By Patrick Mcgrain
Cost of living in Cebu Philippines and Camotes Islands Cebu, Philippines. Many expats living in the Philippines are sharpening their pencils and watching their spending habits much more closely as the dollar continues to drop against the peso. Currently the exchange rate is approximately $1.00 to P40.00. That's a BIG difference from just three years ago when the dollar fetched P56.00. To make matters even worse the dollar is expected to drop to P38.00 and some circles are saying it may go as low as P30.00 within the year. The expats currently living in the Philippines are feeling the lower exchange rate from their monthly retirement pensions and tightening their belts. Expats that have been considering retiring to the Philippines may well be looking else where for a retirement location. To make a bad situation worse the Cebu Hotels are talking about a 10% increase for their rooms. Surely other services will follow the increase and soon the dollar may shrink to an even further all time low in the Philippines.
In 2004 a dollar bought P56.00, so when I exchanges $1,000.00 at a Philippine bank or Money Changer I got P56,000.00. Today $1,000.00 buys just P40,000.00 a P16,000.00 decrease of $286.00 or 29% less. Now add a conservative estimated Philippine inflation rate to the 29% decrease and you are looking at a total loss of about 40% in just three years. WOW! That's a big hit and a really big hit for a retired guy with a pension of just $1,000.00 There goes the Filipino myth that all foreigners are rich. Instead of living like a king in the Philippines with a pension of $1,000.00 foreigners may find themselves to be a lowly prince and maybe even a pauper with a mere pension of $1,000.00.
Now the questions for those expats living in the Philippines and for those considering the move to the Phillippines is simple, is it worth it? Should I find a cheaper country to retire and spend my pension? Before an expat answers the question we need to consider the big picture and that means what does it cost to live in the Philippines today?
Many things we buy in the Philippines are cheaper than in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. However, many things also cost the same and sometimes more. Building a house in Cebu is still a huge bargain. Buying a condo is also a bargain. A new house in Cebu can be had for $40,000.00 and a nice Condo for about $60,000.00. My little one bedroom house in the VERY rural Camotes Islands cost just about $8,000.00 to build and furnish and that includes the land. At the current exchange rate and inflation the same house, land and furniture would cost about $11,320.00 Yes, That is a big jump, but still very cheap by western standards. My Monthly Budget changes all the time, but here is what I have been spending for just the basics:
$200.00 Food
$50.00 Electric
$20.00 Internet connection
$20.00 Satellite TV
$15.00 Cell Phone
$5.00 LPG gas for cooking
$60.00House maintenance
$20,00 Motorcycle maintenance and gas
$100.00 Monthly Cebu City trip Entertainment, Movies, restaurants
$490.00 TOTAL MONTHLY COST
The following estimated budget is for two people living in Cebu City.
$200.00 House rent In Cebu City.
This would be a nice house. It doesn't cost much for rent.
$150.00 Food
$50.00 Electric
$20.00 Internet connection
$20.00 Cable TV
$25.00 Phone
$5.00 LPG gas for cooking
$30.00 Maid Live-In $40.00 maximum
$50.00 Transportation, Taxi, Jeepney
$200.00 Entertainment, Movies, restaurants, golf and beaches
$750.00 TOTAL MONTHLY COST
Please note the Cebu City budget does not include a car allowance. It is much cheaper and easier to use Jeepneys and Taxi Cabs.
Both of these budgets still get you in under $1,000.00 a month. By far my rural budget is the cheapest. However, The keyword is RURAL! Not everyone wants to live in the Rural Islands. I love it in Camotes Islands, but there ain't much in Camotes for those that like the night life, shopping and restaurants. The Cebu City budget may well be a bit conservative. However, it is a good starting point. You may need to adjust for your lifestyle.
REMEMBER!! I did not include visa cost and medical insurance. On average a Tourist visa will cost about $1.00 per day and medical insurance can be outrageous depending on the carrier.
You also need to have enough money for emergencies: trips home, Accidents, theft, and medical emergencies. I recommend you have at least $5,000.00 at any given time to draw from and $10,000.00 is even better. If you don't have an extra $5,000.00 for emergencies don't go. The worst thing that can happen to an expat is to be in an emergency situation in a foreign country with no money and no way home.
At the end of the day it appears the Philippines is still a good retirement option. Not as good as it once was, but still a strong option for a place to retire on a modest pension. However, I suspect many expats will want to save their money and consider the rural areas of the Philippines to retire. The rural areas can be very enjoyable for those in good health. However, if you need regular medical care you may find the rural areas lacking in medical facilities. Also, if you want all the frills of a city then the rural areas will be a true disappointment. I think the Philippines may well see a decrease in western Foreigners retiring to the country. Another significant issue is the thousands of OFW's Oversea Filipino workers. OFW's are all over the world and they contribute a LARGE portion of the Philippine economy. The OFW's send money home to their families every month. With the decreased dollar to peso rate I suspect the OFW's will need to tighten their belts just as much as the expats.
To answer the two questions. Is it worth considering the Philippines as a retirement option or should one consider another country? My answer is both Yes and No. If you have a pension of $1,000.00 yes, but with caution. If your pension is less than $1,000.00 you need to REALLY think it through and maybe consider another country. Still, the Philippines is a pretty good option and a cheap place to live if you can stick to a realistic budget and have at least $5,000.00 for emergencies.
Patrick McGrain is the owner of http://www.philippine-islands-living.com Patrick has lived in in Camotes Islands, Cebu, Philippines for four years with his Filipina wife Judith.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patrick_Mcgrain
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Filipino Culture - Filipinos Do Speak Spanish
By Teresita Herrera
I always go to forum and message boards and have a good read, and common sentences are "If Filipinos spoke Spanish...", "Filipinos don't speak Spanish" "If Filipinos spoke Spanish today..." "Only old Filipinos speak Spanish." "The only kind of Spanish in the Philippines is Chabacano..."
I'm 24 years old. When I was in Manila two years ago, I visited my great aunt, who I was told was becoming senile, so I assumed that she probably wouldn't recognize me since it's been 13 years since she had seen me, but I was amazed that the moment I arrived, walked up the steps to our old Spanish colonial style home, and entered the sala, she called me by my first name and began telling me about how tall I became and how I look so "mestizo" with my brown hair combined with my facial features. I told my great aunt, "No, you look mestiza!" And she laughed and said, "No, I'm an indio!", the irony being of course that these words were coming out of my great aunt standing there with her porcelain white skin, striking green eyes, sharp pointed nose, and wavy hair that used to be black but is now a beautiful snow white.
Of course, we're just using the word mestizo in Philippine vernacular referring to appearance. Referring to my previous articles on our blog about the word mestizo, far be it for me to give a lecture to my great aunt about how the word mestizo is being used in a different way in the Philippines and is spreading miseducation among Filipinos about our actual racial ancestry as a country, especially when she's the one who speaks perfect Spanish and learned it as her first language. But at the same time, it's also understandable that words change meanings in different countries, and it's just a natural part of language evolution.
I never thought that I looked Spanish or Latin, but it seems everybody else I ever met that wasn't a family member or family friend in my entire life always did. But that same thing always happens to my mom and my aunts and uncles, since we don't have features that are typically Malay. My Filipino friends always told me, "You know you don't look Filipino..." a comment which is intended to praise you, but at the same time, also made makes one feel excluded. And I always thought it was ironic because I'm not that white looking, there are a lot of Filipinos especially celebrities that have a lot more and stronger European features than I do, compared to the rest of my family, I'm practically an Aeta, hehe. But of course, that's okay, because Aetas are beautiful people.
I remember I worked for Fuji, the Japanese photo company in New York, and I'd speak in my broken Tagalog to our Filipino clients, "Oh! You're Filipino!" And a funny thing is because I was used to speaking with my Spanish speaking clients and they always greeted me with "¿Como esta?" whenever they entered my office, so I was used to saying "Bien!". Well, one day, I was busy doing some work, a woman walked in and she said "¿Como esta?" and I said, "Bien, gracias!", and I looked up from my work, and realized that it was that nice Filipina woman I knew who was our repeat client, so I scrambled and said, "I mean, mabuti!" Hehe. It was when I looked up at her face I realized that she had said "Kumusta?" not "¿Como esta?", since to the discerning ear, the way Filipinos and Latinos say this common greeting in our culture is indistinguishable, and it certainly was for me that day and I'll never forget it, hehe.
So I'm at my great aunt's house, which is actually the former house of my grandfather, which she inherited when he died. One time, I visited by myself, and after merienda, she sat me down at the window, and we had a long talk in Spanish, about a lot of things, and I kept thinking to myself, why is everybody saying she's becoming senile when her memory is still there? And in Spanish, I asked her about her life growing up, because I realized that since I hardly visit the Philippines and this is my last connection to my grandparents and to my family history, I have to soak up everything, and I have to find out as much as possible before the inevitable happens. She would speak to our maids in Tagalog, and speak to me in Tagalog and English also, and I'd reply in my broken Tagalog, but mostly in English since my Tagalog is so broken, hehe. But when I switched to Spanish, she spoke only in Spanish to me, and proceeded to scold me in Spanish, saying that I need to do good in school, and do something good with my life, and work hard, etc. which became really irritating since she began to say the same things over and over again. And then I asked her about her childhood, and she told me all kinds of stories, still in Spanish since it was her first language, about World War II, and how my great uncle died in the war, and all kinds of great things that I scrambled to write in a piece of newspaper so I could save it for later.
The thing I noticed was that she seemed okay but a little exasperated when she would conversate with her maids in Tagalog, and it was nice, but when I spoke to her in Spanish, it's like an entire section of her memories just flooded back to her, and her eyes lit up, and I soon realized that it was because a great portion of her entire childhood and youth was lived in the Spanish language, and to have someone awaken that in her now, it was just an amazing thing to feel. It felt like when I looked into her green eyes and she told me all these stories about her childhood and her university life and the war and about my grandparents, I was literally stepping back in time to a Manila that no longer exists today, I was stepping back in time to my family's own history, and it was just surreal.
My uncle also visited the house, and we had a short chat in Spanish also. And my aunt, who works in Canada for IBM as...something really high paying, I don't remember the job title, but I do know it's a really good position that has to do with the executive level, hehe, I hate that when Filipinos hear that a Filipino works overseas, they always assume that it's either maid or caretaker or something like that, not that there's anything wrong with those jobs since they're very dignified jobs, but not all Filipinos come from the same background, and there are also many Filipinos in this world that are highly educated and entered the U.S. or Canada through scholarships, and that proudly includes my mom and my aunts, anyway, she always tells me how this Spanish woman always likes to chat with her during lunch, because my aunt and uncles also grew up with Spanish (not Chabacano) as their first language, before they learned Tagalog or English.
I hate also when some Filipinos realized that I spoke Spanish, they'd say "Ah, Chabacano?" No, didn't I just tell you when you asked where I was from that my family is from Manila (and has been for generations ever since our family history has been recorded), not from Zamboanga or Ermita and certainly not from Cavite, although those are beautiful places. And we have family members that speak Spanish, not Chabacano. There are Spanish speakers that are Filipinos that are not from those two provinces, but the miseducation about this topic seems to be deep among Filipinos.
