When I was growing up, we didn’t have a nanny or babysitters, cleaners or assistants, therapists or life coaches. Yet now I have all of that and more!
Americans have access to Amazon, Seamless, Instacart, Plated, Birchbox, Uber…where there’s a need, there’s the web to the rescue.
I can’t even imagine my immigrant parents ever hiring a cleaner or an assistant. What a waste. Do it yourself. Scrimp wherever possible.
Whereas I don’t even see hiring help as an indulgence; I see it as necessity. Because time is a highly-valuable, scarce resource, if I can hire help or outsource for a good rate, then it’s well worth the cost. I also view any type of employment (whether hourly or part-time) as support to my community.
Here’s a list of people I currently hire:
- Nanny/babysitter who has cared for Franco for two years.
- Monthly household cleaner – team of 3 immigrants.
- Local assistant who runs errands for me.
- Child psychologist who has counseled me on sleep schedule, nanny transition, and preschool selection.
What are your thoughts on hiring help? Do you have help? Any of the above? Or trainers, music teachers, tutors, gardeners?
So far, I have hired very little of this, but recently I hired a VA to help me with some of my social sharing needs for my website. So, think that counts. But yes, my parents as yours never would have dreamed of hiring any of the above or what I have hired here, as well. Just a different time, I suppose.
The person I have ever hired was a math teacher friend to help my kid out in advanced algebra, that is it.
Maybe, I am too old school, I don’t know because whenever I had errands to run or whatever I would always involve my kiddos because it trains them for life and gives them the skills they need.
You basically have a “staff” lol!! And I don’t blame you. I’m all for it if you feel as though you have the money and that feeling doesn’t even always have to do with how much money you actually have. Sometimes it has as much to do with attitudes about spending money in general. I am thisclose to getting onto the cleaning lady thing next year. I amazon everything I can and I feel like food delivery is too expensive, so cleaning would be the one area I can give myself a break.
I think that if you have the means, there are no limits. I can’t stand when people are down on celebrities about it. We all do what we can. Growing up, I had a cleaning lady. I admit that I’m quite terrible at keeping house as an adult, and it baffles my husband, but that’s just one area I really wish we still had.
I do outsource some photo editing and social media services. I still always write my own blog posts, because I can’t imagine not, but there are definitely tasks I can’t do!