how much income do u need to have a full time MAID?

[Enuff2Eat]

Back in the old country where i came from (Southeast Asia). Mom and Dad can easily effort 1 full time and 1 part time maid to take care of us. 8 kids all together. Not to mention personal tutor for some of us if we needed it and guitar/music teacher too.  We are not rich by any mean, just middle class.

Results: happy live, good education, tons of time with friends and family.

Now in the US, eventhough working as a researcher/scientist. i break my back just to keep things smooth around the house.

i see many high paying white collar phD with full time working spouse working like "dog" on the weekend hauling their kids around from one soccer game to another, fix their own toilet, paint their own kitchen, put tons of "sweat" power in upkeeping their house, maintain the lawn, cut their own grass, shoving snow out of the drive way, built their own deck, install their own floor, cleaning their own house, vaccuming and laundry (worse, folding and iron their own clothes), cook their own meals and then wash the dishes...... what's up with that?

i swear, i do NOT (again NOT) know anyone in the office or in my neighborhood that can effort full time maid (may be they are around but i have not seen it).  Many people in my office can easily make between $130k to $200k/yr combine income.

The BIG question of the day is.. HOW MUCH do i need to earn to hire anyone to help you with basic routine in life.  My brother hire a cleaning lady to clean his house once every two week and everybody says "WOW", you're rich...

let me guess, how about 300k/year?


enuff2eat

 

[LOL!]

I think our neighbors paid their live-in maid less than $20K a year. So with FICA, etc ... probably less than $25K. So maybe you need to make $60K a year and sacrifice in other areas to do this.

 

[peggy]

My husband and I have a combined income of about $130k per year, and we discussed hiring someone to come in twice a month to do basic housekeeping chores.  We could have afforded it easily, but decided not to hire anyone, as there is a possibility that we'll be moving within the next six months or so.

For a full-time, live-in maid, you'll have to find out what her salary would be and add that to your other expenses, including saving.

 

[maddythebeagle]

Results: happy live, good education, tons of time with friends and family.

I will take a larger middle class in the u.s. and less servants, thank you. Pick up your own dirty socks.

 

[ERfantasy]

My friend from South America has a full time maid. He's a single college professor. The maid doesn't live in, but she comes and works a full day at his place.

He was STUNNED that I, as a well paid single professional in the USA ("world's richest country," etc.), didn't have a maid. "How do you survive?" I remember his shock so well.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Hubby and I have a combined gross income of $187K. We finally bit the bullet and decided that we work too hard during the week to spend the weekends scrubbing toilets, etc. We have a cleaning lady that comes every two weeks to clean the bathrooms, dust, vacuum, etc.

 

[thefed]

Mmy gf's bosses probably make 100k/yr total. they pay her about 25k including taxes and the like. she works 9-5 52 wks a year....nannying 3 kids

Her previous bosses probably made 300k, paid her about 30k/yr, and also had a 20 hr/wk cleaning lady

 

[yakers]

Neat question. I expect there are too many variables to get a precise answer but there are some interesting issues. One, as previously stated, if you want a substantially middle class society (I do) then you cannot have cheap labor, like in India, do all kinds of services. And I think the part of the US you are in makes a difference. In the mid west I knew few people with help, even ones who could afford it. It is part of the work ethic. In the east I knew more with part time cleaning or child care help. I believe Japan, like the urban US, tries to use technology to cover what would be services in poorer countries, things like dish washers.
We have a house cleaner every two weeks. And we had a lady come in day times when my younger son was little. It was the same price as expensive child care which he went on to for educational reasons. (Talk about help, have you seen the cost of good child care!) The house cleaner is part of sanity (not sanitary) support for my wife. It keeps up a momentum on the cleaning cycle and we can count on having a neat place at least part of the time.
A lot of services could be had by folks with $100K+ incomes but it is a decision. Is your time "worth" hiring someone for these services?

 

[Andre1969]

One other possibility, try going to http://www.houseboi.com. Just do it at your own risk, and I wouldn't advise doing it from work!

 

[justin]

There is a big cost difference between biweekly cleaning service and a full time live in maid.

