Nanny/household manager - how to pay for grocery trips, etc.?
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Anonymous
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We've had a nanny for years, but for the first time will have hours during the day when the nanny will be on the clock but all kids will be in school. During that time, we'd like the nanny to do errands like the Costco trip, Target, other grocery shopping - the errands that soak up our weekend time. Here's my question, though: how does this work when it's somewhere like Costco and we want the nanny to charge directly to our card? Same with Target (that seems an easier answer - they never look at name). For small dollar errands, we're fine with leaving cash, but for trips that are hundreds of dollars (Costco!) we'd like to stick to using the card.
Seeking advice from experienced employers - thank you! |
Anonymous
| How about a debit card? Ask your banker about it. |
Anonymous
| We just use cash since I don't have a credit card with her name on it. It works fine for us since we know what our groceries cost and we give a bit more just in case and she brings home the change. |
Anonymous
| Since you've had this nanny for years and this will be a weekly issue, I'd probably suggest opening a bank account for this purpose and getting her a debit card for that account. Or opening up a credit card with a low credit limit and getting her a card for that. |
Anonymous
| Yes, get her a specific card linked to a specific account. Presumably you trust her, and you don't have to put more than she'll spend into the account... |
Anonymous
| A prepaid debit card is also a solution. |
Anonymous
| We give our nanny a credit card with her name on it. If you trust her with your kids, you trust her with your money. |
Anonymous
| With all our nannies/house managers we have made them additional authorized users of one of our credit cards (that we rarely use). It has her name on it, bills come to us, and she places all receipts in an envelope for us to review if we'd like. Our contract states that nanny/HM will be provided a credit card for purchases on behalf of family, and is not to be used whatsoever for any personal reason. Has always worked well; requires a short call to your cc company to provide nanny's info. |
Anonymous
| My employers gave me a credit card and debit card with my name on them. I have never misused it and they trust me completey. I leave receipts for everything I use. |
Anonymous
Use=spend |
Anonymous
| Costco has a debit card you can buy, just get several 100$ cards. You need a certain credit card (AMEX for now), but I guess that is changing. |
Anonymous
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I would get prepaid debit cards that you can load from online. OR just give her cash.
You could give her a credit card with her name on it if you trust her. Based on five years of dealing with many nannies, I would rather just trust with the amount of the trip plus some extra instead of a credit card with their name on it. Yes, I had a nanny who had my credit card who "accidentally" used mine instead of hers on occasion. She said she'd make up for it by putting my charges on hers but the accounting is never really clear. And it happens quite often. I think she just thinks that she deserves a free Starbucks now and then or something. This, among other reasons is why she is no longer working for me now. I would've happily bought her Starbucks to commend her for her job but it was not hers to take. I watch my Starbucks budget too and we are not made out of money, although she might think so. Cash in an envelope just for the trip is the least problematic way. |
Anonymous
+1. When we had a housekeeper doing this, we had a credit card with a limit of $500 that she used to grocery shop. Now that our nanny is responsible for this, she just has our regular credit card. |
Anonymous
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Once you giveth the credit card, you cannot take it away without destroying the relationship. Are you going to be comfortable with all that she buys at Costco? If she comes home with something you don't want, and there will be a lot of it, what will you do?
I say prepaid debit or cash. |