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Anonymous wrote:Thanks, all. $16/17 sounds doable and we could guarantee 40 hours a week to be worked M-Th (Fridays off.)
Are there any other expenses I'm not factoring in? I think we'd want to give a birthday and holiday bonus (how much is typical?) Are there any other expenses? I would not have the nanny driving the kids around so I don't think fuel $ would be necessary.
Thanks for the info re health insurance not being very common.
Since you say you'll be paying legally, add about 10% to the weekly pay to cover your share of taxes/expenses, plus the cost of a nanny payroll company. So $16/hour gross for 40 hours = $640/week, add $64 for taxes.
If nanny does eventually drive kids around, the standard is to use IRS reimbursement, currently 56,5 cents per mile.
As far as B'day and Holiday bonuses (and yearly retention bonuses) the "standard" is that there is no standard.
I get 1 week for B'day, 2 weeks for holiday/retention. Some get more, some get less. IMO, nannies should never expect bonuses, because some families can't afford them, some just don't give them, etc. It's a fabulous gesture, but if it's not in your budget...
A LI nanny makes slightly less than a LO nanny, IF she lives in 24/7. The PP is correct that the reduction in wages is around $2/hour. However, if you wish for a nanny to only LI during the work week, you can't really reduce salary, since the nanny will still be (presumably) paying rent elsewhere.
If your main concern in looking for a LI nanny is financial savings, I don't think you're going to be all that pleased with the "savings" you'll see. Especially in your situation, with newborn twins and an older sibling. If you are expecting nanny to be capable of full charge care (i.e., if you and your partner will be working FT) an experienced nanny will likely cost you $18+ per hour, and less experienced one will cost slightly less. If you are in a major metro area the cost may be slightly higher.
For example, using the care.com wage calculator, which is notoriously on the low end of accurate (http://www.care.com/babysitting-rates)
In Georgetown:
A nanny w/ 1 year of experience caring for 3 kids, $14/hr
A nanny w/ 10+ years experience caring for 3 kids, $18.50/hr
In Richmond:
1 year experience, $11.50/hr
10+ years experience, $14.50/hr
In PGC,:
1 year experience, $13.50
10+ years experience, $17.50
Of course, I have no idea where you live, but I'd guess you're looking at about $15+ per hour, and with OT (if applicable) a 50 hour week will cost you $750+ per week in addition to about a 10% cost for taxes. And that's for a relatively experienced LI. A LO will be about $17+/hr, plus OT, so that means around $935/week + 10%
Of course, you can find cheaper care, and you may be able to find someone perfectly capable for $10/hour. But that person will be very likely to leave as soon as she meets other nannies and determines she is underpaid.
If your main concern in looking for a LI nanny is financial savings, I don't think you're going to be all that pleased with the "savings" you'll see. Especially in your situation, with newborn twins and an older sibling. If you are expecting nanny to be capable of full charge care (i.e., if you and your partner will be working FT) an experienced nanny will likely cost you $18+ per hour, and less experienced one will cost slightly less. If you are in a major metro area the cost may be slightly higher.
For example, using the care.com wage calculator, which is notoriously on the low end of accurate (http://www.care.com/babysitting-rates)
In Georgetown:
A nanny w/ 1 year of experience caring for 3 kids, $14/hr
A nanny w/ 10+ years experience caring for 3 kids, $18.50/hr
In Richmond:
1 year experience, $11.50/hr
10+ years experience, $14.50/hr
In PGC,:
1 year experience, $13.50
10+ years experience, $17.50
Of course, I have no idea where you live, but I'd guess you're looking at about $15+ per hour, and with OT (if applicable) a 50 hour week will cost you $750+ per week in addition to about a 10% cost for taxes. And that's for a relatively experienced LI. A LO will be about $17+/hr, plus OT, so that means around $935/week + 10%
Of course, you can find cheaper care, and you may be able to find someone perfectly capable for $10/hour. But that person will be very likely to leave as soon as she meets other nannies and determines she is underpaid.
