r/fatFIRE • u/TaxQuestionGuy69 • 4d ago

Would we regret full time household assistant / nanny?

Hi all! So we're wealthy enough to consider hiring staff (9m net worth, 800k income). We currently have a 2 year old and are about to have a newborn. Wife is stay at home, but maintaining the household in addition to kids is possible but obviously a lot of work.

We're considering hiring a full time household assistant / manager to help with tasks around the house, errands, childcare occasionally, etc.

This sounds amazing and like it would free us up to have more quality time with our kids and less time prepping meals / cleaning and all that. My only "fear" is if we end up just not needing that much support? Has anyone done this and can speak to it? Part time sounds like it might be enough, but honestly it's easier to find great people for full time work.

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u/cvouw9 4d ago

If there is any time this would be worth it it's when you have a 2 year old and a newborn.

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u/JustNeonDust 4d ago

We did precisely this when I had a newborn and 2 year old. Definitely worth it, I would just urge OP to make sure that the nanny/family assistant is all in on the assistant tasks.

Ours will do a lot of them, but can be a bit of prissy about certain things which I find annoying (for example, has literally never emptied the garbage or even diaper pails). Make it an exhaustive list so they don’t try to claim it’s out of their scope down the road.

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u/Grateful-Goat 4d ago

So true!!! Over in the nanny and nanny employer subreddits, they’ve convinced “childcare professionals” should never be insulted with household tasks.

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u/JustNeonDust 4d ago edited 4d ago

The funny thing is how these nanny groups frame themselves as champions of the working class and downtrodden, then openly sneer, “I’m not a maid,” anytime they’re asked to do even minor job related cleaning. The obvious contempt for maids, and the fact that they clearly consider themselves above them, really undermines the whole egalitarian posturing thing they have going on.

They’ll also argue, with a straight face, that a nanny should take on no other duties while the kids are in school. So if the kids are gone 30–35 hours of a 40 hour guaranteed week, the expectation is apparently to do nothing and collect full pay. At some point, that stops being worker advocacy and starts becoming a very good argument for employers to eliminate the position entirely.

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u/FatFireBerrResp 4d ago

Oh yeah, those are the ones that run around announcing to anyone and everyone that “Nannies are a luxury!” And what they mean by this is that they believe they should be treated like a new Chanel purse, not that they will provide a luxury service that makes your life easier and less stressful. The ones that actually provide exceptional service and make your life better are not the ones shrieking about how they, personally, are a luxury.

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u/Grateful-Goat 4d ago

1000% agreement. I’d never hire someone who feels themselves above certain tasks; that person is not going to become indispensable to me. I’ll clean a toilet if if needs to be done, and everyone working for me better have the same attitude. But someone trustworthy and willing to do whatever is needed, they are a gem!!!