It wasn't even because of what some might consider the extravagance of a family with an at-home mom having cleaning help. There has always been plenty of work to do beyond the once-over they gave our house every two weeks. Laundry, cooking, and shopping just to name a few. And my husband and I like a clean house. It's a priority for us.
I did it simply because we are getting aggressive about paying down debt and building wealth and I have hired myself to find savings in our budget. And at $80 every two week, that's a big savings. In fact, a quick check with Quicken's financial calculators tells me that investing $160/month for 20 years at 8% would net us over (gulp) $94,000.
So, for now anyway, I chose to bid goodbye to the cleaning ladies. But rest assured my kids will soon be getting a lesson in how to clean bathrooms.
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8 comments:
Whoa! Those are some serious numbers! Congratulations on the aggressive financial decision. Very cool.
I dont like your math. It is misleading to take your savings and compound it out for 20 years.
Besides, the real way to look at this is to compare your savings to the opportunity cost you will have to pay.
The house will still have to be cleaned. Presumably you will do it. If you have time to spare, then fine, this is a windfall savings.
But if cleaning the house will detract from other money making or money saving activities, then you need to consider the opportunity cost and ask what you are really saving.
I do have the time available so I consider it a savings.
I dream of having a housecleaner. My spouse and I are both pretty terrible housekeepers. Maybe if I'm really good and save save save save save, by the time I retire I can afford a housecleaner once a month or so.
Sounds unlikely, doesn't it?
It doesn't sound unreasonable at all, Claire. It's just a matter of what you want to spend your money on. If you'd really like to have one I know you will someday!
Housecleaning has always been my downfall. I did find an online support group and they have awesome ideas and provide the encouragement I need to daily stay on track and do those formerly depressing chores like "shine the sink". Ck it out at Flylady.net and meet your fairy godmother of clean :)
Joan of ark at
secretsofthebutcherswife.com
arkessentials.com
I've wanted to hire out the house cleaning for years just because I love a clean house and I dislike the cleaning and find I don't have much time. But now that I can afford it and just can't part with the money. I keep finding some shortcuts that help though. Such as keeping a toilet brush/holder by each toilet w/ lysol already in it. I can just swish the toilet every couple of days. Then I keep a big thing of disinfecting wipes in each bathroom to wipe down the sinks. It helps so much.
I have a cleaning woman come to my home once every two weeks. I pay 80 dollars and it is well worth it. I consider it less money than therapy. I don't do floors very well and the house being in order keeps me happier and less stressed. There are many ways in which i can save money and i plan to get better at it. But having clean house keeps me saner. Actually, i have never been as good a housekeeper as I would have liked.
Also I find I am more inclined to get into other projects around the house with the house clean. If the house is clean i can get involved with keeping the closets less cluttered and so forth.
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