The disparity in labor costs in the US vs. developing countries is great. Professionals in many developing countries can make easily make 10-20 times the marginally skilled labor wage rate. This, plus high unemployment or underemployment, is how these people in developing countries can afford to hire household staff. In the US, 10-20 times the marginally skilled labor wage rate would be equivalent to a household income of $250k-$500k, in other words, extremely high income individuals.

 

[Outtahere]

We have someone every two weeks to just do basic cleaning and I think of that as a luxury. I believe the cost of full time maids or nannies keeps many people from hiring them when you think of all the regulations, taxes and benefits you have to provide. How many politicans have been put on the hot seat for the help they hired and didn't claim.

Also when you work all week long you want to spend time in your home/castle and with your family, if cleaning and caring for them/it is what has to be done that that's it. I don't think anyone in the US thinks taking the kids to soccer or other activities a chore.

If you want a full time maid then hire one.

 

[kayelem]

I've had someone coming twice a week for a long time. Even when I was single. I'm sure I was making somewhere in the $50-$70/k range per year when I started. When I was working like a dog, it was such a treat to come home and find everything neat, clean and tidy. It was money well spent. Now that I am ER'd, I'll have to think hard about continuing it though.

 

[Sheryl]

I had a weekly service for about $60/wk during the time when I had a lazy-a$$ live in boyfriend who wouldn't pick up after himself.

Now that I have a neat clean hardworking boyfriend I don't need the maid

 

[Enuff2Eat]

thanks for the respone. Yet NO ONE have yet claim that they have a full time maid.

Once every two weeks for help is far different from a full time maid.  Full time maid from what i remember does laundry, cooking, bathing young children, feed the kids, take care of the pets, up keep the house too. but they do have a "in-law" housing of their own and don't interfere with your personal family life.

I guess it is just way way too much in US to consider it. $30k/yr plus housing, plus probably transportation and benefits.... way way too much.

and even with over $100k/year salary household, after taxes,mortgages, and car payments we got no choice but to be a Do-It-Yourself person.

can we get some opinion from doctors, lawyers, dentist, and business people here please.

i guess u got to be hollywood, baseball players, michael jackson status to effort it then.

enuff2eat

 

[vic]

I don't think you can compare the US with Asia when it comes to live in maids and so on. Finances is only a small part of it, there is also a huge cultural difference (not figured that out yet). My Asian husband is from a family where they had tons of servants. The only thing one of those guys did was buff cabinets all day. Then there is cleanining personnel, cooks, gardeners, drivers and whatever. However, these people became more or less part of the family. When they were sick, they were looked after. When their daughter married, many of the arrangements are taken care of. They stay with the family for most of their lives, including when they are of retirement age. This type of arrangement does not fit in here. I think a lot of people here also would not want another person in their household 24/7 - I definitely don't. I am very glad with my biweekly maid. She does a great job and we are paying her well. However, I will not make her pick up my dirty underwear and so on. Stop talking how much money you need to get your live in maid and figure out that it does not fit in here.

 

[Enuff2Eat]

i agree with you vic but not 100% . certainly there is a big culture differrent but i don't see that stopping Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan or Opera...

I agree with many others people that responed.  Most likely, it the COST.  i would love to have someone helping us around the house and became an intergral part of the family like the way your husband had it in asia too. but it is NOT possible period.

 

[ESRBob]

Enuff,
Good post. I know when I left expat life in Asia, having domestic help was the biggest treat Americans enjoyed over there, and the biggest adjustment they faced when returning.

We lived in Japan, so we didn't have that, but people in pretty much any other country in Asia had 'help'. No matter how repugnant people here may feel about it (and emotions can run pretty hot on this one!), once you've tried it it's very hard to go back to the old ways.

When we had kids and we both worked, (for about 10 years) we had a live-in 'nanny' (that may be a more accurate word to describe housekeeping, cooking and childcare) and we paid her about $350 per week. Now, in our area, people with nannies they like and care to keep are being paid about $500 per week.

It's a normal part of life in dual income families in the NY area. We gave up the nanny when my wife ERd 6 years ago. ER and no nanny beats dual-earning with nanny any day.

Or you can always have it both ways: ER in a developing country and hire help. A friend ERing in Central America pays about $200 per month for a full-time live-in helper, and has four staff as a result: cook, maid, handyman and gardener.

 

[yakers]

Where would you put the help?