But Chabacano is a beautiful creole language, and I love hearing it being spoken since it's extremely easy to understand, at least for me, since it's a mix of Tagalog and other local dialects with Spanish, and I understand Spanish and Tagalog fluently, so put it all together, it's Chabacano, and I love it, I love hearing it.
It is absolutely true that Spanish is no longer widely spoken in the Philippines, and one step out of the airplane, it doesn't take long for anybody to realize that, however, the Philippines does have it's own unique version and accent of Spanish that is not Chabacano, it's proper Spanish meaning that it's not a creole, but it's a Spanish that has it's own influences from Tagalog, including dental stops between vowels that are influenced from the Malay languages. However, the only people that seem to be researching this very important and endangered part of our heritage are not Filipinos, but are American university scholars, and while Filipinos speaking Spanish today might seem like a grand myth to many young Filipinos, especially those overseas many of whom seem to be completely clueless about it among other things related to Filipino culture, it is in fact real. And it's real in my own family.
So, the point is, always take everything you read on Filipino forums and message boards with a grain of salt, because all the statements above that I've read before, and I've heard repeated over and over by other Filipinos, I certainly know for a fact aren't true considering that I am living proof of it, and so is my family, and I experience it and see it with my own eyes, and I live it everyday.
And don't forget about the Filipinos celebrities in the public eye who do speak Spanish: Pilita Corrales, Junior, Isabel Preysler, Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias Jr., Shaila Durcal, Tamara Falco, Ana Boyer, Chabeli Iglesias, Carmen Morales, German Moreno, Jaime Fabregas, and many many more.
Just because a Filipino speaks Spanish doesn't mean that he/she's not proud to be Filipino. If you consider all of the Filipinos you ever met in this world, sometimes some Filipinos who speak Spanish are even prouder to be Filipino than many Filipinos who don't.
Contributor to Filipino Cultured: Art, Entertainment, Culture, and Inspiration Blog
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Teresita_Herrera
I always go to forum and message boards and have a good read, and common sentences are "If Filipinos spoke Spanish...", "Filipinos don't speak Spanish" "If Filipinos spoke Spanish today..." "Only old Filipinos speak Spanish." "The only kind of Spanish in the Philippines is Chabacano..."
I'm 24 years old. When I was in Manila two years ago, I visited my great aunt, who I was told was becoming senile, so I assumed that she probably wouldn't recognize me since it's been 13 years since she had seen me, but I was amazed that the moment I arrived, walked up the steps to our old Spanish colonial style home, and entered the sala, she called me by my first name and began telling me about how tall I became and how I look so "mestizo" with my brown hair combined with my facial features. I told my great aunt, "No, you look mestiza!" And she laughed and said, "No, I'm an indio!", the irony being of course that these words were coming out of my great aunt standing there with her porcelain white skin, striking green eyes, sharp pointed nose, and wavy hair that used to be black but is now a beautiful snow white.
Of course, we're just using the word mestizo in Philippine vernacular referring to appearance. Referring to my previous articles on our blog about the word mestizo, far be it for me to give a lecture to my great aunt about how the word mestizo is being used in a different way in the Philippines and is spreading miseducation among Filipinos about our actual racial ancestry as a country, especially when she's the one who speaks perfect Spanish and learned it as her first language. But at the same time, it's also understandable that words change meanings in different countries, and it's just a natural part of language evolution.
I never thought that I looked Spanish or Latin, but it seems everybody else I ever met that wasn't a family member or family friend in my entire life always did. But that same thing always happens to my mom and my aunts and uncles, since we don't have features that are typically Malay. My Filipino friends always told me, "You know you don't look Filipino..." a comment which is intended to praise you, but at the same time, also made makes one feel excluded. And I always thought it was ironic because I'm not that white looking, there are a lot of Filipinos especially celebrities that have a lot more and stronger European features than I do, compared to the rest of my family, I'm practically an Aeta, hehe. But of course, that's okay, because Aetas are beautiful people.
I remember I worked for Fuji, the Japanese photo company in New York, and I'd speak in my broken Tagalog to our Filipino clients, "Oh! You're Filipino!" And a funny thing is because I was used to speaking with my Spanish speaking clients and they always greeted me with "¿Como esta?" whenever they entered my office, so I was used to saying "Bien!". Well, one day, I was busy doing some work, a woman walked in and she said "¿Como esta?" and I said, "Bien, gracias!", and I looked up from my work, and realized that it was that nice Filipina woman I knew who was our repeat client, so I scrambled and said, "I mean, mabuti!" Hehe. It was when I looked up at her face I realized that she had said "Kumusta?" not "¿Como esta?", since to the discerning ear, the way Filipinos and Latinos say this common greeting in our culture is indistinguishable, and it certainly was for me that day and I'll never forget it, hehe.
So I'm at my great aunt's house, which is actually the former house of my grandfather, which she inherited when he died. One time, I visited by myself, and after merienda, she sat me down at the window, and we had a long talk in Spanish, about a lot of things, and I kept thinking to myself, why is everybody saying she's becoming senile when her memory is still there? And in Spanish, I asked her about her life growing up, because I realized that since I hardly visit the Philippines and this is my last connection to my grandparents and to my family history, I have to soak up everything, and I have to find out as much as possible before the inevitable happens. She would speak to our maids in Tagalog, and speak to me in Tagalog and English also, and I'd reply in my broken Tagalog, but mostly in English since my Tagalog is so broken, hehe. But when I switched to Spanish, she spoke only in Spanish to me, and proceeded to scold me in Spanish, saying that I need to do good in school, and do something good with my life, and work hard, etc. which became really irritating since she began to say the same things over and over again. And then I asked her about her childhood, and she told me all kinds of stories, still in Spanish since it was her first language, about World War II, and how my great uncle died in the war, and all kinds of great things that I scrambled to write in a piece of newspaper so I could save it for later.
The thing I noticed was that she seemed okay but a little exasperated when she would conversate with her maids in Tagalog, and it was nice, but when I spoke to her in Spanish, it's like an entire section of her memories just flooded back to her, and her eyes lit up, and I soon realized that it was because a great portion of her entire childhood and youth was lived in the Spanish language, and to have someone awaken that in her now, it was just an amazing thing to feel. It felt like when I looked into her green eyes and she told me all these stories about her childhood and her university life and the war and about my grandparents, I was literally stepping back in time to a Manila that no longer exists today, I was stepping back in time to my family's own history, and it was just surreal.
My uncle also visited the house, and we had a short chat in Spanish also. And my aunt, who works in Canada for IBM as...something really high paying, I don't remember the job title, but I do know it's a really good position that has to do with the executive level, hehe, I hate that when Filipinos hear that a Filipino works overseas, they always assume that it's either maid or caretaker or something like that, not that there's anything wrong with those jobs since they're very dignified jobs, but not all Filipinos come from the same background, and there are also many Filipinos in this world that are highly educated and entered the U.S. or Canada through scholarships, and that proudly includes my mom and my aunts, anyway, she always tells me how this Spanish woman always likes to chat with her during lunch, because my aunt and uncles also grew up with Spanish (not Chabacano) as their first language, before they learned Tagalog or English.
I hate also when some Filipinos realized that I spoke Spanish, they'd say "Ah, Chabacano?" No, didn't I just tell you when you asked where I was from that my family is from Manila (and has been for generations ever since our family history has been recorded), not from Zamboanga or Ermita and certainly not from Cavite, although those are beautiful places. And we have family members that speak Spanish, not Chabacano. There are Spanish speakers that are Filipinos that are not from those two provinces, but the miseducation about this topic seems to be deep among Filipinos.
But Chabacano is a beautiful creole language, and I love hearing it being spoken since it's extremely easy to understand, at least for me, since it's a mix of Tagalog and other local dialects with Spanish, and I understand Spanish and Tagalog fluently, so put it all together, it's Chabacano, and I love it, I love hearing it.
It is absolutely true that Spanish is no longer widely spoken in the Philippines, and one step out of the airplane, it doesn't take long for anybody to realize that, however, the Philippines does have it's own unique version and accent of Spanish that is not Chabacano, it's proper Spanish meaning that it's not a creole, but it's a Spanish that has it's own influences from Tagalog, including dental stops between vowels that are influenced from the Malay languages. However, the only people that seem to be researching this very important and endangered part of our heritage are not Filipinos, but are American university scholars, and while Filipinos speaking Spanish today might seem like a grand myth to many young Filipinos, especially those overseas many of whom seem to be completely clueless about it among other things related to Filipino culture, it is in fact real. And it's real in my own family.
So, the point is, always take everything you read on Filipino forums and message boards with a grain of salt, because all the statements above that I've read before, and I've heard repeated over and over by other Filipinos, I certainly know for a fact aren't true considering that I am living proof of it, and so is my family, and I experience it and see it with my own eyes, and I live it everyday.
And don't forget about the Filipinos celebrities in the public eye who do speak Spanish: Pilita Corrales, Junior, Isabel Preysler, Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias Jr., Shaila Durcal, Tamara Falco, Ana Boyer, Chabeli Iglesias, Carmen Morales, German Moreno, Jaime Fabregas, and many many more.
Just because a Filipino speaks Spanish doesn't mean that he/she's not proud to be Filipino. If you consider all of the Filipinos you ever met in this world, sometimes some Filipinos who speak Spanish are even prouder to be Filipino than many Filipinos who don't.
Contributor to Filipino Cultured: Art, Entertainment, Culture, and Inspiration Blog
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Teresita_Herrera
When Hiring Domestic or Long Distance Moving Companies - Keep Your Eyes Open!
By Kathy Hildebrand
Today's society is more mobile than ever. Most people just don't stay in one place anymore. When it comes time to move, whether due to a job transfer, to be nearer to family, or simply the adventure of starting over in a new place, it comes with a price tag attached.
The farther away you move, the more it costs, and the more complex the arrangements will be. The higher the complexity of your situation, the more potential there is for the moving experience to become stressful. Planning ahead to mitigate the potentially stressful factors can go a long way in enabling you to look back on the move with happy thoughts, rather than trying to forget all about it.
For example, one family moved from California to Tennessee. Their priority was finding a way to move without subjecting their baby to a cross-country drive. They decided to have a commercial moving company move their household things, for the father and dogs to go by car, and the mother and baby to go by plane. Another family moved two states away, and drove out with their cats in their one car while their household items were moved by a commercial mover. One couple had so few personal possessions that they loaded up themselves, their two dogs, two cats, turtle, and all their stuff into a van and simply drove from one coast to another to their new home.
Many families, especially those that are moving entire houses' or apartments' worth of furniture, books, clothing, and other personal effects, will find themselves needing to secure the services of a professional mover company. It is very important to select the right one. Long distance moving companies vary in their customer service, services offered, price, and respect with which possessions are treated. In general, the longer distance the move, the more important it is to get a trustworthy company who will uphold a strong commitment to moving you safely and securely for the entire distance. Movers cross country cost the most, and there is also the most potential for damage or theft -- especially if you travel separately from your possessions.
