hiring a personal assistant

[GrayHare]

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?

 

[nancyfrank232]

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

 

[Senator]

I thought hiring personal assistants was illegal, even if you were just paying for their time?

 

[Bamaman]

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.

 

[joeea]

I thought hiring personal assistants was illegal, even if you were just paying for their time?

Is that a joke?

 

[joeea]

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.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I already have one..... DW...…

 

[Philliefan33]

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.

 

[sengsational]

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".

 

[Jerry1]

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.

 

[ckelly78z]

Is that a joke?

Obviously a joke...lighten up Francis !

 

[SumDay]

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!

 

[Mdlerth]

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.

 

[sengsational]

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).

 

[W2R]

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.

 

[kgtest]

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.

 

[Mdlerth]

Don't hold your breath waiting for it

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.

 

[joeea]

Obviously a joke...lighten up Francis !

Back at ya Nancy.

 

[Teacher Terry]

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.

 

[W2R]

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.

 

[flyingaway]

Does a financial advisor count?

 

[pdxgal]

I e used task rabbit and cleaning companies, with mixed results. Work was not always done thoroughly. If I have to supervise most of the time it's not really worth it.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I would be all about a yard service...for ALL of it. I don't mind the work, but when it's 90+ degrees at the end of September, I am OVER it!!! My MIL has a lawn service that does it all (and her yard is pretty awesome) but it costs almost $1500 a month. Our yard is about twice the size with a lot of beds/trees to tend to, so I can't even fathom how much it would cost.

As for having a maid, I remember a friend of mine who I was out having dinner with. He told the group that he had to leave early to "clean before the maid shows up"...and apparently this is actually a thing.

 

[googily]

I have a maid service, a team that comes every other week. I sometimes wish the service itself would go under so that I could hire one or both of the team members I get most often and then have her/them come weekly.

In the meantime, though, Alice the Roomba does a good job keeping the floors clean. And I don't exactly dirty up the house.

I've become big into grocery delivery, along with large-scale usage of Amazon.

Would love to have a handyman I trust on call.

Otherwise, I can't really come up with any other uses for an assistant. I'm too good at organizing my life myself. [emoji41]

 

[sengsational]

If I have to supervise most of the time it's not really worth it.

That's my position too. Trying to get quality work out of someone is often more work than just doing it myself.