Is having house helpers necessary?

[₿itcoin]

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water bill
sewer bill. this is about 50k
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This is the first time i have even heard that some people in the world have separate sewer bill, as my whole life i have paid for one single bill for water utility services. That includes fresh water from the tap and all waste/storm water treatment.

But when it comes to OP:s question, i never had house helpers in my life. I have enough free time to do household jobs, and roomba is doing the hoovering for me.

Helpers might save time depending on your work / housing situation, but in terms of cost / benefit, i don't really need any help.

Philpima’s calculations are harsh but spot on, New jersey householders spend over $10 k annually for property tax that's three times the national average which is 3.5 k .  yeah a housemaid working for $16/HR for approximately 20 hours a week will charge you up to $17 k/year after taxes , like your accurate calculation.

o48o's spare time idea seems nice , but a Roomba only cleans the ground; bathrooms and washing clothes and in depth analysing work consume a lot of time, so solid figure earners value at $50/hr so the outsourcing can come up with a good return of investment. If you want you could do-it-yourself, but you would lose a lot of your working time and that will become larger than the cost. So at your financial level your not spending money for cleaning, you are purchasing time

[Apocollapse]

Philpima’s calculations are harsh but spot on, New jersey householders spend over $10 k annually for property tax that's three times the national average which is 3.5 k .  yeah a housemaid working for $16/HR for approximately 20 hours a week will charge you up to $17 k/year after taxes , like your accurate calculation.

o48o's spare time idea seems nice , but a Roomba only cleans the ground; bathrooms and washing clothes and in depth analysing work consume a lot of time, so solid figure earners value at $50/hr so the outsourcing can come up with a good return of investment. If you want you could do-it-yourself, but you would lose a lot of your working time and that will become larger than the cost. So at your financial level your not spending money for cleaning, you are purchasing time

philipma1957 said his and wife income are $200K, if one of them earn $100K, their wage are supposed to be $48/hour. See his explanation, even he earn almost $50/hour, it's still hard to hire a maid because the tax he need to pay 30% of his income. Imagine you get paid for $50/hour, but actually you only get $35/hour in your bank. So you have to get $50/hour net aka $70/hour gross.

In his thoughts the business will give the wife more time to spend with the kids and do her homely duties for which a job will not because she will be under a boss who hands her instructions when to resume, close or approve her leave when due. But in the business she will be here own boss in charge of her time.

Surprisingly the business takes more time than a job would. You have to give time to a growing business for it to gain life and be thoroughly established. If you don't give it your time it won't survive.

Yep, I would counter his argument for saying "having a business will have more time to spend with kids and domestic work", then why not YOU are the one who have the business in the first place.

In this era, having a business is very overrated, it's like very easy to do and have more free time.

[BitBakerr1]

In my country most people don't employ a house help what they do is they visit the poor families with a lot of children especially those who cannot take care of there children and they offer to take one or two of their children to stay with them and they will act as a house help for them and in return they will take care of the child and send him or her to school.
In my country some families are poor and they have a lot of children which they cannot even take care of so this children usually act as a house help for other people that needs them.
Some of these children that are now taking as a house help I usually maltreated and not even sent to school they just stay and serve the person that took them from there family, in my country being a house help for someone usually people will see you as someone who is very poor because house helps in my country are not well paid except you are a house help to a very rich person that is kind enough to pay you very well.

[Man of peace]

Having house helpers is very necessary if there's need for that,but if there is no need for that it's also not necessary.
When I said it's necessary when there's need for that,is because some people due to the nature of their job, does not have Chance to their domestic work and even to take care of their children is also a problem,so people like this really deserve house helpers,but if you did not fall into this categories of people who doesn't have time for their home and children,i think there's no need for that.
House helpers ,are in every countries, just that there duties may not be the same,for example in my country some of those house helpers are not really for a domestic work alone ,but also your sales girls or sales boys,but in other civilized countries, house helpers can be their nanny and has nothing to do with their businesses of their boss or,you can be their cook and anything domestic work you can do that and that is all..

 But with the bad news I used to hear about how some houses helpers are being treated by their employees,i think it's no longer easy to see house helpers,or people are no longer interested in doing that kind of work because of the maltreatment involved especially when you met a heartless person..