In one unfortunate situation, a move from the Northeast to the San Francisco Bay Area yielded damage to a piece of furniture, plus a toolbox had been pilfered of its best tools. In other situations, people who arranged to have their cars moved discovered that their cars had been damaged. One person, trying to save money on the move, had several boxes of books shipped via US Mail (the moving company charged by weight so they were looking to lighten their load) and lost many books that way. The books were damaged when some boxes fell apart -- and they were irreplaceable.
There are ways to mitigate the risks involved with hiring long distance movers. First, check the reputation of the long distance moving company you are considering. Enter its name into Google, read movingscam.com, ripoffreport.com, and others to see reviews of former customers' experiences. Call the Better Business Bureau or go to their website to find out how many complaints there have been against a company, the nature of the complaints, and how the company handled the complaints. (Keep in mind, however, that many disappointed customers just don't ever make formal complaints -- it doesn't mean a company is unblemished). Ask friends, family, and co-workers about who they have used and if they would use them again.
Also, you may want to personally pack and unpack your belongings yourself. That way, you're only leaving the transport up to the movers. It will also cost less. If you can get friends and family to help, that may make it possible to keep this responsibility out of the hands of the moving companies.
Make sure all containers of anything are locked (like a toolbox). Keep your most precious valuables with you, or consider special arrangements. For example, one family had to ship antiques across the country. Instead of letting the long distance moving service do it, they paid a packing company to create a special crate (a cardboard box with lots of exterior foam) that was custom made to fit the items. They then had a trucking company, on recommendation from the packing company, ship the items, which arrived without a scratch. Beware -- this is not cheap. Peace of mind may be worth the price, though.
Advance preparation, in the form of due diligence by researching the movers and planning what items will go with whom, will help make your move a whole lot smoother.
Kathy Hildebrand is a professional writer who is easily bored with her "day job" assignments. So, she researches anything and everything of interest and starts writing. Writing about an extremely wide variety of subjects keeps her skills sharp, and gives her food for thought on future paid writing assignments.
More of her research and articles can be found at http://www.lasertargeted.com/movers and other sites around the internet.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Hildebrand
Today's society is more mobile than ever. Most people just don't stay in one place anymore. When it comes time to move, whether due to a job transfer, to be nearer to family, or simply the adventure of starting over in a new place, it comes with a price tag attached.
The farther away you move, the more it costs, and the more complex the arrangements will be. The higher the complexity of your situation, the more potential there is for the moving experience to become stressful. Planning ahead to mitigate the potentially stressful factors can go a long way in enabling you to look back on the move with happy thoughts, rather than trying to forget all about it.
For example, one family moved from California to Tennessee. Their priority was finding a way to move without subjecting their baby to a cross-country drive. They decided to have a commercial moving company move their household things, for the father and dogs to go by car, and the mother and baby to go by plane. Another family moved two states away, and drove out with their cats in their one car while their household items were moved by a commercial mover. One couple had so few personal possessions that they loaded up themselves, their two dogs, two cats, turtle, and all their stuff into a van and simply drove from one coast to another to their new home.
Many families, especially those that are moving entire houses' or apartments' worth of furniture, books, clothing, and other personal effects, will find themselves needing to secure the services of a professional mover company. It is very important to select the right one. Long distance moving companies vary in their customer service, services offered, price, and respect with which possessions are treated. In general, the longer distance the move, the more important it is to get a trustworthy company who will uphold a strong commitment to moving you safely and securely for the entire distance. Movers cross country cost the most, and there is also the most potential for damage or theft -- especially if you travel separately from your possessions.
In one unfortunate situation, a move from the Northeast to the San Francisco Bay Area yielded damage to a piece of furniture, plus a toolbox had been pilfered of its best tools. In other situations, people who arranged to have their cars moved discovered that their cars had been damaged. One person, trying to save money on the move, had several boxes of books shipped via US Mail (the moving company charged by weight so they were looking to lighten their load) and lost many books that way. The books were damaged when some boxes fell apart -- and they were irreplaceable.
There are ways to mitigate the risks involved with hiring long distance movers. First, check the reputation of the long distance moving company you are considering. Enter its name into Google, read movingscam.com, ripoffreport.com, and others to see reviews of former customers' experiences. Call the Better Business Bureau or go to their website to find out how many complaints there have been against a company, the nature of the complaints, and how the company handled the complaints. (Keep in mind, however, that many disappointed customers just don't ever make formal complaints -- it doesn't mean a company is unblemished). Ask friends, family, and co-workers about who they have used and if they would use them again.
Also, you may want to personally pack and unpack your belongings yourself. That way, you're only leaving the transport up to the movers. It will also cost less. If you can get friends and family to help, that may make it possible to keep this responsibility out of the hands of the moving companies.
Make sure all containers of anything are locked (like a toolbox). Keep your most precious valuables with you, or consider special arrangements. For example, one family had to ship antiques across the country. Instead of letting the long distance moving service do it, they paid a packing company to create a special crate (a cardboard box with lots of exterior foam) that was custom made to fit the items. They then had a trucking company, on recommendation from the packing company, ship the items, which arrived without a scratch. Beware -- this is not cheap. Peace of mind may be worth the price, though.
Advance preparation, in the form of due diligence by researching the movers and planning what items will go with whom, will help make your move a whole lot smoother.
Kathy Hildebrand is a professional writer who is easily bored with her "day job" assignments. So, she researches anything and everything of interest and starts writing. Writing about an extremely wide variety of subjects keeps her skills sharp, and gives her food for thought on future paid writing assignments.
More of her research and articles can be found at http://www.lasertargeted.com/movers and other sites around the internet.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Hildebrand
Choosing a Maid Agency - 2 Important Checks Before You Proceed
By Rebecca Atkins
Maid agencies and partnering recruitment offices act as intermediaries between employers and maids. They serve an indispensable role in bringing together two distant parties, namely the affluent families who need housekeeping help, and the impoverished women who can offer their labour in exchange for regular income. Problems arise when maid agencies fail to provide this crucial link in a satisfactory manner. This article examines two common problems that prospective employers face when recruiting a maid from an agency.
1. List of maid bio-data is outdated
Most maid agencies do not maintain up-to-date information of their available maids. At first glance, their selection of domestic workers may appear comprehensive, complete with maid photographs, personal particulars and a brief description of their basic education, strengths and preferences. The sad fact is many of such information are outdated, and exist only to impress their clientèle of their supposed wide selection.
Shop-front displays and online maid agencies are especially guilty of this charge, as evident from their static maid bio-data showcase. Many agencies draw from a common pool of recruited maids, and post this shared bio-data without checking its current status. Some agencies do not intentionally trick their clients, but merely neglect to refresh their current maid selection in a timely manner. There are, however, agencies that deliberately highlight the better candidates among their past recruited maids, to create an illusion of choice abundance to their customers. A handful of agencies continue to advertise obsolete offerings from as long as five years back.
We advise prospective employers to treat the advertised maid bio-data as a rough guide, and always ask specifically for the latest available candidates from the maid agencies. Do not waste your time and effort to sift through countless bio-data pages, only to learn that your shortlisted maid is, in fact, unavailable for employment. Untruthful agencies may even pretend that your preferred maid was coincidentally chosen by another competing client, just hours earlier. One agency staff admitted to Maid Aware that she wasn't bothered with the extra administrative work involved in sorting the published maid list, since only a handful of customer enquiries handled will result in a "confirmed sale".
2. The maid agency that you deal with has a poor track history
We, at Maid Aware, are constantly amazed by the blind faith vested by many employers when choosing a maid agency. Few employers perform simple background checks of the agencies handling their maid recruitment, and suffer the consequence of delays, cost escalation and substandard service, when their chosen agencies fail to meet their basic requirement.
We are reminded of an old Czech adage on carpentry -- "measure twice, cut once". When choosing a maid agency, it pays to consult your local government regulatory offices, consumer associations, media publications, friends and relatives for their recommendations. Your objective is to identify the problematic and blacklisted agencies to steer clear of. Unscrupulous or incompetent agencies have a habit of repeating their past mistakes. Surely, you have no desire of being their next unsuspecting victim, do you?
Many countries that depend heavily on migrant labour maintain a registry of licensed maid agencies. They keep track of the agencies' performance through a number of key indicators, such as demerit points, maid placement volume and retention success percentages. News archives may reveal maid agencies that run foul of the law in their treatment of recruited maids, and those accused of dishonesty by past clients. Most of this information is easily available, through the convenience of the Internet. We advise prospective employers against committing to any maid agency in haste, without some preliminary screening on their part. From our observations, maid agencies that advertise aggressively in the classifieds, boasting the lowest fees in the market, attract the most clients. Unfortunately, many of them consistently under-deliver their promises at such bargain-basement prices. Do your quick homework, to discern the truly competitive offers from the bogus ones. It's definitely worth the small investment in your time.
Maid agencies are the crucial links between employers and maids, as most people lack the connections and know-how to recruit their own maids from a foreign country. We believe that most agencies are operated by honest and credible individuals. However, as with any other industry, black sheep do exist among maid agents. We hope that this article by Maid Aware will assist in your selection of a quality maid agency.
Copyright © 2007 << Maid Aware >> All Rights Reserved
Rebecca Atkins is a mother of two, and runs a home-based business in Asia. She has employed, trained and managed many foreign domestic helpers for housekeeping and childcare responsibilities. Rebecca notes a growing reliance of maids among middle- and high-income families, as busy individuals and working parents contract full-time paid domestic help, to lessen their daily household chores. Personal accounts by friends and associates point to general lack of understanding between most employers and maids. Worse still, cases of maid abuse, accidents, conflicts and wrongdoings are frequently reported in the media.
Rebecca draws attention to this social problem through an online initiative where she shares her experience, knowledge and insights on how to recruit, train, manage and motivate maids. She hopes to grow Maid Aware into a friendly community for useful maid news, information and advice. Please visit http://www.MaidAware.com/ to get further tips on how to manage employer-maid relations.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Atkins
Maid agencies and partnering recruitment offices act as intermediaries between employers and maids. They serve an indispensable role in bringing together two distant parties, namely the affluent families who need housekeeping help, and the impoverished women who can offer their labour in exchange for regular income. Problems arise when maid agencies fail to provide this crucial link in a satisfactory manner. This article examines two common problems that prospective employers face when recruiting a maid from an agency.
1. List of maid bio-data is outdated
Most maid agencies do not maintain up-to-date information of their available maids. At first glance, their selection of domestic workers may appear comprehensive, complete with maid photographs, personal particulars and a brief description of their basic education, strengths and preferences. The sad fact is many of such information are outdated, and exist only to impress their clientèle of their supposed wide selection.
