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Mixed messages, this time courtesy of a magazine (I stupidly signed up for a few subscriptions with my MyCoke points, and now I'm trying to separate the wheat from the chaff in the giant pile o'magazines in my office. Going 'keeper' rate is 1-2 pages per magazine.).
First, we have an article on making a budget and eliminating wasteful spending in order to get yourself out of debt and save for your dreams. Standard fair: set your goals, track your spending, trim the fat.
Then, on the back of one of those pages... "Outsourcing your to-do's" Yup, spending unnecessary money for other people to do tasks that you're 'to important' to do. Some of the ideas include: hiring a pooper-scooper, a maid, a geek, and a personal assistant. Also, getting a babysitter so you don't have to take your kids with you shopping.
The 'I'm too important' attitude is one that is driving Americans into debt. It says right along the edge of this page that a stay-at-home mom's equivalent salary is $40/hr ($100,000 a year). So, basically, if you can pay someone less to do a job, it's worth it. But here's the kicker - a stay-at-home-mom is not actually earning $40/hr. And that $40/hr figure is what it costs to have a maid, nanny, cook, and a personal assistant. Also, what the hell are you doing as a stay-at-home mom if you can't take care of your kids? (Yes, I realize you need a break now and then, and an adult night out is perfectly in order - but that's entertainment, and totally different from just not wanting to have to deal with your kids during the day).
Sure, if you're a doctor or lawyer and work 90 hours per week and make hundreds of dollars an hour it's completely worth paying someone to do things that free up your time to work more, as long as their salary is less than yours. But if you're not going to use that time to earn more money, it's more cost effective to do it yourself.
I make a fair amount of money at work, but I'm salaried. So all that time I would 'free up' by paying someone to do stuff would be spend... doing nothing (surfing LJ). And really, how much time would I really gain for the money? Let's take an example that would be feasible for me: a pooper scooper (since I don't have kids, no one could remotely clean my house, and I'm perfectly capable of setting up my computer and TV).
It's $13/week to pay them to keep your yard cleaned up. That's $676/year! For what?! Okay, so I only have one dog. She poops a few times a day, once usually on our daily walk, which I have to pick up anyway (I am NOT one of those people who leaves dog poop on people's yards, they are scum). So in a week there will be between 7 and 14 piles in the yard. Now, I don't clean it up that often in the winter (because it's not like we're out there, or who have kids that play in the yard) so even if I let it go for a few months (I know, awful, but it does make good fertilizer!) and pick up before we mow it takes maybe half an hour. For several month's worth. If I did it weekly it might take 10 minutes. That's paying someone the equivalent of $78/hour to $312/hour to clean up my yard. Wow. I didn't realize I was worth so much!
The only thing I pay someone to do that I could do myself is change the oil in my car. Technically, I do know how to do it and if I bought a set of jacks could do. But the hassle of disposing of the oil is more than worth the cost of having it done. But I think that's the only thing I don't do myself. And yet I'm still in debt! What would my debt be like if I had a maid, a cook, an assistant, a geek, and a pooper-scooper?!
First, we have an article on making a budget and eliminating wasteful spending in order to get yourself out of debt and save for your dreams. Standard fair: set your goals, track your spending, trim the fat.
Then, on the back of one of those pages... "Outsourcing your to-do's" Yup, spending unnecessary money for other people to do tasks that you're 'to important' to do. Some of the ideas include: hiring a pooper-scooper, a maid, a geek, and a personal assistant. Also, getting a babysitter so you don't have to take your kids with you shopping.
The 'I'm too important' attitude is one that is driving Americans into debt. It says right along the edge of this page that a stay-at-home mom's equivalent salary is $40/hr ($100,000 a year). So, basically, if you can pay someone less to do a job, it's worth it. But here's the kicker - a stay-at-home-mom is not actually earning $40/hr. And that $40/hr figure is what it costs to have a maid, nanny, cook, and a personal assistant. Also, what the hell are you doing as a stay-at-home mom if you can't take care of your kids? (Yes, I realize you need a break now and then, and an adult night out is perfectly in order - but that's entertainment, and totally different from just not wanting to have to deal with your kids during the day).
Sure, if you're a doctor or lawyer and work 90 hours per week and make hundreds of dollars an hour it's completely worth paying someone to do things that free up your time to work more, as long as their salary is less than yours. But if you're not going to use that time to earn more money, it's more cost effective to do it yourself.
I make a fair amount of money at work, but I'm salaried. So all that time I would 'free up' by paying someone to do stuff would be spend... doing nothing (surfing LJ). And really, how much time would I really gain for the money? Let's take an example that would be feasible for me: a pooper scooper (since I don't have kids, no one could remotely clean my house, and I'm perfectly capable of setting up my computer and TV).
It's $13/week to pay them to keep your yard cleaned up. That's $676/year! For what?! Okay, so I only have one dog. She poops a few times a day, once usually on our daily walk, which I have to pick up anyway (I am NOT one of those people who leaves dog poop on people's yards, they are scum). So in a week there will be between 7 and 14 piles in the yard. Now, I don't clean it up that often in the winter (because it's not like we're out there, or who have kids that play in the yard) so even if I let it go for a few months (I know, awful, but it does make good fertilizer!) and pick up before we mow it takes maybe half an hour. For several month's worth. If I did it weekly it might take 10 minutes. That's paying someone the equivalent of $78/hour to $312/hour to clean up my yard. Wow. I didn't realize I was worth so much!
The only thing I pay someone to do that I could do myself is change the oil in my car. Technically, I do know how to do it and if I bought a set of jacks could do. But the hassle of disposing of the oil is more than worth the cost of having it done. But I think that's the only thing I don't do myself. And yet I'm still in debt! What would my debt be like if I had a maid, a cook, an assistant, a geek, and a pooper-scooper?!