When they ask you to go with them, say, "I have plans already. I wish you had told me sooner that you wanted me to work that weekend. With advance knowledge of your needs, I might have been able to keep that time open for you."
Then if they keep asking, tell them you'll go if they pay you double time for every single hour you are away from your home. And get the $$ in advance!
Then if they keep asking, tell them you'll go if they pay you double time for every single hour you are away from your home. And get the $$ in advance!
Anonymous wrote:nannydebsays wrote:No, no one knows anything more than an estimate of how few parents pay "nanny taxes". But I would bet an anonymous survey would reveal that less than 30% of parents do pay legally.
And just to be clear, it's not all employers fault - nannies out there who avoid taxes are a huge issue as well.
Anecdotally, in a recent local survey, 50% of respondents said they were paid off the books, most because the parents chose that option, some because the nannies themselves made that choice.
Also anecdotally, last time I job searched, more than 80% of the parents I contacted either had no idea why I would want to be paid on the books, or downright refused to do so.
You're forgetting that's assumed that the employer, not the employee, who has the higher hand, when it comes to paying taxes.
I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand your point. Can you elaborate?
Anonymous wrote:I've been a nanny for a month, two boys 7 and 4. My hours are 7-7 mon-fri. No set contract, never signed anything. Parents are going through a divorce. From 7:00-8:30 i get the kids ready for school and have breakfast. 8:30-2:00 i have free time, but cant commit to anything. 2:00-4:00 i have just the 4 year old and from 4:00-7:00 i have both. The mother wants the kids bathed and in their pajamas by 6:30 every night. I was under the impression that the mother would be home from work between 6:30-7:00 which is fine. In the month that I've been here, she's maybe come home twice between 6:30-7:00. The rest of the time she has been home early.
My problem is I don't feel that I should still be there once she gets home. One day she came home at 5 and I had to stay till 6:00. She has a late night once a week which is Thursday. She takes off from work and yet I'm there all day. I don't understand why I should be putting her kids to bed while she's sitting on the couch with a glass of wine. Let me go home early and dock my pay. Am I wrong? On top of that, the kids are out of control!
Well, you can approach your MB and tell her you want to leave once she appears in her home. That will solve your problem, since she will then fire you.
Seriously though, you need to either accept that it's not your business what your employer(s) do while they are paying you to care for the kids or you need to change career paths. I don't understand why you would rather lose pay than just do your darn job regardless of where MB happens to be. I get that as a newbie nanny and as a nanny new to this family you are adjusting to your environment, but I think your time might be better spent working to establish a relationship with your charges that will lead to less wild behavior regardless of who else is in their home when you are working.
No, no one knows anything more than an estimate of how few parents pay "nanny taxes". But I would bet an anonymous survey would reveal that less than 30% of parents do pay legally.
And just to be clear, it's not all employers fault - nannies out there who avoid taxes are a huge issue as well.
Anecdotally, in a recent local survey, 50% of respondents said they were paid off the books, most because the parents chose that option, some because the nannies themselves made that choice.
Also anecdotally, last time I job searched, more than 80% of the parents I contacted either had no idea why I would want to be paid on the books, or downright refused to do so.
And just to be clear, it's not all employers fault - nannies out there who avoid taxes are a huge issue as well.
Anecdotally, in a recent local survey, 50% of respondents said they were paid off the books, most because the parents chose that option, some because the nannies themselves made that choice.
Also anecdotally, last time I job searched, more than 80% of the parents I contacted either had no idea why I would want to be paid on the books, or downright refused to do so.
Anonymous wrote:nannydebsays wrote:Yes, 09:46, but since 85 - 90% of parents refuse to pay on the books or are willing to hire a nanny who refuses to be paid on the books, the greater supply theory doesn't really fit here.
Unless, of course, the Federal Government finally puts some teeth in the household employer laws WRT the IRS. Parents (or nannies) facing jail time for paying illegally would probably up the number of jobs only "legal" workers could take.
Where are you getting your figures?
I'm quoting nanny tax business owners. I'm sure more people pay legally if they are at risk of losing their jobs/professional standing if they hire illegally, but DC is not the norm.