Shop-front displays and online maid agencies are especially guilty of this charge, as evident from their static maid bio-data showcase. Many agencies draw from a common pool of recruited maids, and post this shared bio-data without checking its current status. Some agencies do not intentionally trick their clients, but merely neglect to refresh their current maid selection in a timely manner. There are, however, agencies that deliberately highlight the better candidates among their past recruited maids, to create an illusion of choice abundance to their customers. A handful of agencies continue to advertise obsolete offerings from as long as five years back.
We advise prospective employers to treat the advertised maid bio-data as a rough guide, and always ask specifically for the latest available candidates from the maid agencies. Do not waste your time and effort to sift through countless bio-data pages, only to learn that your shortlisted maid is, in fact, unavailable for employment. Untruthful agencies may even pretend that your preferred maid was coincidentally chosen by another competing client, just hours earlier. One agency staff admitted to Maid Aware that she wasn't bothered with the extra administrative work involved in sorting the published maid list, since only a handful of customer enquiries handled will result in a "confirmed sale".
2. The maid agency that you deal with has a poor track history
We, at Maid Aware, are constantly amazed by the blind faith vested by many employers when choosing a maid agency. Few employers perform simple background checks of the agencies handling their maid recruitment, and suffer the consequence of delays, cost escalation and substandard service, when their chosen agencies fail to meet their basic requirement.
We are reminded of an old Czech adage on carpentry -- "measure twice, cut once". When choosing a maid agency, it pays to consult your local government regulatory offices, consumer associations, media publications, friends and relatives for their recommendations. Your objective is to identify the problematic and blacklisted agencies to steer clear of. Unscrupulous or incompetent agencies have a habit of repeating their past mistakes. Surely, you have no desire of being their next unsuspecting victim, do you?
Many countries that depend heavily on migrant labour maintain a registry of licensed maid agencies. They keep track of the agencies' performance through a number of key indicators, such as demerit points, maid placement volume and retention success percentages. News archives may reveal maid agencies that run foul of the law in their treatment of recruited maids, and those accused of dishonesty by past clients. Most of this information is easily available, through the convenience of the Internet. We advise prospective employers against committing to any maid agency in haste, without some preliminary screening on their part. From our observations, maid agencies that advertise aggressively in the classifieds, boasting the lowest fees in the market, attract the most clients. Unfortunately, many of them consistently under-deliver their promises at such bargain-basement prices. Do your quick homework, to discern the truly competitive offers from the bogus ones. It's definitely worth the small investment in your time.
Maid agencies are the crucial links between employers and maids, as most people lack the connections and know-how to recruit their own maids from a foreign country. We believe that most agencies are operated by honest and credible individuals. However, as with any other industry, black sheep do exist among maid agents. We hope that this article by Maid Aware will assist in your selection of a quality maid agency.
Copyright © 2007 << Maid Aware >> All Rights Reserved
Rebecca Atkins is a mother of two, and runs a home-based business in Asia. She has employed, trained and managed many foreign domestic helpers for housekeeping and childcare responsibilities. Rebecca notes a growing reliance of maids among middle- and high-income families, as busy individuals and working parents contract full-time paid domestic help, to lessen their daily household chores. Personal accounts by friends and associates point to general lack of understanding between most employers and maids. Worse still, cases of maid abuse, accidents, conflicts and wrongdoings are frequently reported in the media.
Rebecca draws attention to this social problem through an online initiative where she shares her experience, knowledge and insights on how to recruit, train, manage and motivate maids. She hopes to grow Maid Aware into a friendly community for useful maid news, information and advice. Please visit http://www.MaidAware.com/ to get further tips on how to manage employer-maid relations.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Atkins
Singapore Maids - The Two Main Categories of Singapore Maids for Your Family
By Eddy Lam
Singapore maids – if you have a maid at home, you may have this dilemma, especially in Singapore: you have a difficult time when you employ a maid, and you also have a difficult time when you don’t employ a maid.
Firstly, understand that a maid in Singapore is what is commonly called an “ah-mah” or a domestic helper or a nanny. Given the fast pace of life here in Singapore, the help of a nanny or domestic helper is almost a need, rather than a want.
For the many expatriates in Singapore, it is important to have a Singapore maid to help with the household chores at home. Many of these maids come from places like the Philippines and Indonesia. Other countries of origin include Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. At the point of writing, there are about 150,000 maids working in Singapore.
If you were like many employers of maids in Singapore, you probably don’t have a very good experience with them. But, due to necessity, you will just have to make do with them. Here’s why…
If you have a maid who doesn’t follow your instructions or is plain dumb, you will virtually “vomit blood” in teaching her to follow simple instructions. Most of these problems stamp from miscommunication between the employer and the maid, and in most cases, it is due to the maid’s inability to communicate in English.
Due to the maid’s inability to perform, some employers decided not to employ a maid. But then, they realized that the pace of life is too fast for them. Having to juggle work and take care of the children and their elderly parents at the same time is simply too much to handle.
It is indeed a painful problem waiting for a solution! While I don’t profess to have the perfect solution, here’s some information for your consideration.
Understand that there are fundamentally two categories of Singapore maids – new and transfer.
New maids are maids who have never worked in Singapore before. With the new regulations by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower, new maids have to have a minimum of 8 years of formal education and must be 23 years old and above. They must also pass a written test in English and a medical examination before they can work in Singapore.
Transfer maids are maids who are currently working in Singapore. They are transferring from one employer to another employer for various reasons (employers are leaving Singapore, they want a change of environment, etc.). They are typically more experienced and some of them may have worked in Singapore for as long as 15 years!
Here’s one of the key difference between new Singapore maids and transfer Singapore maids.
Typical new Singapore maids are generally stationed at the Singapore maid agency’s overseas training center (be it in the Philippines or Indonesia or some other countries), and you generally cannot interview them. You can only go through their bio-data and “try your luck”. However, there are some agencies which may allow you to have a chat with them via the telephone or Internet webcam. While doing so, please bear in mind that their teacher may be beside them and teaching them how to reply to your questions.
As for the transfer Singapore maids, you can typically interview them face to face. Some Singapore maid agencies will even encourage you to talk to their ex-employers so that you can make an informed decision.
At the end of the day, getting the right Singapore maid for your family depends on your needs. New Singapore maids are typically harder to teach since they are inexperienced. However, they are likely to be less demanding in terms of their employment package, and they generally don’t have day offs. Nevertheless, a new legislation has been passed such that they must be given a minimum of 1 day off or they must be compensated for it.
Transfer Singapore maids are likely to be easier to teach since they have experience. However, just like any experienced professionals, they would tend to want to have all Sundays off and a higher monthly salary. Some of them may be harder to “tame” since they are experienced.
At the end of the day, getting the best Singapore maid for your family boils down to taking the effort to evaluate the maid and matching her to your needs.
Have you seen these testimonials of happy Singapore maid employers? Plus, get 2 FREE reports on employing Singapore maids for your family and finding a good Singapore maid. Visit 121 Personnel Services now!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eddy_Lam
Singapore maids – if you have a maid at home, you may have this dilemma, especially in Singapore: you have a difficult time when you employ a maid, and you also have a difficult time when you don’t employ a maid.
Firstly, understand that a maid in Singapore is what is commonly called an “ah-mah” or a domestic helper or a nanny. Given the fast pace of life here in Singapore, the help of a nanny or domestic helper is almost a need, rather than a want.
For the many expatriates in Singapore, it is important to have a Singapore maid to help with the household chores at home. Many of these maids come from places like the Philippines and Indonesia. Other countries of origin include Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. At the point of writing, there are about 150,000 maids working in Singapore.
If you were like many employers of maids in Singapore, you probably don’t have a very good experience with them. But, due to necessity, you will just have to make do with them. Here’s why…
If you have a maid who doesn’t follow your instructions or is plain dumb, you will virtually “vomit blood” in teaching her to follow simple instructions. Most of these problems stamp from miscommunication between the employer and the maid, and in most cases, it is due to the maid’s inability to communicate in English.
Due to the maid’s inability to perform, some employers decided not to employ a maid. But then, they realized that the pace of life is too fast for them. Having to juggle work and take care of the children and their elderly parents at the same time is simply too much to handle.
It is indeed a painful problem waiting for a solution! While I don’t profess to have the perfect solution, here’s some information for your consideration.
Understand that there are fundamentally two categories of Singapore maids – new and transfer.
New maids are maids who have never worked in Singapore before. With the new regulations by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower, new maids have to have a minimum of 8 years of formal education and must be 23 years old and above. They must also pass a written test in English and a medical examination before they can work in Singapore.
Transfer maids are maids who are currently working in Singapore. They are transferring from one employer to another employer for various reasons (employers are leaving Singapore, they want a change of environment, etc.). They are typically more experienced and some of them may have worked in Singapore for as long as 15 years!
Here’s one of the key difference between new Singapore maids and transfer Singapore maids.
Typical new Singapore maids are generally stationed at the Singapore maid agency’s overseas training center (be it in the Philippines or Indonesia or some other countries), and you generally cannot interview them. You can only go through their bio-data and “try your luck”. However, there are some agencies which may allow you to have a chat with them via the telephone or Internet webcam. While doing so, please bear in mind that their teacher may be beside them and teaching them how to reply to your questions.
As for the transfer Singapore maids, you can typically interview them face to face. Some Singapore maid agencies will even encourage you to talk to their ex-employers so that you can make an informed decision.
At the end of the day, getting the right Singapore maid for your family depends on your needs. New Singapore maids are typically harder to teach since they are inexperienced. However, they are likely to be less demanding in terms of their employment package, and they generally don’t have day offs. Nevertheless, a new legislation has been passed such that they must be given a minimum of 1 day off or they must be compensated for it.
Transfer Singapore maids are likely to be easier to teach since they have experience. However, just like any experienced professionals, they would tend to want to have all Sundays off and a higher monthly salary. Some of them may be harder to “tame” since they are experienced.
At the end of the day, getting the best Singapore maid for your family boils down to taking the effort to evaluate the maid and matching her to your needs.
Have you seen these testimonials of happy Singapore maid employers? Plus, get 2 FREE reports on employing Singapore maids for your family and finding a good Singapore maid. Visit 121 Personnel Services now!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eddy_Lam
Choosing Domestic Cleaners - How To
By Nick Burke
Are you thinking about taking on domestic help?
Are you tired of interviewing cleaning ladies that once engaged do not meet your expectations?
Then perhaps I can help.
I have worked as a full-time domestic cleaner for the past five years, building up a sizeable round which gives me a decent income. During this time I have had discussions with householders and other domestic cleaners; I reluctantly concede that negativity does seem to go with the territory, but sometimes there is fault on both sides.
Below are a few tips that may come in useful if you wish to change your existing help or wish to engage domestic help for the first time.
1) Dont rush into it.- A common fault is to put off engaging a domestic cleaner until you reach desperation point. Even if you have reached that point, stay calm a few weeks shouldn't make much difference and it will certainly pay off in the long term.
