Anonymous
07/01/2014 19:41
Subject: Where my pay goes
9:37's tone was a bit insensitive and I disagree with the notion that a nanny does not need insurance, but she is correct in her assertion that the problem lies in the nanny's lifestyle expectations.
$15 an hour is not a rate that affords a great lifestyle, but as in any career, a nanny who is new or lacks a college degree should not expect to earn as much as someone with better credentials or a better skillset just because she wants a certain lifestyle. When I was a new college graduate earning a ridiculously low administrative assistant salary in New York City, I managed by renting a single room for a while and then living with roommates in an apartment where we converted the living room into a bedroom, so we had no real common space. This kind of arrangement is very typical for young professionals in NYC. A few years later I had worked up and was earning more, so I upgraded to a rundown studio that was maybe 350 square feet total without a real kitchen. It wasn't great, but that is what I could afford at the time. Eventually I went back to school and found a way to earn myself better housing and more luxuries.
So, while I recognize that $1500 is low for a one-bedroom apartment in DC proper, I agree with 9:37 that a one bedroom apartment is a luxury for a nanny earning $15 per hour. If the nanny is ambitious and great at her job, she should be able to work up to a better rate and lifestyle over time, like everyone else in every other profession. Also, very few nannies in DC work 40 hours a week, so the income level in OP's post is artificially low.
$15 an hour is not a rate that affords a great lifestyle, but as in any career, a nanny who is new or lacks a college degree should not expect to earn as much as someone with better credentials or a better skillset just because she wants a certain lifestyle. When I was a new college graduate earning a ridiculously low administrative assistant salary in New York City, I managed by renting a single room for a while and then living with roommates in an apartment where we converted the living room into a bedroom, so we had no real common space. This kind of arrangement is very typical for young professionals in NYC. A few years later I had worked up and was earning more, so I upgraded to a rundown studio that was maybe 350 square feet total without a real kitchen. It wasn't great, but that is what I could afford at the time. Eventually I went back to school and found a way to earn myself better housing and more luxuries.
So, while I recognize that $1500 is low for a one-bedroom apartment in DC proper, I agree with 9:37 that a one bedroom apartment is a luxury for a nanny earning $15 per hour. If the nanny is ambitious and great at her job, she should be able to work up to a better rate and lifestyle over time, like everyone else in every other profession. Also, very few nannies in DC work 40 hours a week, so the income level in OP's post is artificially low.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 17:40
Subject: Where my pay goes
Anonymous wrote:This thread is embarrassing for you, OP, and for every nanny who engages in over sharing her personal finances to guilt parents into paying above market rates. This is not the way to earn higher rates.
Your problem is not bad, evil MBs who don't care about you. Your problem is you have chosen a profession that is flooded with people who will work for a variety of rates and who have no particular way to distinguish themselves in a way that automatically commands higher rates.
It's true that you only need one family to accept an above market rate to employ you and I absolutely think nannies should market themselves to parents as exceptional nannies who are worth high rates.
But don't do it by claiming you should make more because you have a cable bill to pay. You chose to live in a high COL area in a low skill profession. Thousands of people make it work here on less than you make. Your expected benefits are really good and your PTO and other perks may well be equal to your employers, so sympathy rates won't work.
And you don't need sympathy pay. You need pay rates based on your skills and dedication. Focus on that and ask for the rate you deserve at every interview.
OP here. I am not embarrassed. This is the best place to share personal stories and the whole point of DCUM is to allow ordinary people to get feedback about their experiences. I love that people share here because it allows us to crowd source the best answers to some of the most common concerns, doing a great deal of public service. Even though I wince when I see people resort to bad behavior I also am happy to see people get real help. A while back someone posted about a child injury that was hard to detect or diagnose. She was scared and upset because she believed she would be blamed for harming her charge. DCUM posters rose to the occasion, she got some great information that likely saved her employment because she had been on the verge of quitting.