[franky1]

many countries have house helpers..
but they are not seen as such

disabled people have their own family help out or hire a carer. some use a laundry service instead of wasting hours doing laundry themselves

for me to wash and dry my clothes would take more than an hour out of my day. however for £10 which is below minimum wage a laundry service picks up my bag of clothes, washes, dries and folds and returns them same day. so well worth the £10 as its convenient and economically a better deal

its possible to do for £10 because those laundry services do multiple peoples loads in one go, so they are earning way more in total per hour. but for my section of the job i only pay £10 which would take me the same time loading and unloading and everything inbetween even on one load

same goes with using child daycare. looking after one child at home is for 8 hours is a loss of earnings.. yet a childcare provider looks after multiple kids so economically paying a subscription/monthly fee that works out less than minimum wage per child, means the person can work at or above minimum wage and be financially better off using childcare services

same for home chores having a maid that preps means and cleans house whilst food is cooking gets multiple jobs done in one go. economically better off
professional/organised work is done more efficiently than someone coming home exhausted from work and then needing to do chores in an evening half-assed

and in many cases, many families have a family member babysit the kids and do home chores whilst the parents work. so even more economically better off. and the family carer gets to have fun visit time with their niece/nephew/grandchild

it also works the other way. where a elderly/disabled person sends a relative out to work to fund the disabled/elderly persons needs

[Hispo]

It depends on the region and the culture of the country, pretty much. Here in the Caribbean region of South America is relatively common to hire people to take care of shores and watching over children. Actually, I remember my parents hired two women when I was a child, so my mother could also work and help my father to pay the bills and save money. Maids are usually uneducated here and come from rural areas where there are no so many jobs or opportunities for women, so they are taken to the city to work and perform other duties.

There are people who believe those are fair jobs, while others are against it, to me it is okey to have domestic servants, as long as they are treated with respect and their pay is okey, according to their responsibilities.

[mich]

Well when I think of someone that has this then they are a very rich person. If you can pay for someone to help you care for your house then you have more money then you really do need.

When I was younger there was a boy at my school who had something like this. There was a lady that did drive him to school and did live at his house. For me I do not want a house helper I want to care my house for my self.

[Bigjoe158]

It depends on the individual. If the husband and wife are working class who leaves in the morning and return late and they have kids at home then is necessary to have one. because coming back from work looking so exhausted and the kids and house chores waiting for you can crazy. So house help is necessary at that point. House help especially the female ones are like mothers to the children when their biological mother is not around. So if you can afford one then go for it.

[franky1]

as the africans say
"it takes a village"
even they know others need to help out a family. whether its a cleaner or helper, or babysitter. families do need help from others. its nothing new nor a thing only for the rich..
the only difference with the rich is they pay professionals to step in rather than asking for favours from the villagers/relatives

[Mr_Brilliant$]

Remember the house helper in developed and developing countries are different.

Developed countries in SEA want house helpers from developing countries because they're cheaper, uneducated and have less power.
Developing countries in SEA can hire house helpers from their own countries because they're very cheap.

It's not easy to become a house keeper in US or EU because there are requirements to fulfill and people who can fulfill it are educated, so the homeowner can't do whatever they want since they're risking to get report. The house helper in US and EU are expensive though.

tl;dr middle class in SEA can afford house helper, while middle class in EU and US can't.

So I live in New Jersey. If I hire a legal house keeper I need to pay 16 per hour at least 4 hours 5 days a week. 

That is 4x5x16=320 a week or 17000 a year.

And it is after tax money.

So if my wife and I earn 200,000 pre tax it is 140,000 after tax to pay 17,000 out of that 140,000 is a lot.

Remember the 140,000 left after salary tax does not include property tax for a home say 15,000

so 140,000-15,000=125,000 now pay for health insurance maybe 15,000 to 25,000 so 100,000

yet to pay
power
heat
car insurance
phone bill
house insurance
clothes
food
actual car purchase or lease
home repairs
water bill
sewer bill. this is about 50k
oh mortgage 24k

so 100k-50k =50K-24k =26 K

so 26k left no vacation
no internet
no dining out

so paying the 17k is really hard and that is only for 4 hours a day 5 days a week

this is typical if you are in New Jersey USA

so if you have 50

Woah, looking at all of ur breakdowns, I would not even lie, the bills and taxes are way too extreme. Like you are earning what looks like a solid amount on paper, but after tax plus all these endless expenses, it feels like the money just vanishes. That is the tough part about living in places like the US and even in Europe as well, the cost of living just keeps eating into your finance until you start questioning if certain things are really necessary..