2) What duties do you wish your cleaner to perform? - Not everyone can afford to have all their household duties performed by an outside party, especially if your house is on the large size. Be selective in order to get the most out of your routine clean.Have your cleaner do the tasks you least like doing yourself. In my experience kitchens and bathrooms are often the rooms that exasperate householders the most. The general washing down of paintwork is also usually high on the list. In short, decide on what you feel will make the biggest difference.
3) How many hours do you require per clean? - Be realistic in what your cleaner can achieve. Experienced cleaners can invariably perform tasks at a greater speed but they still only have one pair of hands. Estimating how long it would take you to complete all the duties yourself should give you a ball park figure.
4) How much can you afford to pay? - This has to be linked to the duties you wish your cleaner to perform. Don't be tempted to substitute quality for quantity, its better to have for example three rooms cleaned thoroughly than five rooms cleaned to a poor standard. If necessary reduce the duties on your list.
5) Hourly pay versus task based - Cleaning agencies and individuals generally operate on an hourly basis. This for me is by far the preferred method as the control remains firmly with the householder. Nightmares abound regarding task based cleaners and the increased likelyhood of inferior standards in order that they may leave the premises in record time.
6) Where can I find a cleaner?
Cleaning Agencies: Will generally provide you with a sucession of poor quality cleaners whilst promising you the earth. You will have to pay an agency fee for the duration of the contract as well as paying the cleaner on each visit. In my experience any cleaner who can provide an adequate service will eventually dispense with their agency at their earliest convenience and set up independently.
Advertisements in shop windows: Buyer Beware! Check references fully and never reply to an ad that only gives a mobile phone number.
Recommendation: Always the best way. If the cleaner is unable to take you on immediately, perhaps it's worth waiting until he or she can. Cleaning slots become available for a host of reasons - people move away, decide they can no longer afford a cleaner, even die.
Place an advertisement: Again shop windows are not the ideal hunting ground so why not place your advertisement in the local newspaper or local magazine.
Alternatively by placing an ad in the local Job Centre/Employment Centre you are more likely to find someone who is legally registered for work. Domestic cleaning is endemic in the black economy. Those claiming benefits and using income from cleaning to supplement may be less reliable than individuals that cannot afford to take time off work because it is their legitimate income.
What should I expect from my cleaner?
You should expect your cleaner to be trustworthy, reliable, hardworking and discreet.
How much should I be willing to pay?
Always above the minimum wage. Remember your cleaner is not party to the usual benefits of PAYE such as sickness benefit, holiday entitlement and employment protection. So for example an hourly rate of £7.50 works out considerably less when the above factors are taken into account.
Always treat your cleaner with the respect he or she deserves. We come from all walks of life. Until the stigma attached to domestic cleaning is finally
removed it will continue to attract unprofessional individuals, so do your bit to stamp it out.
Visit http://www.oph-good-housekeeping.com for more cooking and good housekeeping tips
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Burke
Are you thinking about taking on domestic help?
Are you tired of interviewing cleaning ladies that once engaged do not meet your expectations?
Then perhaps I can help.
I have worked as a full-time domestic cleaner for the past five years, building up a sizeable round which gives me a decent income. During this time I have had discussions with householders and other domestic cleaners; I reluctantly concede that negativity does seem to go with the territory, but sometimes there is fault on both sides.
Below are a few tips that may come in useful if you wish to change your existing help or wish to engage domestic help for the first time.
1) Dont rush into it.- A common fault is to put off engaging a domestic cleaner until you reach desperation point. Even if you have reached that point, stay calm a few weeks shouldn't make much difference and it will certainly pay off in the long term.
2) What duties do you wish your cleaner to perform? - Not everyone can afford to have all their household duties performed by an outside party, especially if your house is on the large size. Be selective in order to get the most out of your routine clean.Have your cleaner do the tasks you least like doing yourself. In my experience kitchens and bathrooms are often the rooms that exasperate householders the most. The general washing down of paintwork is also usually high on the list. In short, decide on what you feel will make the biggest difference.
3) How many hours do you require per clean? - Be realistic in what your cleaner can achieve. Experienced cleaners can invariably perform tasks at a greater speed but they still only have one pair of hands. Estimating how long it would take you to complete all the duties yourself should give you a ball park figure.
4) How much can you afford to pay? - This has to be linked to the duties you wish your cleaner to perform. Don't be tempted to substitute quality for quantity, its better to have for example three rooms cleaned thoroughly than five rooms cleaned to a poor standard. If necessary reduce the duties on your list.
5) Hourly pay versus task based - Cleaning agencies and individuals generally operate on an hourly basis. This for me is by far the preferred method as the control remains firmly with the householder. Nightmares abound regarding task based cleaners and the increased likelyhood of inferior standards in order that they may leave the premises in record time.
6) Where can I find a cleaner?
Cleaning Agencies: Will generally provide you with a sucession of poor quality cleaners whilst promising you the earth. You will have to pay an agency fee for the duration of the contract as well as paying the cleaner on each visit. In my experience any cleaner who can provide an adequate service will eventually dispense with their agency at their earliest convenience and set up independently.
Advertisements in shop windows: Buyer Beware! Check references fully and never reply to an ad that only gives a mobile phone number.
Recommendation: Always the best way. If the cleaner is unable to take you on immediately, perhaps it's worth waiting until he or she can. Cleaning slots become available for a host of reasons - people move away, decide they can no longer afford a cleaner, even die.
Place an advertisement: Again shop windows are not the ideal hunting ground so why not place your advertisement in the local newspaper or local magazine.
Alternatively by placing an ad in the local Job Centre/Employment Centre you are more likely to find someone who is legally registered for work. Domestic cleaning is endemic in the black economy. Those claiming benefits and using income from cleaning to supplement may be less reliable than individuals that cannot afford to take time off work because it is their legitimate income.
What should I expect from my cleaner?
You should expect your cleaner to be trustworthy, reliable, hardworking and discreet.
How much should I be willing to pay?
Always above the minimum wage. Remember your cleaner is not party to the usual benefits of PAYE such as sickness benefit, holiday entitlement and employment protection. So for example an hourly rate of £7.50 works out considerably less when the above factors are taken into account.
Always treat your cleaner with the respect he or she deserves. We come from all walks of life. Until the stigma attached to domestic cleaning is finally
removed it will continue to attract unprofessional individuals, so do your bit to stamp it out.
Visit http://www.oph-good-housekeeping.com for more cooking and good housekeeping tips
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Burke
Employing a Singapore Maid - What You Should Know
By Edward Devane
Most of us have probably already heard of the practice of Singaporean households of employing a Singapore maid. If you are living in Singapore, you should understand why you need one. You should also know what it will take before you can start employing a Singapore maid.
Reasons for Having a Maid
It is not uncommon for American households not to employ stay-in maids. The circumstances however may be a little different when it comes to Singaporean households.
In Singapore however, the culture and the standard of living will require a little more of your time and effort. Employing a Singapore maid will help ensure that you can focus well on your work and not lose even more energy on house work.
Agencies
Some employers go through the steps of employing a Singapore maid by themselves. It would save you a lot of trouble though if you contact a reputable agency. Licensed agencies have more experience in screening and providing qualified maid candidates.
You would therefore be assured of employing a Singapore maid who is truly qualified and experienced. Aside from this, agencies usually handle all the hassles and details related to insurance, bonds, work permits, travel details and medical check ups.
Where You Can Get a Maid
Employing a Singapore maid from any country is not entirely a valid option. You would have to hire a maid from one of the countries approved by the Ministry of Manpower. The approved countries are Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia. A licensed maid agency will only be allowed to screen maids from these countries.
Salary and Expenses
There are several factors that will determine how much you need to pay your domestic helper. These factors include your personal contract with your maid, the maid's work experience, duties to be performed, presence of children and the elderly and your home size. Employing a Singapore maid can cost you from $200-$500 a month. Although you have some freedom in agreeing how much you should pay your maid, some agencies have suggestions and guidelines for determining payment.
Aside from salaries, employing a Singapore maid would also mean that you would have to pay for several other required fees. Among the expenses that you would have to pay are the levy, security bond or insurance, initial medical check up fees, maid medical expenses and maid airfare. Agencies may have to charge fees of up to $900 to cover everything. Depending on your agreement with your maid, you might also have to pay for leave expenses once a year.
If you're looking for a Singapore maid video, then the top Singapore maid agency is the best place to start looking. Log on to 121personnel.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edward_Devane
Most of us have probably already heard of the practice of Singaporean households of employing a Singapore maid. If you are living in Singapore, you should understand why you need one. You should also know what it will take before you can start employing a Singapore maid.
Reasons for Having a Maid
It is not uncommon for American households not to employ stay-in maids. The circumstances however may be a little different when it comes to Singaporean households.
In Singapore however, the culture and the standard of living will require a little more of your time and effort. Employing a Singapore maid will help ensure that you can focus well on your work and not lose even more energy on house work.
Agencies
Some employers go through the steps of employing a Singapore maid by themselves. It would save you a lot of trouble though if you contact a reputable agency. Licensed agencies have more experience in screening and providing qualified maid candidates.
You would therefore be assured of employing a Singapore maid who is truly qualified and experienced. Aside from this, agencies usually handle all the hassles and details related to insurance, bonds, work permits, travel details and medical check ups.
Where You Can Get a Maid
Employing a Singapore maid from any country is not entirely a valid option. You would have to hire a maid from one of the countries approved by the Ministry of Manpower. The approved countries are Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia. A licensed maid agency will only be allowed to screen maids from these countries.
Salary and Expenses
There are several factors that will determine how much you need to pay your domestic helper. These factors include your personal contract with your maid, the maid's work experience, duties to be performed, presence of children and the elderly and your home size. Employing a Singapore maid can cost you from $200-$500 a month. Although you have some freedom in agreeing how much you should pay your maid, some agencies have suggestions and guidelines for determining payment.
Aside from salaries, employing a Singapore maid would also mean that you would have to pay for several other required fees. Among the expenses that you would have to pay are the levy, security bond or insurance, initial medical check up fees, maid medical expenses and maid airfare. Agencies may have to charge fees of up to $900 to cover everything. Depending on your agreement with your maid, you might also have to pay for leave expenses once a year.
If you're looking for a Singapore maid video, then the top Singapore maid agency is the best place to start looking. Log on to 121personnel.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edward_Devane
Finding Nanny Services - How to Select a Domestic Staffing Agency
By Kelly L Allen
The search for reliable nanny services or domestic help can be an overwhelming and time consuming process, especially if you decide to start from scratch with a classified ad. After weeding through countless responses, making endless phone calls, and interviewing dozens of potential candidates, it's no wonder many families decide to bypass this screening process and turn to the nearest domestic staffing agency for help. Once you decide to seek help finding nanny services, what features and services should you look for in a quality agency?
Features of a Quality Domestic Staffing Agency
First, look for a domestic staffing agency that has a successful history of matching quality candidates with the right families and has a reputation for excellence. Request client or candidate references to ensure that the agency delivers the level of service that they claim to provide. Is the agency affiliated with any professional associations? If so, they are typically required to comply with certain industry standards and quality guarantees. Ask questions to find out how long the agency has been in business and inquire what type of experience and background the employees of the agencies have. The longer a domestic staffing agency has been in business, the more likely the company is to have business processes set up to ensure that it will find the right nanny services for your family's needs.