Now you too have posted anonymously, sharing your beliefs about an issue that is of vital importance to all of us. If it is an over share then Perhaps its because your input was not useful. Mine was, as acknowledged by MBs who would like to know the cost of living in DC.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 17:31
Subject: Re:Where my pay goes
* did not intend to put that bit in blue.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 17:30
Subject: Where my pay goes
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/14poverty.cfm
Thank you for sharing the federal poverty guidelines. Here is are the facts for DC though: OP has $120 left over without figuring taxes or utilities or internet. Making her clearly eligible for DCs Nutrition Assistance Program which has a net income threshold of $958. She is also eligible for DC Medicaid which has a $1,915 cutoff. She is also classified as either ELI of VLI (extremely low income and very low income) and eligible for housing assistance.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligibility
http://dhs.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dhs/service_content/attachments/Children%20and%20Families%20Medicaid%20Countable%20Income%202013.pdf
http://dhcd.dc.gov/page/2012-cdbg-home-nsp-lihtc-and-hptf-program-limits
You might have anticipated all this if you had fully read your own link. It states that many agencies do not use federal poverty data.
"Programs using the guidelines (or percentage multiples of the guidelines — for instance, 125 percent or 185 percent of the guidelines) in determining eligibility include Head Start, the Supplemental Nutition Assistance Program (SNAP), the National School Lunch Program, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Note that in general, cash public assistance programs (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Security Income) do NOT use the poverty guidelines in determining eligibility. The Earned Income Tax Credit program also does NOT use the poverty guidelines to determine eligibility. For a more detailed list of programs that do and don’t use the guidelines, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)."
You cannot even put 2 and 2 together. 15/hr x 8 hrs x 260 working days/year = 31,200 Annual salary (gross before taxes)
958$ net per month x 12 months =11,496 .
So unless you somehow manage to pay 20,000 in taxes to arrive at 11.5K net, then no, you would not qualify for the programs listed. Proposed living wage in DC was 11$/hour. So 15$ hr is about 30% above the local living wage.
Maybe the rate you're getting is not enough to have the standard of living you would like to have, but it's not immoral and does not leave you going to bed hungry. Nobody forced anyone into accepting any given rate, you asked for that job and signed a contract, from which by the way you can also freely walk away.
Good call, you are right. I have section 8 and was mixed the two ideas up when I posted the links. The housing department counts what I have left at the end of the month and uses that number to determine my portion of the rent. That is why even with my nanny job paying $14 I only pay $25 per month for rent, the minimum allowable payment under section 8. I am not sure whether OP would qualify because she makes $1 more then me.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 16:41
Subject: Re:Where my pay goes
Oh geez.
What happened to the days when we believed everyone, even if the best job they could do was flipping burgers or stocking shelves, should be able to put a roof over their head, food in their stomachs, and gas in their car? In the last 65 years something truly terrible has happened to the American mentality.
Not everyone can go to college.
Not everyone wants to go to college.
Not everyone who goes to college can get a great job. It is now the 1950s equivalent of a HS diploma: mandatory for most jobs but no guarantee for a good one.
But we still need garbagemen, nannies, shelf stockers, and someone making your burger. We have gone from a country that manufactures to a country that serves but somehow, probably due to our British roots, we feel that working in the service industry isn't worth a living wage? And when someone points this out your response is "too bad so sad should have had more privilege"?!?
Gross. I know it isn't just DCUM but can't we start by being conscientious about the need to have a workforce who has enough money to put back into the economy?
What happened to the days when we believed everyone, even if the best job they could do was flipping burgers or stocking shelves, should be able to put a roof over their head, food in their stomachs, and gas in their car? In the last 65 years something truly terrible has happened to the American mentality.
Not everyone can go to college.
Not everyone wants to go to college.
Not everyone who goes to college can get a great job. It is now the 1950s equivalent of a HS diploma: mandatory for most jobs but no guarantee for a good one.
