Helper 101

R

rebekah

Registered User
Lots of questions after deciding to bite the bullet and get a helper...

Food Budget:

I know that most helpers prefer a food budget for themselves, how much does do you give your helper for food?

Contracts:

I know that money being borrowed and cosigned for is an issue i see on here often, can you put something about this in the contract, and if so, how do you word it?

Agency/Helper recommendations:

Does anyone know of any good helpers (good with infants) or a good agency to use? Please PM me any personal recommendations.

Thanks!
 
Ours didn't want food allowance, she's eating the same that we have. She does buy a few things that we don't eat, but all very cheap. She doesn't eat much of our stuff, she usually prepares dinner for 3 instead of 2 and eats the same. It makes sense. Besides that she hardly ever takes something from our fridge.

Nothing in our contract, but I simply would never lend her money. I guess it's not an issue until you start it.

No recommendations, mouth to mouth seems to work best. Once they know you're looking, they'll start calling you, that was at least our experience.

Good luck.
 
I give HK$300/month on top of her salary for food - we rarely cook at home, but when we do cook or order something she is always free to have some. If you cook and eat regularly at home you may not have to supplement with a food budget, it is up to you.

I don't know if it is legal to put any sort of addendum in the contract regarding 3rd party debt or co-signing, but it is certainly an issue you should talk to her about to make sure she understands how bad of a situation it can be to borrow from a loan shark and/or co-sign on a loan. I personally told my helper to ask me anytime she may need money for emergencies or otherwise, because I would rather her borrow it from me and arrange a reasonable payment scheme or salary deduction, rather than have creditors calling my house. By the way, in a year-and-a-half, she has never borrowed from me - even when her mother passed away and she had to suddenly fly home.

My helper was a niece of a friend's helper. She had no prior experience, so we took a small risk. But to me, it was not the experience, but her positive attitude and how well she fit into our family that was important.

hope that helps!
 
Thanks for your replies, we are beginning our search. ugh. Not looking forward to the process, but definitely looking forward to the end result.
 
i have a friend who is looking.
================================================

melinda f. ocampo, 34yrs old, married, with 4 kids of my own.

been in hong kong for a month, got released due to my employers will rehire their ex-helper who became available.


visa will expire on october 6 2008.

experience:

new born babies (own kids)
house keeping
car washing
child care (4yrs and 2yrs, previous boss)
shopping
tutorials for the kids

cooking basic (western and filipino dishes)
can follow basic recipies and willing to learn more recipies

have care giver certificate.

can take care of elderly

have reference letter from old employer

available for interview anytime, please call or text 67186086.
 
ours doesn't have a food budget either. she eats what we eat.

personally, i think that $300 wouldn't be enough for food for a month. i know, i couldn't live on it.

at the time we signed the contract we were thinking that it would save us money to not pay the $300, but now, we see that we spend way more than that on her food for the month.

if we eat bbq steak, so does she (although, i often ask her if there is something else she'd like to bbq instead). we also take her with us when we go for dinner, usually. she enjoys going out for dinner as much as we do. we treat ours the way we would want to be treated ourselves and have never had a problem with her.

for the second time in almost 4 years, our helper has asked to borrow some money. not much, only $2500. her son is at university and she has a payment for exams coming up. normally, her husband (who works in saudi arabia) would pay for it, but he is coming to visit and stay for 4-6 weeks with us, so all of his money has gone to his ticket.

we don't have a problem at all. we will deduct from her salary over the next little while until it is paid for.

good luck!
 
Agreed that $300 is not enough for food for a month - which is why we also offer her anything in the house - rice, fruits, veggies. I eat very healthy, tofu, brown rice, so sometimes she will buy and cook her own chicken/fish, but eat the rice and salad she has prepared for my meal.
Maybe give her a choice and then ask her after a few months if it is working for her...
 
sorry, kmalia... i wasn't implying that you were being stingy...hope i didn't cause offence, none was meant.
 
our helper isn't interested in eating what we eat - she seems to prefer to eat chicken feet rather than atlantic salmon steaks or sole fillet ;-)

we pay her $500 per month food allowance and we share rice, condiments etc.

I couldn't last a week on $500 but I think she probably ends up saving $$ each month as she doesn't eat much
 
granted, our helper doesn't have the same appreciation of some of what we eat as we have. she isn't overly excited by the thought of a beautifully bbq-ed thick t-bone steak. she likes hers cooked to the point that it's almost leather. but she still likes eating what we do.
 
oh no, no offense taken! was just realizing that my initial response may not have been clear. was trying to clarify!
 
We offered her the choice.
She prefers to eat what we eat, saves her cooking twice.

Have found that it has been an advantage. She loves to cook, and eating the same food as us seems to have inspired her to learn new and interesting dishes.
 
It really does depend on the helper. Ours don't cook (but loves food) and she seems to really appreciate eating what I cook for our family. (She does all the food prep and washing up, so I don't mind doing the actual cooking.)

I asked her if she would prefer a food allowance and offered her HK$1000 with access to all our condiments (she eats quite a lot so I would still spend less thru the money I save from not needing to buy her share) but she told me she still preferred for us to provide food instead. What I do is have her buy additional supplies from the Philippines stores and put it on our household account in order to supplement her breakfast/lunches and on the weekend when my husband and I eat out. (It usually only amounts to about HK$200 a month.)

On a separate note, what does everyone do for their helper's toiletries and other daily-use items (shampoo, toothpaste, soap, body lotion, face cream etc.)? I've been buying them for our helper but my colleagues at work tell me that their helpers buy their own. What's the normal practice?
 
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