We make $150K+ and have a $500K+ house in Southern California. Its all of 1,000 sq ft, 2 bd 1 BA. Where would the help fit?
Fortunately we had 2 boys

 

[Honkie]

The answer to original question is "one has to earn to, after taxes and costs, a sufficient premium, as valued by you over and above the total cost of employing the full time help." After that, I guess it is a personal choice whether to do it or not.

But there are some interesting points and issues here.

I believe Japan, like the urban US, tries to use technology to cover what would be services in poorer countries, things like dish washers.

The male oriented Japanese society has more impact on this than technology or anything else. Japanese women, once married, are discouraged from working in order to stay at home and raise kids, look after the house and their husband. Thus, little demand for domestic help outside of the "elite". That said, attitudes in Japan are changing a little on this.

Enuff,
Good post. I know when I left expat life in Asia, having domestic help was the biggest treat Americans enjoyed over there, and the biggest adjustment they faced when returning.

I can second that. The most common factor mentioned by many expats departing Asia is that they will lose the domestic help and lose quality family time to in order to do chores and cleaning, washing etc. although is has to be said that in many parts of Asia, more local people will employ domestic help than expats, so it is not strictly a wealthy expat foreigner perk.

As we both work full time we do enjoy the luxury of full time domestic help. Prior to having kids, we just had a lady come for a half day twice a week to wash and iron clothes and basic cleaning. Once we started a family, we took on full time help.

Cheers

Honkie

 

[Honkie]

Where would you put the help?

We make $150K+ and have a $500K+ house in Southern California. Its all of 1,000 sq ft, 2 bd 1 BA. Where would the help fit?
Fortunately we had 2 boys

Ours has her own room with on-suite bath.

 

[LEX]

I discussed the idea of having a maid with my spouse. We came to the conclusion that this indicates that you have too much stuff and not enough self discipline (basic sense of personal management) for ER. 8)

To ER, at least for us, is to live with less stuff and institutional obligations and have more personal options in exchange.

 

[Martha]

I have always enjoyed house cleaning and organization. My fantasy was to retire from my job and then become the cleaning person for my DH's rental properties. The tenants wouldn't know me so if they asked me a question, I could just pretend not to speak English. "Beklager, jeg snakker ikke engelsk." And I would putter around with the vacuum cleaner. But he sold the properties before I had the opportunity.

 

[Jarhead*]

Where would you put the help?

We make $150K+ and have a $500K+ house in Southern California. Its all of 1,000 sq ft, 2 bd 1 BA. Where would the help fit?
Fortunately we had 2 boys

Left (escaped) from So. Calif. in 1987.

Possible solution:

Move to Texas, buy yourself a 4,000 sq foot home.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have an annual try-out, attend them.
Interview the "rejects".
You now have a live-in maid.

 

[yakers]

I have always enjoyed house cleaning and organization.  My fantasy was to retire from my job and then become the cleaning person .

Martha!!!!! Someone who WANTS to clean! No wonders your husband is still married.

For wife & I cleaning is about as wanted as a visit to the dentist.

 

[astromeria]

I don't know anyone personally with live-in help, but I do know one family with daily help--the husband, a high-tech VP, made a huge wad (like $30M) in the heydays. Most of the upper-middle-class folks I know have someone to clean once every week or 2, whether they are working, SAHMs, or retired. Many middle-class folks have a house-cleaner every week or 2 as well. I only know a few rich people personally, and they mostly have twice a week help, sometimes that person also cooks, or maybe they get prepared food delivered or they pick it up themselves.

We have someone come in once every 4-6 weeks for 3-4 hours to do the things I hate (wash the floors, scrub the showers, do the heavy vacuuming--move furniture and do the upholstery, clean the porches, wash the windows, deal with the hard-to-clean steel stove and the refrigerator, wash the baseboards...).

I've never had anyone do the laundry--it's one of the domestic chores that I enjoy (mmm, fresh, fluffy laundry!). I don't mind light weekly dusting with a feather duster or light twice-weekly vacuuming with my battery-operated handheld either. And I kind of enjoy light cleaning in the bath and kitchen--it sure beats working for a living. And I love setting up the guest room and bath for houseguests...relaundering the bedding and towels, making sure reading materials and bathroom supplies are stocked up and attractively arranged. Now picking up, especially dealing with paperwork...I hate that. I get DH to do most of it!