Ask the agency if you can visit its place of business. If the agency is hesitant, it's probably because it's trying to look like a much larger operation than it is in reality. Many of the nanny services and domestic help agencies out there are run by one person who is struggling to juggle client relations and candidate hiring at the same time, while managing the financial side of the business as well. When a domestic staffing agency is running on such limited resources, the quality of service that the agency provides may be unreliable.
The Screening Process
One of the most complex components of finding nanny services is the screening process. Quality agencies have strict processes in place to ensure that only the best, most qualified candidates get matched with families. Before selecting a domestic staffing agency, ask how it finds candidates. Do applicants have specific qualifications that must be fulfilled to be considered a quality candidate? Does the agency screen out illegal aliens? Candidate screening is a highly important part of the hiring process and it should be treated as such.
Ask the agency to provide you with an average turnaround time for the candidate selection and hiring process once you hire them to provide you with nanny services. Once again, the size of the agency will affect how long it takes to find the right candidate. A domestic staffing agency with more resources will likely have a faster turnaround time since there are multiple employees available to handle the different sides of the business. Using a candidate screening service should speed up the hiring process, not slow it down. A domestic staffing agency with efficient business and candidate screening processes in place should be able to handle a professional nanny placement in as little as two days, although most domestic staffing agencies take one to three weeks to fulfill a placement. Do keep in mind that the length of time greatly depends on the type of nanny services you are looking for, as well as the hours required, salary and benefits you will be providing, and the duties you will require.
Look for a domestic staffing agency that offers a wide variety of domestic staffing services, not just nanny services. You may think that you need a live-in nanny when, in reality, your needs are better suited for a housekeeper two days a week and nanny services once a week. A domestic staffing agency that fills a range of positions such as professional nanny, housekeeper, house manager, or baby nurse, can act as a consultant, matching the appropriate help to your family's needs.
Since the agency is doing all of the work of the screening and hiring process for you, oftentimes they charge a fee for nanny placement. Some services, such as helping to create an employee agreement, may be optional, but many agencies will charge an additional fee for them. Make sure that you understand all of the fees and cost of placement upfront so that there are no unpleasant surprises when you are ready to select the right candidate and welcome them into your home.
Most importantly, a quality domestic staffing agency that is confident in its ability to match the right candidates with the appropriate families will offer a replacement guarantee on its nanny services. The best agencies will offer a replacement guarantee that covers families for the first six months. If the initial candidate turns out to be unsuitable for any reason, they will conduct a second search without charge, not to exceed more than one replacement. A replacement guarantee provides peace of mind that if the initial placement does not succeed, your money is not lost.
Conclusion
Finding nanny services can seem complicated but, with the help of an experienced domestic staffing agency, the process is much easier to approach. There are many agencies out there that claim to provide the best service in the industry. By asking some key questions and performing due diligence, you are bound to find an agency that suits your needs and provides the right candidate for your home.
About the Author
Kelly Allen founded Premier Domestic Staffing in 1998 when she saw the need for a domestic staffing agency that takes a personal approach to placing the best candidates with the best families. Since that time, Premier Domestic Staffing has expanded its service offerings to include national staffing of nannies, housekeepers, house managers and estate staff.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_L_Allen
The search for reliable nanny services or domestic help can be an overwhelming and time consuming process, especially if you decide to start from scratch with a classified ad. After weeding through countless responses, making endless phone calls, and interviewing dozens of potential candidates, it's no wonder many families decide to bypass this screening process and turn to the nearest domestic staffing agency for help. Once you decide to seek help finding nanny services, what features and services should you look for in a quality agency?
Features of a Quality Domestic Staffing Agency
First, look for a domestic staffing agency that has a successful history of matching quality candidates with the right families and has a reputation for excellence. Request client or candidate references to ensure that the agency delivers the level of service that they claim to provide. Is the agency affiliated with any professional associations? If so, they are typically required to comply with certain industry standards and quality guarantees. Ask questions to find out how long the agency has been in business and inquire what type of experience and background the employees of the agencies have. The longer a domestic staffing agency has been in business, the more likely the company is to have business processes set up to ensure that it will find the right nanny services for your family's needs.
Ask the agency if you can visit its place of business. If the agency is hesitant, it's probably because it's trying to look like a much larger operation than it is in reality. Many of the nanny services and domestic help agencies out there are run by one person who is struggling to juggle client relations and candidate hiring at the same time, while managing the financial side of the business as well. When a domestic staffing agency is running on such limited resources, the quality of service that the agency provides may be unreliable.
The Screening Process
One of the most complex components of finding nanny services is the screening process. Quality agencies have strict processes in place to ensure that only the best, most qualified candidates get matched with families. Before selecting a domestic staffing agency, ask how it finds candidates. Do applicants have specific qualifications that must be fulfilled to be considered a quality candidate? Does the agency screen out illegal aliens? Candidate screening is a highly important part of the hiring process and it should be treated as such.
Ask the agency to provide you with an average turnaround time for the candidate selection and hiring process once you hire them to provide you with nanny services. Once again, the size of the agency will affect how long it takes to find the right candidate. A domestic staffing agency with more resources will likely have a faster turnaround time since there are multiple employees available to handle the different sides of the business. Using a candidate screening service should speed up the hiring process, not slow it down. A domestic staffing agency with efficient business and candidate screening processes in place should be able to handle a professional nanny placement in as little as two days, although most domestic staffing agencies take one to three weeks to fulfill a placement. Do keep in mind that the length of time greatly depends on the type of nanny services you are looking for, as well as the hours required, salary and benefits you will be providing, and the duties you will require.
Look for a domestic staffing agency that offers a wide variety of domestic staffing services, not just nanny services. You may think that you need a live-in nanny when, in reality, your needs are better suited for a housekeeper two days a week and nanny services once a week. A domestic staffing agency that fills a range of positions such as professional nanny, housekeeper, house manager, or baby nurse, can act as a consultant, matching the appropriate help to your family's needs.
Since the agency is doing all of the work of the screening and hiring process for you, oftentimes they charge a fee for nanny placement. Some services, such as helping to create an employee agreement, may be optional, but many agencies will charge an additional fee for them. Make sure that you understand all of the fees and cost of placement upfront so that there are no unpleasant surprises when you are ready to select the right candidate and welcome them into your home.
Most importantly, a quality domestic staffing agency that is confident in its ability to match the right candidates with the appropriate families will offer a replacement guarantee on its nanny services. The best agencies will offer a replacement guarantee that covers families for the first six months. If the initial candidate turns out to be unsuitable for any reason, they will conduct a second search without charge, not to exceed more than one replacement. A replacement guarantee provides peace of mind that if the initial placement does not succeed, your money is not lost.
Conclusion
Finding nanny services can seem complicated but, with the help of an experienced domestic staffing agency, the process is much easier to approach. There are many agencies out there that claim to provide the best service in the industry. By asking some key questions and performing due diligence, you are bound to find an agency that suits your needs and provides the right candidate for your home.
About the Author
Kelly Allen founded Premier Domestic Staffing in 1998 when she saw the need for a domestic staffing agency that takes a personal approach to placing the best candidates with the best families. Since that time, Premier Domestic Staffing has expanded its service offerings to include national staffing of nannies, housekeepers, house managers and estate staff.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_L_Allen
How To Manage Your House
By Jhong Ren
Okie, now you are newly-wed and you are really excited about your new home. Wow, 5 rooms and a big living room with a new suite of furniture that you are so proud of because you spent your entire year looking for it.
Now, your mommy is no longer staying with you and so who will be doing the housechores.
To make matters more complicated, your wife and you have never even swept the floor in your life before.
Some may exclaimed, "Let's hire a maid."
Not everyone can afford that especially now you have mountains of debts to pay after your wedding. Not forgetting that you still owe your mom US$25,000 for the splendid wedding you held in your dream wedding venue in your gorgeous Vera Wang's designed wedding gown.
Oppps, you may had even spent US$2,000 just to decorate your wedding car.
So, having a domestic helper is not a solution.
For the first few days after you return from your honeymoon, it may be still be honeymoon period for both of you. However, with so much clothes to wash and iron, that is when conflict may arise if there is no settlement initially.
Traditionally, wifes should do all the housechores from cooking to ironing the clothes. However, times have changed and now there should be at least an even distribution of housework.
What about you wash the clothes and your husband iron them?
Sounds easy. Wait till you threw tantrum as you constantly refuse to do housework. You have never even touched a broom in your life.
This is not the marriage life of your dream!!!
Welcome to the reality of marriage.
Wait, don't go. There are still more. Who is going to cook, wash the dishes, do marketing, sweep the floor, mob the floor, clean the windows and so on? (I can share another 100 more.)
The list is endless. Again, welcome to the real life of marriage.
You may grumble you are doing more than your husband and there is so much comparison. You spent half a day being really angry about the chores, that your husband is doing less and more probably and unknowingly, angry at yourself that this is not what you have wanted.
I do face the same challenge too. We have to sign a contract of who to do what.
Haha, not so serious to this extent but it is based on mutual trust. I can say that we are still learning to compromise and we are still learning. It is still a long way to go and we are still coping quite. It can be better.
So, at least learn to how to operate the vacuum cleaner from your father before getting married. It does help a bit in a small way.
Jhong Ren owns an authority wedding blog and he aims to provide 1 million wedding couples relationship commitment problem and wedding planning help. His Wedding Blog is at Romance-Fire.com
Jhong Ren is the best selling author of the Plan Your Fabulous Wedding Series. Need help planning my wedding? You can find it at PlanFabulousWedding.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jhong_Ren
Okie, now you are newly-wed and you are really excited about your new home. Wow, 5 rooms and a big living room with a new suite of furniture that you are so proud of because you spent your entire year looking for it.
Now, your mommy is no longer staying with you and so who will be doing the housechores.
To make matters more complicated, your wife and you have never even swept the floor in your life before.
Some may exclaimed, "Let's hire a maid."
Not everyone can afford that especially now you have mountains of debts to pay after your wedding. Not forgetting that you still owe your mom US$25,000 for the splendid wedding you held in your dream wedding venue in your gorgeous Vera Wang's designed wedding gown.
Oppps, you may had even spent US$2,000 just to decorate your wedding car.
So, having a domestic helper is not a solution.
For the first few days after you return from your honeymoon, it may be still be honeymoon period for both of you. However, with so much clothes to wash and iron, that is when conflict may arise if there is no settlement initially.
Traditionally, wifes should do all the housechores from cooking to ironing the clothes. However, times have changed and now there should be at least an even distribution of housework.
What about you wash the clothes and your husband iron them?
Sounds easy. Wait till you threw tantrum as you constantly refuse to do housework. You have never even touched a broom in your life.
This is not the marriage life of your dream!!!