But we still need garbagemen, nannies, shelf stockers, and someone making your burger. We have gone from a country that manufactures to a country that serves but somehow, probably due to our British roots, we feel that working in the service industry isn't worth a living wage? And when someone points this out your response is "too bad so sad should have had more privilege"?!?
Gross. I know it isn't just DCUM but can't we start by being conscientious about the need to have a workforce who has enough money to put back into the economy?
Anonymous
07/01/2014 16:26
Subject: Where my pay goes
Anonymous wrote://Must you be told, Einstein, domestic work is the best many low-income people can do. Wake-up already. //
Ahhh... now I get it!! But they are somehow entitled to a high wage nonetheless?
//Yikes. You sound like a hardened parent, who cares nothing of her child's need for stability of care. Good luck on your investment portfolio. Hope your dreams come true. //
This has nothing to do with stability. Kids who go to daycare have new care givers every year as they move up in age groups, and there is no evidence of any adverse effects from that.
Repeated severed attachments early in life have PROFOUND longterm consequences. Where you been all these years? Apparently, not much studying early childhood development.
Btw, daycare kids would be LUCKY to get one caregiver for a whole year.
Low wages AND high-turnover are part of the "Hell of American Daycare" disaster.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 16:23
Subject: Where my pay goes
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This is about economics. What does the market support for a given profession, in a given area.
If you can't make the money you need/want to maintain your lifestyle as a nanny then the market is giving you an answer.
If you can't afford to hire the level of experience and professionalism you want then the market is telling you that you can't afford a nanny.
It isn't the fault of the nanny if a prospective employer can't afford her. She shouldn't reduce her rates because of someone else's economic limitations.
It isn't the fault of the employer if multiple qualified candidates are available at the rate being offered, but that rate doesn't support one prospective nanny's lifestyle.
If you need more money negotiate with your current employer, get a new job, take on additional extra hours somewhere, or cut back on your living expenses.
This is life. It isn't always fair. It doesn't get handed to you on a silver platter. It is no one else's job to make your life easy.
Yikes. You sound like a hardened parent, who cares nothing of her child's need for stability of care. Good luck on your investment portfolio. Hope your dreams come true.
My "yikes" comment above shouldn't be in the blue box. Sorry.
I am the poster you're quoting, and yes I am a parent. I'm also a pragmatist.
I've also employed one nanny for 5 1/2 years. She'll hopefully be with us another 3 or so until we no longer need her. She's the only nanny (except for vacation coverage) our children have ever had. That is one of my dreams come true.
So I know something about hiring and retaining at least one excellent nanny.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 16:08
Subject: Where my pay goes
//Must you be told, Einstein, domestic work is the best many low-income people can do. Wake-up already. //
Ahhh... now I get it!! But they are somehow entitled to a high wage nonetheless?
//Yikes. You sound like a hardened parent, who cares nothing of her child's need for stability of care. Good luck on your investment portfolio. Hope your dreams come true. //
This has nothing to do with stability. Kids who go to daycare have new care givers every year as they move up in age groups, and there is no evidence of any adverse effects from that.
Ahhh... now I get it!! But they are somehow entitled to a high wage nonetheless?
//Yikes. You sound like a hardened parent, who cares nothing of her child's need for stability of care. Good luck on your investment portfolio. Hope your dreams come true. //
This has nothing to do with stability. Kids who go to daycare have new care givers every year as they move up in age groups, and there is no evidence of any adverse effects from that.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 16:00
Subject: Where my pay goes
Some of you are soooo out of touch. What you paid for an apartment decades ago or even a decade ago has absolutely no bearing on today's rent. I rent an apartment way out in PG county in a questionably safe neighborhood for $1500/month plus utilities, and I still have a 20-30 minute metro ride each day. I can't imagine what people renting in DC are paying. My income is supported by my husband, but when I was single and nannying I know it was a struggle.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 15:55
Subject: Where my pay goes
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This is about economics. What does the market support for a given profession, in a given area.
