Anonymous wrote:How much do you budget for the additional cost of providing food for an au pair? I'm not referring to eating at restaurants or while on vacation, or money that you include as part of the AP's stipend. I'm talking about the weekly grocery bill - how much does it go up once you get an au pair? (I imagine this varies widely, but would appreciate some examples.)

I know a couple families with make APs who do only healthy food from warehouse stores… but due to the sheer amount of protein and produce, it’s $200/week. Most others are much less.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure but our's always wants Strawberrys out of season and that's expensive. So glad we're getting out of the program!

Oh wow. You all are cheap!!!

Bless your heart.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if you have to ask about how little you can feed your au pair you’re the wrong person for a host.

The fact is when grownups make a financial decision, they have to look at all the ramifications of each potential option.

When you buy a car, you don’t look just at the monthly payment. You look at the price of gas, the maintenance costs, etc.

When you consider getting a dog, you have to look at the cost of not only the purchase price and food- but the costs of grooming, the costs of boarding when you are out of town, etc.

Getting an au pair vs daycare is the same sort of thing. You have to figure the entire cost out (food, utilities, transportation, insurance, gifts, etc) and coming up with the total cost before committing. If not, the family is going to have a financial shock, and the au pair may be put in a bad position.

Asking what the additional costs are likely to be is a very responsible and reasonable way to approach becoming a host parent. It’s essential to becoming a good host parent with a healthy relationship with their au pair.

+1

Anonymous wrote:I think if you have to ask about how little you can feed your au pair you’re the wrong person for a host.

The fact is when grownups make a financial decision, they have to look at all the ramifications of each potential option.

When you buy a car, you don’t look just at the monthly payment. You look at the price of gas, the maintenance costs, etc.

When you consider getting a dog, you have to look at the cost of not only the purchase price and food- but the costs of grooming, the costs of boarding when you are out of town, etc.

Getting an au pair vs daycare is the same sort of thing. You have to figure the entire cost out (food, utilities, transportation, insurance, gifts, etc) and coming up with the total cost before committing. If not, the family is going to have a financial shock, and the au pair may be put in a bad position.

Asking what the additional costs are likely to be is a very responsible and reasonable way to approach becoming a host parent. It’s essential to becoming a good host parent with a healthy relationship with their au pair.

I think if you have to ask about how little you can feed your au pair you’re the wrong person for a host.

Anonymous wrote:Not sure but our's always wants Strawberrys out of season and that's expensive. So glad we're getting out of the program!

Oh wow. You all are cheap!!!

It will vary greatly by the aupair. We hosted two thai aupairs who mostly ate rice for two solid years. Our Brazilian aupair swore she only ate all organic and gluten free food and cost us a ridiculous amount in groceries which she had no idea how to cook and often spoiled. She was told from "friends" that organic and gluten free would not make her fat like regular american food. ::

It's nearly impossible to tell ahead of time how expensive the grocery bill will get. Ask if they have any dietary restrictions because it can easily go sideways.

Some of you sound so out there .