Welcome to the reality of marriage.
Wait, don't go. There are still more. Who is going to cook, wash the dishes, do marketing, sweep the floor, mob the floor, clean the windows and so on? (I can share another 100 more.)
The list is endless. Again, welcome to the real life of marriage.
You may grumble you are doing more than your husband and there is so much comparison. You spent half a day being really angry about the chores, that your husband is doing less and more probably and unknowingly, angry at yourself that this is not what you have wanted.
I do face the same challenge too. We have to sign a contract of who to do what.
Haha, not so serious to this extent but it is based on mutual trust. I can say that we are still learning to compromise and we are still learning. It is still a long way to go and we are still coping quite. It can be better.
So, at least learn to how to operate the vacuum cleaner from your father before getting married. It does help a bit in a small way.
Jhong Ren owns an authority wedding blog and he aims to provide 1 million wedding couples relationship commitment problem and wedding planning help. His Wedding Blog is at Romance-Fire.com
Jhong Ren is the best selling author of the Plan Your Fabulous Wedding Series. Need help planning my wedding? You can find it at PlanFabulousWedding.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jhong_Ren
Living With Your Domestic Maid - 5 Tips for Maintaining Personal Space and Privacy at Home
By Rebecca Atkins
Having a live-in maid is a delicate arrangement. For the duration of her work contract, an adult woman is "adopted" into your household, sharing your private living space. Clearly, such constant and close-proximity contact affects the privacy of both the recruiting family and the foreign maid. It is therefore surprising that many employers fail to give sufficient thought and planning to this unique situation, to ensure the personal space and privacy of everyone involved.
For harmonious living with your domestic help, you need to anticipate the privacy concerns of your family and maid, and actively address these issues. This may be difficult task because most people don't feel comfortable talking about their privacy requirements. Ignoring this awkward topic would be a short-sighted tactic, and a sure-fire recipe for conflicts later on.
We include below a few pointers to help you tackle the subject of privacy with a live-in domestic maid. As employers, the husband and wife should discuss frankly and prepare themselves before the "stranger" steps foot into their family home. Plan and implement specific dos and don't s to minimize any intrusion into their personal, couple and family lives.
1. Adjust your displays of affection
While hand-holding, quick pecks on the cheek, and cuddling in front of the TV are probably fine, you would be wise to keep the overtly romantic gestures out of the plain view of your maid. Of course, sensibility and decency are the obvious reasons to confine amorous exploits between spouses to the bedroom. A less obvious, but important, reason is to avert any feelings of loneliness and envy from your maid, who is far away from her own loved ones.
2. Dress suitably
Some adult males go shirtless while lifting weights and exercising at home; some walk from the shower to the wardrobe with only a towel wrapped around their waists. Some folks unclothe and dump the laundry directly into the wash, wearing little or nothing beside the washing machine, in the privacy of their own homes. Breastfeeding mothers lose their inhibition when nursing their babies within the four walls of their residence. While natural, such behaviours need to be toned down with the presence of a stranger in the house. Different people have varying levels of comfort for such exhibitionist conduct, and your maid may have a markedly more conservative upbringing.
3. Avoid confidential discussions and heated quarrels in front of the maid
Family members disagree sometimes, but always strive to resolve the disputes in private, without rallying the maid's support for either party. Learn to settle domestic quarrels quickly and amicably. Prolonged quarrels between the employers is embarrassing, for both for participants and witnesses! (A member shares his personal experience in our maid forum.)
4. Respect the personal space of every home occupant
Everyone should have his own time and space to indulge in private thoughts and activities, such as personal grooming, leisure and rest. Promote a respect for privacy in your household, and seek your maid's cooperation and understanding, to engage in some activities without her involvement. For example, you may wish to plan a fortnightly movie date with your spouse, or an outing with the kids to their grandparents' house without the maid tagging along. At the same time, respect your maid's need for time off to meet her own friends, and support her needs to communicate periodically with her family back in her home country.
5. Maintain an open communication channel with your maid
Our cultural and social conditioning influence our thoughts and behaviour. Despite your best intentions and efforts, your maid may feel uncomfortable with certain practices in your household. Instead of allowing the frustration to fester inside, you should solicit her feedback from time to time. Sometimes, it may be a small and simple matter that is easily resolved once it is made known. To quote an example, our maid felt awkward with a neighbour's harmless interaction with our year-old toddler. This elderly gentleman would bend forward to stroke our daughter's head and coo at her. I thought it is a friendly and heart-warming gesture, and would hold her in my arms while the neighbour talked and played with her. During a recent casual conversation, our maid finally revealed her fear and wariness about such close contact with a stranger. She fret over chance encounters with this neighbour. As my employee, she felt obliged to emulate my friendly disposition towards the man, which goes against her basic instincts. Made aware of her feeling of "privacy infringement", I had a polite word with the neighbour, and resolved this underlying problem quickly and successfully.
Sharing your house with a live-in maid usually implies some sacrifice in personal space and privacy. This is especially so in the small and tight living spaces of urban apartments for Asian middle-income families. With preparation and proper management, employers and maids can work and live harmoniously side-by-side.
Copyright © 2007 << Maid Aware >> All Rights Reserved
Rebecca Atkins is a mother of two, and runs a home-based business in Asia. She has employed, trained and managed many foreign domestic helpers for housekeeping and childcare responsibilities. Rebecca notes a growing reliance of maids among middle- and high-income families, as busy individuals and working parents contract full-time paid domestic help, to lessen their daily household chores. Personal accounts by friends and associates point to general lack of understanding between most employers and maids. Worse still, cases of maid abuse, accidents, conflicts and wrongdoings are frequently reported in the media.
Rebecca draws attention to this social problem through an online initiative where she shares her experience, knowledge and insights on how to recruit, train, manage and motivate maids. She hopes to grow Maid Aware into a friendly community for useful maid news, information and advice. Please visit http://www.MaidAware.com/ to get further tips on how to manage employer-maid relations.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Atkins
Having a live-in maid is a delicate arrangement. For the duration of her work contract, an adult woman is "adopted" into your household, sharing your private living space. Clearly, such constant and close-proximity contact affects the privacy of both the recruiting family and the foreign maid. It is therefore surprising that many employers fail to give sufficient thought and planning to this unique situation, to ensure the personal space and privacy of everyone involved.
For harmonious living with your domestic help, you need to anticipate the privacy concerns of your family and maid, and actively address these issues. This may be difficult task because most people don't feel comfortable talking about their privacy requirements. Ignoring this awkward topic would be a short-sighted tactic, and a sure-fire recipe for conflicts later on.
We include below a few pointers to help you tackle the subject of privacy with a live-in domestic maid. As employers, the husband and wife should discuss frankly and prepare themselves before the "stranger" steps foot into their family home. Plan and implement specific dos and don't s to minimize any intrusion into their personal, couple and family lives.
1. Adjust your displays of affection
While hand-holding, quick pecks on the cheek, and cuddling in front of the TV are probably fine, you would be wise to keep the overtly romantic gestures out of the plain view of your maid. Of course, sensibility and decency are the obvious reasons to confine amorous exploits between spouses to the bedroom. A less obvious, but important, reason is to avert any feelings of loneliness and envy from your maid, who is far away from her own loved ones.
2. Dress suitably
Some adult males go shirtless while lifting weights and exercising at home; some walk from the shower to the wardrobe with only a towel wrapped around their waists. Some folks unclothe and dump the laundry directly into the wash, wearing little or nothing beside the washing machine, in the privacy of their own homes. Breastfeeding mothers lose their inhibition when nursing their babies within the four walls of their residence. While natural, such behaviours need to be toned down with the presence of a stranger in the house. Different people have varying levels of comfort for such exhibitionist conduct, and your maid may have a markedly more conservative upbringing.
3. Avoid confidential discussions and heated quarrels in front of the maid
Family members disagree sometimes, but always strive to resolve the disputes in private, without rallying the maid's support for either party. Learn to settle domestic quarrels quickly and amicably. Prolonged quarrels between the employers is embarrassing, for both for participants and witnesses! (A member shares his personal experience in our maid forum.)
4. Respect the personal space of every home occupant
Everyone should have his own time and space to indulge in private thoughts and activities, such as personal grooming, leisure and rest. Promote a respect for privacy in your household, and seek your maid's cooperation and understanding, to engage in some activities without her involvement. For example, you may wish to plan a fortnightly movie date with your spouse, or an outing with the kids to their grandparents' house without the maid tagging along. At the same time, respect your maid's need for time off to meet her own friends, and support her needs to communicate periodically with her family back in her home country.
5. Maintain an open communication channel with your maid
Our cultural and social conditioning influence our thoughts and behaviour. Despite your best intentions and efforts, your maid may feel uncomfortable with certain practices in your household. Instead of allowing the frustration to fester inside, you should solicit her feedback from time to time. Sometimes, it may be a small and simple matter that is easily resolved once it is made known. To quote an example, our maid felt awkward with a neighbour's harmless interaction with our year-old toddler. This elderly gentleman would bend forward to stroke our daughter's head and coo at her. I thought it is a friendly and heart-warming gesture, and would hold her in my arms while the neighbour talked and played with her. During a recent casual conversation, our maid finally revealed her fear and wariness about such close contact with a stranger. She fret over chance encounters with this neighbour. As my employee, she felt obliged to emulate my friendly disposition towards the man, which goes against her basic instincts. Made aware of her feeling of "privacy infringement", I had a polite word with the neighbour, and resolved this underlying problem quickly and successfully.
Sharing your house with a live-in maid usually implies some sacrifice in personal space and privacy. This is especially so in the small and tight living spaces of urban apartments for Asian middle-income families. With preparation and proper management, employers and maids can work and live harmoniously side-by-side.
Copyright © 2007 << Maid Aware >> All Rights Reserved
Rebecca Atkins is a mother of two, and runs a home-based business in Asia. She has employed, trained and managed many foreign domestic helpers for housekeeping and childcare responsibilities. Rebecca notes a growing reliance of maids among middle- and high-income families, as busy individuals and working parents contract full-time paid domestic help, to lessen their daily household chores. Personal accounts by friends and associates point to general lack of understanding between most employers and maids. Worse still, cases of maid abuse, accidents, conflicts and wrongdoings are frequently reported in the media.
Rebecca draws attention to this social problem through an online initiative where she shares her experience, knowledge and insights on how to recruit, train, manage and motivate maids. She hopes to grow Maid Aware into a friendly community for useful maid news, information and advice. Please visit http://www.MaidAware.com/ to get further tips on how to manage employer-maid relations.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Atkins
Singapore Caregiver –Tips to Choosing the Right Caregiver or How to Choose the Right Caregiver
By Eddy Lam
Singapore caregiver – or simply, a caregiver is defined as someone who takes care of another person – be it a child, an elderly person or a physically challenged person.