If you can't make the money you need/want to maintain your lifestyle as a nanny then the market is giving you an answer.
If you can't afford to hire the level of experience and professionalism you want then the market is telling you that you can't afford a nanny.
It isn't the fault of the nanny if a prospective employer can't afford her. She shouldn't reduce her rates because of someone else's economic limitations.
It isn't the fault of the employer if multiple qualified candidates are available at the rate being offered, but that rate doesn't support one prospective nanny's lifestyle.
If you need more money negotiate with your current employer, get a new job, take on additional extra hours somewhere, or cut back on your living expenses.
This is life. It isn't always fair. It doesn't get handed to you on a silver platter. It is no one else's job to make your life easy.
Yikes. You sound like a hardened parent, who cares nothing of her child's need for stability of care. Good luck on your investment portfolio. Hope your dreams come true.
My "yikes" comment above shouldn't be in the blue box. Sorry.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 15:53
Subject: Where my pay goes
Anonymous wrote:This is about economics. What does the market support for a given profession, in a given area.
If you can't make the money you need/want to maintain your lifestyle as a nanny then the market is giving you an answer.
If you can't afford to hire the level of experience and professionalism you want then the market is telling you that you can't afford a nanny.
It isn't the fault of the nanny if a prospective employer can't afford her. She shouldn't reduce her rates because of someone else's economic limitations.
It isn't the fault of the employer if multiple qualified candidates are available at the rate being offered, but that rate doesn't support one prospective nanny's lifestyle.
If you need more money negotiate with your current employer, get a new job, take on additional extra hours somewhere, or cut back on your living expenses.
This is life. It isn't always fair. It doesn't get handed to you on a silver platter. It is no one else's job to make your life easy.
Yikes. You sound like a hardened parent, who cares nothing of her child's need for stability of care. Good luck on your investment portfolio. Hope your dreams come true.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 15:28
Subject: Where my pay goes
This is about economics. What does the market support for a given profession, in a given area.
If you can't make the money you need/want to maintain your lifestyle as a nanny then the market is giving you an answer.
If you can't afford to hire the level of experience and professionalism you want then the market is telling you that you can't afford a nanny.
It isn't the fault of the nanny if a prospective employer can't afford her. She shouldn't reduce her rates because of someone else's economic limitations.
It isn't the fault of the employer if multiple qualified candidates are available at the rate being offered, but that rate doesn't support one prospective nanny's lifestyle.
If you need more money negotiate with your current employer, get a new job, take on additional extra hours somewhere, or cut back on your living expenses.
This is life. It isn't always fair. It doesn't get handed to you on a silver platter. It is no one else's job to make your life easy.
If you can't make the money you need/want to maintain your lifestyle as a nanny then the market is giving you an answer.
If you can't afford to hire the level of experience and professionalism you want then the market is telling you that you can't afford a nanny.
It isn't the fault of the nanny if a prospective employer can't afford her. She shouldn't reduce her rates because of someone else's economic limitations.
It isn't the fault of the employer if multiple qualified candidates are available at the rate being offered, but that rate doesn't support one prospective nanny's lifestyle.
If you need more money negotiate with your current employer, get a new job, take on additional extra hours somewhere, or cut back on your living expenses.
This is life. It isn't always fair. It doesn't get handed to you on a silver platter. It is no one else's job to make your life easy.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 15:25
Subject: Where my pay goes
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/14poverty.cfm
Thank you for sharing the federal poverty guidelines. Here is are the facts for DC though: OP has $120 left over without figuring taxes or utilities or internet. Making her clearly eligible for DCs Nutrition Assistance Program which has a net income threshold of $958. She is also eligible for DC Medicaid which has a $1,915 cutoff. She is also classified as either ELI of VLI (extremely low income and very low income) and eligible for housing assistance.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligibility
http://dhs.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dhs/service_content/attachments/Children%20and%20Families%20Medicaid%20Countable%20Income%202013.pdf
http://dhcd.dc.gov/page/2012-cdbg-home-nsp-lihtc-and-hptf-program-limits
You might have anticipated all this if you had fully read your own link. It states that many agencies do not use federal poverty data.
