At what HHI would you get a cleaning lady to come every week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:200k

OP: You would seriously spend $500/mo on a cleaning lady at a HHI of 200k? Do you have kids?

I spend $600 a month for a cleaning lady who comes twice a week. $75 a visit. SFH. 3000+ sqft. hhi is 240k. both of us work and this is something that makes life easier for us. my mil stays with us and she looks after my kids when they come home from school.


My friend pays $1200 for similar service but her cleaning lady does everything in the house - from laundry to food prep to organizing. She is a SAHM, with grown up kids. She also gets a masseuse at home once a week - so another $400 per month. Her DH has a good job, maybe making between 200 - 300 k. They have a house but not in an expensive area. kids go to public schools magnet programs, so no cost of private schools. They live quite modestly - but her dh really pampers her in this regard.

[Anonymous]

We have a HHI of $250k and do bi-weekly at $140 a pop. But importantly, we do a lot of housework on our own. Our cleaning lady folds clothes if we leave them washed and dried. And, we only have one DC. If we had two or more, we might be compelled to consider weekly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:200k

OP: You would seriously spend $500/mo on a cleaning lady at a HHI of 200k? Do you have kids?

I spend $600 a month for a cleaning lady who comes twice a week. $75 a visit. SFH. 3000+ sqft. hhi is 240k. both of us work and this is something that makes life easier for us. my mil stays with us and she looks after my kids when they come home from school.


My friend pays $1200 for similar service but her cleaning lady does everything in the house - from laundry to food prep to organizing. She is a SAHM, with grown up kids. She also gets a masseuse at home once a week - so another $400 per month. Her DH has a good job, maybe making between 200 - 300 k. They have a house but not in an expensive area. kids go to public schools magnet programs, so no cost of private schools. They live quite modestly - but her dh really pampers her in this regard.

Obviously everyone can do what they want, but your friend sounds wildly excessive. That much help with no job and no little kids sounds like quite a lot. It would be one thing if DH made huge money, but 2-300,000 (which, don't get me wrong, is a very good salary) doesn't usually get you that kind of lifestyle around here. Maybe they scrimp elsewhere or have other money, but I hope they are spending every dime they make and then get themselves in trouble.

[Anonymous]

We went from biweekly to weekly at around 100K. Zero regrets, it made our lives so much easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:220k and we're not there yet. We have every other week at 110 a pop, and I clean on the weekends in between.

This is pretty much us too. I'm a SAHM though so I try to keep things reasonably clean during the week when I have small pockets of time here and there.

[Anonymous]

Can you meet your long-term savings goals is you increase your spending by $240?

If the answer is yes, then who cares what your HHI is.

[Anonymous]

OP. I have a higher hhi and have the cleaning ladies come every two weeks. (btw, i have a big house and only pay $100 so think you can get this done cheaper)

However, what makes a bigger difference to me is to have my nanny do the clean up/tidy on a daily basis. My whole house doesnt need the full clean up weekly but high traffic areas certainly needs more cleaning.

Can you hire someone to come in once a week (or more) for a hour or so to do tidy up tasks. It would be a fraction of the cost but probably well worth it.

[Anonymous]

We went to weekly at 230k. Mainly because my DH does no housework ... But we are going back to biweekly now due to increased expenses in other areas. Honestly weekly was amazing, and being able to afford weekly was a huge motivation for me to fins a higher paying job!

[Anonymous]

I don't think the HHI should be the criteria for hiring a cleaner. It depends on other factors like # of children, WOH, retirement goals and disposable income.

[Anonymous]

We spend $400 per month on cleaning and our HHI is $200K

[Anonymous]

We went from every other week to every week when our first child was born. HHI at the time around 300K. We now pay $120 per week, which includes bigger items on a rotating basis (fridge, oven, etc.). Cleaners pick up and organize toys, change sheets, etc. on a weekly basis, which is key as both my DH and I WOH, and we do not want to spend our weekends cleaning.

[Anonymous]

We already spend $500/month b/c my cleaning lady is $250 each time - so I'd be spending 1K if I had her come weekly. No bueno.

HHI around 450K

[Anonymous]

hhi around 400k. No kids and no cleaning lady. We have the time to clean and I'd rather save the ~400 a month. I also haven't been that impressed with the results from cleaning ladies I've hired in the past.

When we have kids I will definitely get a cleaning lady and probably weekly.

[Anonymous]

We are $215k HHI and had weekly service during the last weeks of my second pregnancy and the first 4 months post-partum, but we are going back to every other week. Ours is a bit less expensive at $90 weekly and $100 bi-weekly. I agree that the getting ready for them to clean gets old bit as we are both back at work full time the house shouldn't get as messy.

[Anonymous]

300k and no cleaning lady. Our house doesn't have to look like a hotel. I work p/t and have 2 kids and have plenty of time to keep it as clean as it needs to be for us.