Yes, 09:46, but since 85 - 90% of parents refuse to pay on the books or are willing to hire a nanny who refuses to be paid on the books, the greater supply theory doesn't really fit here.
Unless, of course, the Federal Government finally puts some teeth in the household employer laws WRT the IRS. Parents (or nannies) facing jail time for paying illegally would probably up the number of jobs only "legal" workers could take.
Unless, of course, the Federal Government finally puts some teeth in the household employer laws WRT the IRS. Parents (or nannies) facing jail time for paying illegally would probably up the number of jobs only "legal" workers could take.
Ridiculously low, especially with the "shared bathroom" issue. The potential employer might see that her offer is unreasonable once she starts screening people willing to work for what she is offering.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yikes, I'm a highly paid nanny who does whatever I think is the best thing for the child. Parents who want me, tell me they specifically depend on me for that reason. They often discuss what their doing, and ask if that's the best thing.
Does that mean I am not a nanny, in your opinion?
You've described yourself exactly as NannyDeb did - someone who does what the parents want while offering advice, ideas, etc. I don't see any way in which you could logically argue that her definition is invalid.
No, I personally do not do anything, because I was "told" to. I do only what I determine is best. But that's just me, maybe.
Wow, really? So if your employers told you to give their child 2 naps a day at specific times, and to feed that child only certain specific foods, you would ignore them and do as you determined best? Even if what you thought was best directly contradicted the wishes of the parents?
That's...unusual.
Anonymous wrote:I think the problem here is one of degree and it may be that the various posters are closer to consensus than they think. I really can't imagine that many parents do no cleanup all weekend, leaving two days worth of dirty dishes and trash and toys strewn about and staring at overflowing diaper pails because "the nanny will do it" on Monday. On the other hand, some of you nannies seem a bit insecure about your chosen professional and are waaay quick to outrage when you think a fellow nanny might be getting treated like "the help."
The fact that a parent does not spend Sunday night getting the house in whatever condition the nanny is expected to leave it on Friday does not make him or her lazy or a poor parent, any more than your failure to take your charges shoe shopping and research school options and purge their closets makes you a bad nanny. Parents get their fair share of the "not fun" aspects of parenting, and then some. But if they are efficient about using their time, it will likely be a different set of "not fun" tasks than what the nanny is charged with doing. This is reality and the norm, as is clear from the other gripe thread about how much you all hate Mondays.
Parents are not all entitled slobs looking to take advantage of nannies. We're busy, and that is why we pay you to take over some of the more delegable aspects of raising children, including the extra cleanup on Mondays.
Odd, I also do the shoe shopping, the closet purging, and the school option researching. Guess I am not in any way shape or form a "bad nanny", huh?
No one is saying all parents are slobs. What people are saying is that parents who take on the "yucky" stuff when they are in charge of their children are much more likely to RETAIN their super nanny. Parents who don't? They'll be replacing nanny every year or so, when the annoyance and burn-out get to be too much for any nanny.
Parenting is not all fun and games. It's messy and dirty, and stressful, and filled with little mundane tasks.
Parenting means DOING those nasty little tasks like loading bottles in the dishwasher on the weekend, teaching DC to clean up after themselves, and occasionally taking out the diaper trash.
Parents who are only "into" doing the fun stuff need to be clear in their expectations: "We will never empty the diaper pail, clean the toys up, or so much as rinse out a bottle. That is always your job, nanny!"
Then nanny can decide if she wants to work for entitled people or for people who accept that being a parent comes with good and bad stuff.
Parenting means DOING those nasty little tasks like loading bottles in the dishwasher on the weekend, teaching DC to clean up after themselves, and occasionally taking out the diaper trash.
Parents who are only "into" doing the fun stuff need to be clear in their expectations: "We will never empty the diaper pail, clean the toys up, or so much as rinse out a bottle. That is always your job, nanny!"
Then nanny can decide if she wants to work for entitled people or for people who accept that being a parent comes with good and bad stuff.
