeritus
W2R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,468
My life is not complex enough to need or want a personal assistant. I don't even want a housekeeper! There isn't that much for me to do, that I would want the hassle of employing a staff to do it.

OK, I admit that I do have a nice old guy who mows my lawn for $35 and has done so since 2004. He needs the income and I need a reliable lawn guy who takes pride in his work. Also I have a handyman who I pay by the job on completion; one job every year or two usually. He unclogged my sink a couple of years ago but I haven't needed him since. That is the extent of my "staff"; I have no need for a personal assistant.

Most of the people I have known in the past who needed to maintain a staff, were employed in very high dollar occupations. Because of their particular career path, they had to entertain literally hundreds at their homes on at least a monthly basis or more frequently, in order to progress in their careers. When you do that, you need housekeepers, caterers, chefs, a chauffeur, gardeners, a butler to supervise them all and to make sure you are buffered from all the attendant hassles, a personal assistant, and so many more. Your life is not your own, you probably need a CPA or somebody to make sure all the FICA and withheld taxes are done properly, and petty theft is constant from what I have been told so don't get too attached to anything you own.

Being retired, life is much easier.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.

Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
W2R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 09:40 AM   #16
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: North
Posts: 4,023
Quote:
Originally Posted by nancyfrank232 View Post
Some of my peers use nannys for some of this kind of stuff (since they have a few kids as well)

I believe that there are companies that vet them, but I don’t have any personal experience with this
My sister's nanny would take her kids cross state lines while hubby cheated on her. Very convenient for her ex. He didn't like to pay taxes either, so in that sense...the nanny came tax free (although that one caught up to him with tax liens etc when he tried to unload the marital home).

I've dreamed of having basically just a small business of helpers:

-A personal assistant
-A chef
-A maid
-A gardener
-A full time handyman

Then I stop daydreaming and get back to work!

I found it interesting that Dr Phil and his wife have had the same assistant the entire show. Job Security. She lives in Texas and like commutes somehow? Maybe on her Gulfstream heh.

I would never trust an assistant. Around me, my family and kids etc.
__________________
Time > $$$ ~ 100% equities ~ FIRE @2031
kgtest is offline   Reply With Quote
Don't hold your breath waiting for it
Old 10-03-2019, 10:57 AM   #17
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Mdlerth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: The Shire
Posts: 1,504
Don't hold your breath waiting for it

Quote:
Originally Posted by W2R View Post
Most of the people I have known in the past who needed to maintain a staff, were employed in very high dollar occupations. Because of their particular career path, they had to entertain literally hundreds at their homes on at least a monthly basis or more frequently, in order to progress in their careers. When you do that, you need housekeepers, caterers, chefs, a chauffeur, gardeners, a butler to supervise them all and to make sure you are buffered from all the attendant hassles, a personal assistant, and so many more.
If I lived a Downton Abbey sort of life, in a giant palace surrounded by hundreds of acres of land, then I'd certainly need an army of workers to keep the place going. I must admit it would be impressive, although since I wasn't born to it I expect it would be a grueling adjustment to get used to it.

Fortunately for me, it's not an issue likely to arise any time soon. Maybe when I become a billionaire.
__________________
Paying it forward is the best investment.
Mdlerth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 10:59 AM   #18
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 3,508
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckelly78z View Post
Obviously a joke...lighten up Francis !
Back at ya Nancy.
joeea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 11:07 AM   #19
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Teacher Terry's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 6,985
I think doing things for ourselves is physically good for people. My aunt hired a house cleaner when she turned 90. I had one when I worked full time. Got rid of them once I retired. Our yard is low maintenance. If I physically couldn’t do the work I would hire it out. My friend orders her groceries online at Walmart and they load them in her car. My husband likes to shop at winco but I could see doing that in the future. I could see a high powered career couple needing one.
Teacher Terry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-03-2019, 11:11 AM   #20
Moderator Emeritus
W2R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,468
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdlerth View Post
If I lived a Downton Abbey sort of life, in a giant palace surrounded by hundreds of acres of land, then I'd certainly need an army of workers to keep the place going. I must admit it would be impressive, although since I wasn't born to it I expect it would be a grueling adjustment to get used to it.
Exactly! And people like that really do need a large staff and a personal assistant. Me, leading a happy, serene, uncomplicated, reasonably modest retired life... I don't need one and I would not enjoy living like that.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.

Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
W2R is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Has anyone worked with a Virtual Assistant? xtradoe Other topics 2 06-22-2008 10:10 AM
Hiring Illegals & our Government - Get this.. modhatter Other topics 7 06-06-2007 12:31 PM
Personal Umbrella versus Personal Excess Liability policies ? Linney FIRE and Money 25 11-28-2006 07:06 PM
Hiring a "Personal Care Assistant" TromboneAl Other topics 12 08-12-2006 04:30 PM
Is your union hiring your financial advisor with your dues? Nords Young Dreamers 3 05-03-2006 08:37 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:19 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.