Has anyone read The Help yet? It’s been recommended to me several times, but I’ve been too busy reading free books to pay for it yet. Is it worth $9.99? Anyway, that’s not what this post is about. This post is about my actual help. I have employees!
Most Indians around here either have help, or are help. There’s not much in between. I’ve gotten the impression for several Indian moms that I’ve met that they need baby care. They can’t take their children out anywhere. It’s always the nannies with the kids at the park in the evenings. Some of these same women think I’m crazy for have two kids! How can I handle two kids, even with a house helper?
I recently asked Mommysavers if they would rather have a house cleaner, nanny, cook, chauffeur, launderer, or gardener. The response was overwhelmingly “House Cleaner!” so we’ll start with her.
This sweet woman comes daily to clean the floors and bathrooms in our apartment. Cleaning the floors is the bane of my existence, so I’m very grateful for her. The floors really do need to be cleaned every day, too. She is paid by the landlord, though I give her Maggie’s hand-me-downs for her granddaughter, if that counts.
Next up: Chauffeur. He calls himself a “cab driver.” My husband’s company pays for a hired car and driver for us 25 days each month. On Sundays, we take an autorickshaw to church, and stay home the rest of the day. We have a kilometer allowance we’ve never come close to using, which means we also don’t have to worry about gas prices. We don’t pay him directly, but we do give him occasional tips, or give him money to buy lunch.
Sandeep is awesome. His English is terrific, and his driving is the best. We occasionally have a different driver if he’s sick or on holiday, and Sandeep is by far the best at navigating the poor roads and heavy traffic in Bangalore. And he loves the kids. He has a boy around Maggie’s age, but his family lives in his village 300 kilometers away.
Having a driver is a bit of a hassle. I can’t just run out the door whenever I feel like it, I have to wait for him to pick me up. Of course, it’s nice not to have to worry about parking spots, or carrying heavy groceries, and I wouldn’t want to drive here even if we were allowed. I can’t wait to get home to my car, though.
Finally, I have a house helper, Kannagi She comes three times a week for several hours, and spends most of it cooking. She makes homemade pretzels at least once a week. She makes dinner, usually enough that I don’t have to cook even when she doesn’t come. She also takes the kids to the playground. The kids adore her – Dalton calls her ‘Kiki’ and Maggie actually lets her come near!
She is very trustworthy, and I love that I can leave the kids with her to run an errand, or for a date night. She is a member of our church (yes, she’s Christian, not Hindu) and known/employed by friends and coworkers previously, so a long and good track record. I’m so lucky to have her. We pay Kannagi ourselves. She makes about $1.50/hour, plus I give her bus fare.
So, I don’t have to pay much to have my cook, house cleaner, nanny and driver, but I think I’m getting spoiled. We might have to arrange our budget around a house cleaner when we get back. What do you think – is a house cleaner worth the money??
Related posts:
Frugal Foreigner: Could You Live on $2 Per Day?
Frugal Foreigner From Scratch: Homemade Soft Pretzels
Frugal Foreigner: Indian Biryani Recipe
Frugal Foreigner: Bangalore Apartment Tour
Frugal Foreigner Gets Around: Transportation in Bangalore
Frugal Foreigner: What We Do All Day
Frugal Foreigner: Intro to India
Frugal Foreigner From Scratch: Homemade Chocolate Sauce
What a great blog post! I just finished The Help and was able to borrow it in e-pub format from our local library – it took me a while to get as well as the waitlist was long! Really liked the book!
Great post! I am super jealous. If you liked The Help make sure to read The Space Between Us. It is and Indian version of The Help.
The Help was a really great book. I wanted more of the story… Definitely worth $9.99!
It breaks my heart to know that there are such good people out there willing to do the work we ourselves don’t want to do and they do it for $1.50/hr.
Read The Help. Worth. Every. Penny.
If I could afford a house cleaner I would, 4 kids can make a real mess at times. Maybe when I get out of school and have a real job, even though right now would be the perfect time.
i dislike cleaning the bathroom plus it would save me time.
Then I start thinking, if I go to work and then pay someone, then I may as well save the money I worked for and just do it myself.
Definitely read The Help! It was a wonderful book!! I read a lot and The Help definitely makes my Top 10 of all time favorites.
This article disgusted me. Get off your lazy ass and do something…and personally children do not belong in the arms of nannies.
I cannot believe how ugly and hateful your response is, not to mention ignorant. Maybe you should take a minute and figure out what the scenario truly is here before you spew nastiness. And then if you still disagree with the choices you should just be silent because if you have nothing nice to say…
Wow, that was very judgmental. What is a sweet woman on the other side of the world that doesn’t know many people supposed to do when she needs to do something without her kids?
Believe me, this frugal foreigner is a great mom and she spends tons of time with her kids. She teaches them so much. She is a role model of what I should have been when I was raising kids.
Loved the book–The Help. Looking forward to seeing the movie in a couple of weeks. Read it and then go see it!
This was really interesting! I don’t get why you are getting flack for the “nanny” (which appears to be more like a babysitter). I don’t live near family and people don’t realize how difficult it is to never have Grandma, etc. available to watch a child or two for an hour. The majority of American babies are in daycare 40+ hours a week, yet you’re getting attacked for hiring someone to help you out occasionally. Good grief!
I do have a question, though- Obviously, te $1.50 an hour is a typical wage there. Do you ever feel tempted to just give her, say, $50 as a bonus? I understand that it might lead to a future expectation, but I think I would be tempted just because $50 isn’t much to me but would be like my husband randomly getting an extra paycheck.
Thanks for an interesting look at your life!
Jessica, $1.50 is a pretty good wage here – especially considering her job is not labor intensive and she doesn’t work 12 hours/day. I do give her extra if she watches the kids for us to go out at night, and we’ll give her a big bonus when we leave.