"Programs using the guidelines (or percentage multiples of the guidelines — for instance, 125 percent or 185 percent of the guidelines) in determining eligibility include Head Start, the Supplemental Nutition Assistance Program (SNAP), the National School Lunch Program, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Note that in general, cash public assistance programs (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Security Income) do NOT use the poverty guidelines in determining eligibility. The Earned Income Tax Credit program also does NOT use the poverty guidelines to determine eligibility. For a more detailed list of programs that do and don’t use the guidelines, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)."
You cannot even put 2 and 2 together. 15/hr x 8 hrs x 260 working days/year = 31,200 Annual salary (gross before taxes)
958$ net per month x 12 months =11,496 .
So unless you somehow manage to pay 20,000 in taxes to arrive at 11.5K net, then no, you would not qualify for the programs listed. Proposed living wage in DC was 11$/hour. So 15$ hr is about 30% above the local living wage.
Maybe the rate you're getting is not enough to have the standard of living you would like to have, but it's not immoral and does not leave you going to bed hungry. Nobody forced anyone into accepting any given rate, you asked for that job and signed a contract, from which by the way you can also freely walk away.
Must you be told, Einstein, domestic work is the best many low-income people can do. Wake-up already.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 15:17
Subject: Where my pay goes
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/14poverty.cfm
Thank you for sharing the federal poverty guidelines. Here is are the facts for DC though: OP has $120 left over without figuring taxes or utilities or internet. Making her clearly eligible for DCs Nutrition Assistance Program which has a net income threshold of $958. She is also eligible for DC Medicaid which has a $1,915 cutoff. She is also classified as either ELI of VLI (extremely low income and very low income) and eligible for housing assistance.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligibility
http://dhs.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dhs/service_content/attachments/Children%20and%20Families%20Medicaid%20Countable%20Income%202013.pdf
http://dhcd.dc.gov/page/2012-cdbg-home-nsp-lihtc-and-hptf-program-limits
You might have anticipated all this if you had fully read your own link. It states that many agencies do not use federal poverty data.
"Programs using the guidelines (or percentage multiples of the guidelines — for instance, 125 percent or 185 percent of the guidelines) in determining eligibility include Head Start, the Supplemental Nutition Assistance Program (SNAP), the National School Lunch Program, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Note that in general, cash public assistance programs (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Security Income) do NOT use the poverty guidelines in determining eligibility. The Earned Income Tax Credit program also does NOT use the poverty guidelines to determine eligibility. For a more detailed list of programs that do and don’t use the guidelines, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)."
You cannot even put 2 and 2 together. 15/hr x 8 hrs x 260 working days/year = 31,200 Annual salary (gross before taxes)
958$ net per month x 12 months =11,496 .
So unless you somehow manage to pay 20,000 in taxes to arrive at 11.5K net, then no, you would not qualify for the programs listed. Proposed living wage in DC was 11$/hour. So 15$ hr is about 30% above the local living wage.
Maybe the rate you're getting is not enough to have the standard of living you would like to have, but it's not immoral and does not leave you going to bed hungry. Nobody forced anyone into accepting any given rate, you asked for that job and signed a contract, from which by the way you can also freely walk away.
Anonymous
07/01/2014 14:57
Subject: Where my pay goes
Anonymous wrote:I employ a full-time nanny.
Just so you know, at age 32, I was working two jobs and had already had a master's degree. I was paying $1000 to rent a room in a nice townhouse walking distance from the metro.
If you are a nanny and you are paying $1500 for an apartment, maybe it is time to get a roommate or another job.
I'm curious to know when this was.