And having a house help or cleaner sounds good oo, because of the comfort and time it saves, but when you run the numbers like you just did, you will have to balance between convenience and financial reality..

And honestly, in a country like mine, if you are earning such amount or even close, you will literally be seen as filthy rich because there are no crazy taxes and the bills are not half as high as what you are facing over there. That is why sometimes the same money that feels like just managing in the US can make you live large elsewhere…

[Jeremiah001]

Recently, I found out that not all countries commonly have house helpers. I am not talking about really rich people but only those in middle class. A lot of them have house helpers and this seems to be common in countries in southeast asia. It seems like families of middle class from other cultures do not have house helpers.

It has been said that these house helpers allow the people to join workforce. For example with Singapore, a lot of the women work in offices because they have house helpers doing house chores for them and taking care of their children.

I am guessing that the reason why this is a cultural difference is because domestic help is an industry often common where countries have limited job opportunities and have a big income inequality. Can the normalization of domestic help in middle-class households perpetuate class divisions?

Although everyone has different way of handling their affairs, getting house helper depend on the couple in their own way they think is nice by them reason is that not everyone need a house helper, getting a house helper depend on someone source of income how he or she make money their busy schedule nature of theirs job, inability to meet up to theirs house activities require them getting a helper, I can say getting house helper depend on your capability if you can really pay the house helper, because normal average income earner can't afford to keep a house helper, keeping a house helper help in reducing the house duties, it has so many advantages to some extent that's it.

[franky1]

So I live in New Jersey. If I hire a legal house keeper I need to pay 16 per hour at least 4 hours 5 days a week.  

That is 4x5x16=320 a week or 17000 a year.

And it is after tax money.

So if my wife and I earn 200,000 pre tax it is 140,000 after tax to pay 17,000 out of that 140,000 is a lot.

Remember the 140,000 left after salary tax does not include property tax for a home say 15,000

so 140,000-15,000=125,000 now pay for health insurance maybe 15,000 to 25,000 so 100,000

yet to pay
power
heat
car insurance
phone bill
house insurance
clothes
food
actual car purchase or lease
home repairs
water bill
sewer bill. this is about 50k
oh mortgage 24k

so 100k-50k =50K-24k =26 K

so 26k left no vacation
no internet
no dining out

so paying the 17k is really hard and that is only for 4 hours a day 5 days a week

this is typical if you are in New Jersey USA

so if you have 50

firstly if you say the household earns $200k a year
lets even it out $100k each
$100k /52=  $1923 a week
1923 / 40=  $48 an hour

if one of you worked just 4 hours a day instead of 8 hours thats $50k a year less income coming into the household but then not having to pay $17k to someone else. so still a loss of $33k a year by one of you part time working

so paying someone $16per hour instead of your household losing $48 an hour, is actually financially beneficial

as for paying someone $16/hour for 4 hours a day 5 days a week...
.. i think you have never cleaned your house before and thus think it requires one heck of a deep clean and think it then takes that same time every day

once a house is clean you only need a quick wipe over daily. not a 4 hour session every day
(an average hotel maid gets just 20minutes perhotel room to do everything. so unless you have a 12 room mansion.. its not 4 hours a day requirement)
so have maybe 2 hours on a monday to get on top of the weekend clutter. and then 1 hour a day for a quick wipedown for the rest of the weekdays

6 hours a week * 16 *52 = $4,680
and there you go, $17k minus $4680.. i just found you an extra $12k to enjoy on other activities

also you might find alot of savings in your other crappy estimates of thinking it costs $50k just to pay essential bills like power
heat, car insurance, phone bill, house insurance, clothes, food, actual car purchase or lease, home repairs, water bill, sewer bill. 50k

as household bills are not that expensive(not $50k) even if you had 2 cars retail at $100k each meaning $200k /4 would only be $25k a year double lease
maybe dont go for $100k cars. get a couple of $50k cars spread cost over 4 years again and enjoy another $12.5k per year to spend on other activities

[MainIbem]

Although everyone has different way of handling their affairs, getting house helper depend on the couple in their own way they think is nice by them reason is that not everyone need a house helper, getting a house helper depend on someone source of income how he or she make money their busy schedule nature of theirs job, inability to meet up to theirs house activities require them getting a helper, I can say getting house helper depend on your capability if you can really pay the house helper, because normal average income earner can't afford to keep a house helper, keeping a house helper help in reducing the house duties, it has so many advantages to some extent that's it.