Anonymous wrote:Right now I am looking at our daycare bills for our two kids (one in school already, so after school care) of $1850/mo - I don't work a very high paying job, so it's at the point where I am working to keep my skills fresh as opposed to it making financial sense for us, we just clear a few hundred each month over additional costs vs. SAHM
So (I'm looking for opinions here) do you think it would make more sense for us to get a nanny and have someone that would really spend time with our children as individuals and save us some of the afternoon stress during pickups? How would the monthly cost compare? How do you know you can trust your nanny? I have just never considered this and don't even know where to begin.
Thank you!!
If you are looking to save money by hiring a nanny, I am not sure that will work for you. Nannies are legally entitled to earn at least minimum wage, and most decent nannies earn more. Let's crunch some numbers:
Presumably you need care 40 hours a week minimum, FT for 1 child, PT for the other except in summer. You currently spend $1850/month on care. Take 10% off the top for employment taxes that you will pay leaves you with $1665 per month. Dividing $1665 by 4.3 (# of weeks in a month) and then again by 40 (assumed minimum hours of work per week), you wind up being able to afford an hourly rate of $9.68. (Weekly GROSS pay of $387.21.)
Of course, if you need more than 40 hours/week of care, that will dramatically lower the hourly rate you can afford, since nannies are paid OT after 40 hours:
45 hours/week = $8.15/hour
50 hours/week = $7.04/hour
55 hours/week = $6.19/hour
So, if you want a nanny, I think a nanny share might be the way to go, although it really won't save you much money. Plus you'll have to find a nanny who can fit 3+ kids in the back seat of her car, and who is capable of managing care for 3+ kids as well.
Nanny share rates are hotly debated here, but if you have 2 kids, you'll pay slightly more than the parents with one kid. If you do need care for 45 hours/week, then you'll be paying $8/hour with OT, and the other family might expect to pay $6. So you'd be seeking a nanny willing to work a 3 kid share for $14/hour. I don't know if you'll find a nanny with much experience willing to take that rate, but if you're willing to accept a "starter nanny", you might luck out.
IDK, OP. You might be at the point where it no longer makes financial sense for you to work. Good luck with your decision!
A sitter generally does custodial care. Makes sure the kids are safe, fed, and entertained.
A nanny does all that and more - she works to provide an environment that is intellectually, emotionally, and physically stimulating, and she often has a child development related degree and/or experience.
A sitter does as she is directed to do by the parents, without offering ideas/suggestions/advice.
A nanny does as she is directed to do, but she also expects to give advice, offer ideas, help parents resolve issues, and take initiative.
A nanny does all that and more - she works to provide an environment that is intellectually, emotionally, and physically stimulating, and she often has a child development related degree and/or experience.
A sitter does as she is directed to do by the parents, without offering ideas/suggestions/advice.
A nanny does as she is directed to do, but she also expects to give advice, offer ideas, help parents resolve issues, and take initiative.
How is a nanny union going to solve these issues, particularly those problems that occur outside the US?
Will all nannies be forced to join the union and made to pay high yearly dues so that the union can pay high end lobbyists to advocate that the rights we already have be enforced and that more rights be created?
Do you believe nannies should have more and better rights than any other hourly worker in the US? If so, how do you plan to have those rights enforced when the rights we already have a either not know ignored?
And what do you think will happen when the nanny union decides that nannies are entitled to leave their workplaces for 30 minute breaks every 4 hours? Will legislatures actually put that sort of insanity into law? If so, how many employers do you think will drop their nannies like a hot potato in favor of daycare of some kind?
Will all nannies be forced to join the union and made to pay high yearly dues so that the union can pay high end lobbyists to advocate that the rights we already have be enforced and that more rights be created?
Do you believe nannies should have more and better rights than any other hourly worker in the US? If so, how do you plan to have those rights enforced when the rights we already have a either not know ignored?
And what do you think will happen when the nanny union decides that nannies are entitled to leave their workplaces for 30 minute breaks every 4 hours? Will legislatures actually put that sort of insanity into law? If so, how many employers do you think will drop their nannies like a hot potato in favor of daycare of some kind?
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