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How much do I pay my Cleaning Lady?


kosika

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4 hours ago, modeeper said:

With upmost respect, ama de casa.  When introduced, mi amiga xxxxxx.  But I don't know squat about local cause those Lakesider employees have come from any number of places looking for work.

The dictionary says ama de casa is also for housewife or concubine.  Soooo, I don`t think it`s really a good idea to use it.......

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The most common Mexican term for one's female domestic help is muchacha.  No, it isn't "politically correct".  But it is what's used. 

Try thinking of it in the same way one calls a waiter joven, regardless of his age.  

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On 1/19/2017 at 8:47 PM, Jim Bowie said:

Canadians seem to think differently than the US Liberals.

I gotta agree with that.  

+ They're saner, more proud to be of their nationality, have a better social net system, have a cool PM.

- They talk funny, laugh at old jokes, will go out of their way to save a dime, had language police in Quebec. 

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17 hours ago, Canada-Mike said:

First, "criada" is not used. It has connotations that are not nice. I use mia mujer que llave. Ipay her $550 per week. She's supposed to work 9 hours but always works a bit more than 10. It's also worth remembering that 10 pesos is c$0.68, so 50 is 3.40, or US$2.50.

You're correcting Spanish usage and then posting a meaningless and incorrect alternative. Do you mean Mi mujer que limpia?

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On ‎1‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 9:43 AM, Orygun Duck said:

We pay ours 250 pesos for 4 hours work once a week.  She's happy.  We're happy. Hope we're not "upsetting the economy."

 

We raised our maid's pay in January to $300 for 4 hours.  We will pay what we can and what we feel she deserves, WITHOUT concern about the damage we're doing to the local economy.  Sorry, but capitalism does allow the freedom to pay what you feel is appropriate.

 

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It is so hard to know what to pay. Some would say that you are paying too much, Orygon Duck. But that is your right. Although I pay quite a bit less, my Mexican neighbors all say I am paying way to much. I wish there was a simple formula to make this choice easier.

I just want to pay a little more than I should, just to show my appreciation for the work they perform.

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28 minutes ago, Orygun Duck said:

We raised our maid's pay in January to $300 for 4 hours.  We will pay what we can and what we feel she deserves, with concern about the damage we're doing to the local economy.  Sorry, but capitalism does allow the freedom to pay what you feel is appropriate.

 

Hip Hip Hurray 

To pay too little is false economy.  You want your maid on your side.  Believe me she'd know how to get back at you, with no risk to herself.  I'm not just referring to what you pay her, but your entire relationship.    

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How about a little perspective.

Currently fulltime Walmart employee earns 193 pesos a day for a full 8 hour shift.  24 pesos an hour. 

Typical pay for good fulltime jobs anywhere from driving delivery trucks to local clerks earn possibly 1800 pesos a week for full time work.   

Maid service is a much lower pay scale in real Mexico.  

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56 minutes ago, MyHomeSweetHome said:

Maid service is a much lower pay scale in real Mexico.  

Gota agree with that.  It is lower in real Mexico, where a taco is 7 pesos and rent is less than a thousand a month.  In Los Cabos a taco is 25 pesos.  Do those maids work for 120 pesos a day?   Would you work for five tacos a day?  

Not in reference to you, friend, but I would work for five tacos a day, indeed I would.  Then one day on my lunch break I'd head downtown to a locksmith with your door and gate key and have duplicates made, then sell them to the highest bidder.  Then take a nice little vacation from housework.

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9 minutes ago, MyHomeSweetHome said:

Then you’re saying the majority of the population of Mexico are robbers because there’s a lot of working class educated earning 25 pesos an hour.  That simply isn’t true.  

Huh?  Huh?  Huh?

I think it's known as The Cost of Living.

I've never been to Ajijic but I don't have to go there to know the CoL has to be higher than in El Salinas Oaxaca.

I doubt there are many Mexican families of 5-6 who are kicked back with the tele waiting for their housekeeping mother to come home with the bacon.   I'm also sure her kids and her husband would rather she didn't have to work. 

Many of y'all are just painly bent on giving as little as possible.  What do y'all think of a Gringo who earns 1/5 your income and tips more than you?  Is he insane, stupid, drugged, senile, what?

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3 hours ago, MyHomeSweetHome said:

A local Mexican family I know pays their maid 100-150 pesos a day to clean their 2 story 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath home.  Hours are 10 a.m. -3 p.m. Pay has gone up significantly since we moved here in 2006 and pay for maid services  was 80 pesos a day. 

I am not a local Mexican family nor do I live in an impoverished village. I am also not concerned with destroying the entire Mexican economy by paying the young woman who cleans my house what I consider to be a fair wage for what she does for me.  

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13 minutes ago, Xena said:

I am also not concerned with destroying the entire Mexican economy by paying the young woman who cleans my house what I consider to be a fair wage for what she does for

hahahahahaha

I first heard this back in the 80s.  I think I can guess your news source.   

Yep, give your maid a tip and sink Lakeside right into the mud.  :P

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On 2/13/2018 at 1:28 PM, mudgirl said:

You're correcting Spanish usage and then posting a meaningless and incorrect alternative. Do you mean Mi mujer que limpia?

Sorry - been busy. I stand my my statement about criada, and accept the correction to limpia. And I would marry my maid, but she won't have me.

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OK. Since I what I wanted on the web, I wrote to my friend who is a linguist at a University in Michoacan. This was his response:

Criada has a very bad bias. Like slavery. People being servants. Even living in the house most of the time. They are supposed to follow exact instructions without questioning. Criada refers to "criar" raise.
 
Historically poor people gave their child to rich people to be raised (criados). In exchange, they were servants.
 
Me again. This is why the term comes from the verb "criar" which means to raise.
 
Sorry, but this is what happens when you're a philosophy professor (emeritus.)
 
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On 2/14/2018 at 6:27 PM, modeeper said:

Huh?  Huh?  Huh?

I think it's known as The Cost of Living.

I've never been to Ajijic but I don't have to go there to know the CoL has to be higher than in El Salinas Oaxaca.

I doubt there are many Mexican families of 5-6 who are kicked back with the tele waiting for their housekeeping mother to come home with the bacon.   I'm also sure her kids and her husband would rather she didn't have to work. 

Many of y'all are just painly bent on giving as little as possible.  What do y'all think of a Gringo who earns 1/5 your income and tips more than you?  Is he insane, stupid, drugged, senile, what?

What do you pay in Guadalajara?

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We refer to Rosa as "muchacha" and we still call waiters "joven" but we call our friend Delores who irons for us, Delores, she calls us Senora and Senor and its been like this since 2005.  That said after all these years and 4 household helpers our most recent, Rosa, has been here almost 5 years and she earns from her first day $500 pesos a day, which is 10 am to 5 pm and she will get a raise this summer to $600.  She is responsible for cleaning our home and the short term  rental next door in that time.  She does our laundry, folding it and readying it for Delores who has been with us since day one and makes $200 pesos no matter how full or empty the ironing basket might be.  Rosa now wants her Aguinaldo and vacation pay in Us dollars for her account in Texas.  She would like to be paid in all US dollars but I explained how I might be able to do that after our next trip north but buying the dollars would cost her too much.  

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