Yeah it's meant to be the decision of the both heads of the family which is the father and mother and if they're capable of paying for the expenses of owning a househelp then they're good to go, atleast it would even help the woman to have time for other activities that would bring more income for the family, well it has lots of advantages but it also has it disadvantages too based on trust, some house help can be so mean that they important informations to criminal to rob their employees.

[Promocodeudo]

Yeah it's meant to be the decision of the both heads of the family which is the father and mother and if they're capable of paying for the expenses of owning a househelp then they're good to go, atleast it would even help the woman to have time for other activities that would bring more income for the family, well it has lots of advantages but it also has it disadvantages too based on trust, some house help can be so mean that they important informations to criminal to rob their employees.

Very correct, I'm things like this, both partners decision shouldn't be taken for granted, both should seek for each others opinion so that the can come to a conclusion on what to do in matters like this, paying for the services of the maid might not even be a problem sometimes, there are many reasons why different people may frown at hiring a maid, we have heard many things some made has done to their employers children or even the man having affairs with them that later led to dissolution or happy home break, so many things should be considered before employing a house help because many house helps have their missions so people should be careful.

[Dunamisx]

For newly married couples, i don't think having a house help is that important, but for those that live in a big mansion and needs more helping hands in managing the sanity of the environment, they may require the help for a house help, but i guess this is not mostly common in the advanced countries, because you will pay your house help almost the same amount you also earned, so many will prefer doing their job themselves till their children grew up to start being independent as well and help them with house chores.

[ODG001]

House help necessity depends on the volume of household daily/weekly chores and the view of individuals involved. As long a couple or family can be able to conveniently carry out the daily necessary tasks in their home they will definitely see no need in getting a house help

However, a large household with mostly the aged or tender children will need to employ a house help to carry out designated tasks in exchange for a weekly/daily payment depending on agreement

Sadly there are different views of 'house help' these days. And the inappropriate treatment of house helps or the atrocities committed by some of same house helps cannot be overlooked. So I believe the necessity of getting a house help heavily depends on these factors.

[Frankolala]

as the africans say
"it takes a village"
even they know others need to help out a family. whether its a cleaner or helper, or babysitter. families do need help from others. its nothing new nor a thing only for the rich..
the only difference with the rich is they pay professionals to step in rather than asking for favours from the villagers/relatives

I agree with you. I could remember when I was very young. My Uncle will always call me over to his house during the weekends to help him out in some house chores. I spend most of my weekends with his family because his kids were still very young. We all need someone to help us in the house at a point in time.

[ThankGodkk2]

house helpers aka maid are very expensive

and middle class people cannot afford them is the main reason

plus if i leave my home alone with a maid in charge

i might come back to an empty house

In my opinion I think house help is necessary most certainly for those new couples whom are working in an office work eg. Like those who work in the bank and oil company.

You don't expect them to take the kids to work with them making them leave the school and other activities as children,on this note I think a house help is necessary to get in the family.

So both parents can do their jobs in earning to carry out the obligation of the family.

[TerkAnd]

House helpers are of no much long term importance for couple who are newly weds but in case of mature couple who understand themselves and have built a strong family tie and foundation, its absolutely important. I always advice people to build a family first before looking for a helping hand, that way it becomes easier to inculcate all your family values and norms to the helper who has longer hours of babysitting than the parents.

[DYOR+BTC]

To everything that has advantages their must also be disadvantages that's how nature has made it, employing a help at once home depends on the understanding of both partners and at times its helpful while in the other way round it turns disastrous to the union. Although am not of the opinion that it is dangerous because they help in talking care of home activities and bringing relief to once wife because women are not meant to suffer but to assist the man in all aspects of his life.

Some helps gets get favoured on the process if they are loyal and committed to the job while orders do not, so I think their is nothing wrong in getting house helps for both new and old partners what matters is just the understanding, communication and connection between them