However, in Singapore, a caregiver may also be called a maid, an “ah-mah” or a domestic helper. She is not only someone who helps take care of the children, she also does the household chores or take care of the elderly if need be. (As a side-note: Singapore maids are also known as Singapore foreign domestic workers, Singapore au pair, Singapore domestic helpers, Singapore caregivers, “ah-mahs”, or Singapore nannies. Some even take them as Singapore babysitters! The more experienced maids are generally known as Singapore transfer maids.)
In Singapore, the pace of life is extremely fast. Hence, having a Singapore caregiver is more a necessity than a luxury. Most of these caregivers come from the Philippines and Indonesia. Other countries of origin include Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even Nepal. Currently, there are about 150,000 foreign caregivers in Singapore.
Under the Singapore regulations, it is mandatory that the caregivers live in with the family. As such, it is very important to choose the right Singapore caregiver for your family
First and foremost, it is important to understand clearly why you require the service of a caregiver. What is your number one priority? Is it to help take care of the children or is being a fantastic cook more important?
While it is good to have a “perfect” maid, so to speak, you know that they don’t exist.
Like any person, a Singapore caregiver has her strengths and weaknesses. As such, as far as possible you must play to her strength.
Secondly, having understood your needs, get to know the needs of the potential Singapore caregivers. You can either get a professional Singapore maid agency to assist you with shortlisting candidates, or you can ask around to see if anyone knows of a suitable caregiver.
Do not think that the caregivers will simply accept any job offers that come her way. They are choosing you as much as you are choosing them.
Some caregivers may be good with children, but are terrible at cooking. And yet others are really good with animals, but when it comes to ironing… ;-)
Get to know what the caregiver prefers to do, and make sure that their preference matches yours. It is also important to see whether you, your spouse, your children and/or pets feel comfortable with the Singapore caregiver. It doesn’t matter that she may be the most skilled among the candidates. If she doesn’t fit in with the family, it doesn’t work.
Thirdly, you would have to play the role of a human resource manager. When sourcing for a Singapore caregiver, it is important to interview her and do character reference checks with her earlier employers.
Here are a few tips for the interview:
1. Tell your candidates what their daily work schedule is like. Let them assess whether they are able to fulfill your needs. Better yet, interview them at your house so that they can see what her work environment would be like.
2. Ask them this question: “Can you tell me more about yourself and your work?” This open-ended question will get them talking and you will be able to assess how good they are in English and expressing themselves.
3. Find out the reason why they are leaving their current employer. There can be many reasons for this. Sometimes, it may be due to their current employer leaving Singapore. At other times, it may be due to some misunderstanding.
4. You can also give them some hypothetical scenarios and ask them how they will react when something happens. For instance, if your child falls down, what should they do.
And finally, having found the right Singapore caregiver, you must then do the necessary regulatory paperwork. Please note that if you are a first-time employer, you must also attend an orientation course. Check with the professionals on where to attend the course. You can also attend an online course.
In conclusion, follow these simple steps, and you will definitely find the right Singapore caregiver for your family!
Have you seen these testimonials of happy Singapore caregiver employers? Plus, get your 2 FREE reports on choosing the right Singapore caregiver for your family. All these, and more at 121 Personnel Services!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eddy_Lam
Singapore caregiver – or simply, a caregiver is defined as someone who takes care of another person – be it a child, an elderly person or a physically challenged person.
However, in Singapore, a caregiver may also be called a maid, an “ah-mah” or a domestic helper. She is not only someone who helps take care of the children, she also does the household chores or take care of the elderly if need be. (As a side-note: Singapore maids are also known as Singapore foreign domestic workers, Singapore au pair, Singapore domestic helpers, Singapore caregivers, “ah-mahs”, or Singapore nannies. Some even take them as Singapore babysitters! The more experienced maids are generally known as Singapore transfer maids.)
In Singapore, the pace of life is extremely fast. Hence, having a Singapore caregiver is more a necessity than a luxury. Most of these caregivers come from the Philippines and Indonesia. Other countries of origin include Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even Nepal. Currently, there are about 150,000 foreign caregivers in Singapore.
Under the Singapore regulations, it is mandatory that the caregivers live in with the family. As such, it is very important to choose the right Singapore caregiver for your family
First and foremost, it is important to understand clearly why you require the service of a caregiver. What is your number one priority? Is it to help take care of the children or is being a fantastic cook more important?
While it is good to have a “perfect” maid, so to speak, you know that they don’t exist.
Like any person, a Singapore caregiver has her strengths and weaknesses. As such, as far as possible you must play to her strength.
Secondly, having understood your needs, get to know the needs of the potential Singapore caregivers. You can either get a professional Singapore maid agency to assist you with shortlisting candidates, or you can ask around to see if anyone knows of a suitable caregiver.
Do not think that the caregivers will simply accept any job offers that come her way. They are choosing you as much as you are choosing them.
Some caregivers may be good with children, but are terrible at cooking. And yet others are really good with animals, but when it comes to ironing… ;-)
Get to know what the caregiver prefers to do, and make sure that their preference matches yours. It is also important to see whether you, your spouse, your children and/or pets feel comfortable with the Singapore caregiver. It doesn’t matter that she may be the most skilled among the candidates. If she doesn’t fit in with the family, it doesn’t work.
Thirdly, you would have to play the role of a human resource manager. When sourcing for a Singapore caregiver, it is important to interview her and do character reference checks with her earlier employers.
Here are a few tips for the interview:
1. Tell your candidates what their daily work schedule is like. Let them assess whether they are able to fulfill your needs. Better yet, interview them at your house so that they can see what her work environment would be like.
2. Ask them this question: “Can you tell me more about yourself and your work?” This open-ended question will get them talking and you will be able to assess how good they are in English and expressing themselves.
3. Find out the reason why they are leaving their current employer. There can be many reasons for this. Sometimes, it may be due to their current employer leaving Singapore. At other times, it may be due to some misunderstanding.
4. You can also give them some hypothetical scenarios and ask them how they will react when something happens. For instance, if your child falls down, what should they do.
And finally, having found the right Singapore caregiver, you must then do the necessary regulatory paperwork. Please note that if you are a first-time employer, you must also attend an orientation course. Check with the professionals on where to attend the course. You can also attend an online course.
In conclusion, follow these simple steps, and you will definitely find the right Singapore caregiver for your family!
Have you seen these testimonials of happy Singapore caregiver employers? Plus, get your 2 FREE reports on choosing the right Singapore caregiver for your family. All these, and more at 121 Personnel Services!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eddy_Lam
Living With Your Domestic Maid - 5 Tips for Maintaining Personal Space and Privacy at Home
By Rebecca Atkins
Having a live-in maid is a delicate arrangement. For the duration of her work contract, an adult woman is "adopted" into your household, sharing your private living space. Clearly, such constant and close-proximity contact affects the privacy of both the recruiting family and the foreign maid. It is therefore surprising that many employers fail to give sufficient thought and planning to this unique situation, to ensure the personal space and privacy of everyone involved.
For harmonious living with your domestic help, you need to anticipate the privacy concerns of your family and maid, and actively address these issues. This may be difficult task because most people don't feel comfortable talking about their privacy requirements. Ignoring this awkward topic would be a short-sighted tactic, and a sure-fire recipe for conflicts later on.
We include below a few pointers to help you tackle the subject of privacy with a live-in domestic maid. As employers, the husband and wife should discuss frankly and prepare themselves before the "stranger" steps foot into their family home. Plan and implement specific dos and don't s to minimize any intrusion into their personal, couple and family lives.
1. Adjust your displays of affection
While hand-holding, quick pecks on the cheek, and cuddling in front of the TV are probably fine, you would be wise to keep the overtly romantic gestures out of the plain view of your maid. Of course, sensibility and decency are the obvious reasons to confine amorous exploits between spouses to the bedroom. A less obvious, but important, reason is to avert any feelings of loneliness and envy from your maid, who is far away from her own loved ones.
2. Dress suitably
Some adult males go shirtless while lifting weights and exercising at home; some walk from the shower to the wardrobe with only a towel wrapped around their waists. Some folks unclothe and dump the laundry directly into the wash, wearing little or nothing beside the washing machine, in the privacy of their own homes. Breastfeeding mothers lose their inhibition when nursing their babies within the four walls of their residence. While natural, such behaviours need to be toned down with the presence of a stranger in the house. Different people have varying levels of comfort for such exhibitionist conduct, and your maid may have a markedly more conservative upbringing.
3. Avoid confidential discussions and heated quarrels in front of the maid
Family members disagree sometimes, but always strive to resolve the disputes in private, without rallying the maid's support for either party. Learn to settle domestic quarrels quickly and amicably. Prolonged quarrels between the employers is embarrassing, for both for participants and witnesses! (A member shares his personal experience in our maid forum.)
4. Respect the personal space of every home occupant
Everyone should have his own time and space to indulge in private thoughts and activities, such as personal grooming, leisure and rest. Promote a respect for privacy in your household, and seek your maid's cooperation and understanding, to engage in some activities without her involvement. For example, you may wish to plan a fortnightly movie date with your spouse, or an outing with the kids to their grandparents' house without the maid tagging along. At the same time, respect your maid's need for time off to meet her own friends, and support her needs to communicate periodically with her family back in her home country.
5. Maintain an open communication channel with your maid
Our cultural and social conditioning influence our thoughts and behaviour. Despite your best intentions and efforts, your maid may feel uncomfortable with certain practices in your household. Instead of allowing the frustration to fester inside, you should solicit her feedback from time to time. Sometimes, it may be a small and simple matter that is easily resolved once it is made known. To quote an example, our maid felt awkward with a neighbour's harmless interaction with our year-old toddler. This elderly gentleman would bend forward to stroke our daughter's head and coo at her. I thought it is a friendly and heart-warming gesture, and would hold her in my arms while the neighbour talked and played with her. During a recent casual conversation, our maid finally revealed her fear and wariness about such close contact with a stranger. She fret over chance encounters with this neighbour. As my employee, she felt obliged to emulate my friendly disposition towards the man, which goes against her basic instincts. Made aware of her feeling of "privacy infringement", I had a polite word with the neighbour, and resolved this underlying problem quickly and successfully.
Sharing your house with a live-in maid usually implies some sacrifice in personal space and privacy. This is especially so in the small and tight living spaces of urban apartments for Asian middle-income families. With preparation and proper management, employers and maids can work and live harmoniously side-by-side.
Copyright © 2007 << Maid Aware >> All Rights Reserved
Rebecca Atkins is a mother of two, and runs a home-based business in Asia. She has employed, trained and managed many foreign domestic helpers for housekeeping and childcare responsibilities. Rebecca notes a growing reliance of maids among middle- and high-income families, as busy individuals and working parents contract full-time paid domestic help, to lessen their daily household chores. Personal accounts by friends and associates point to general lack of understanding between most employers and maids. Worse still, cases of maid abuse, accidents, conflicts and wrongdoings are frequently reported in the media.
Rebecca draws attention to this social problem through an online initiative where she shares her experience, knowledge and insights on how to recruit, train, manage and motivate maids. She hopes to grow Maid Aware into a friendly community for useful maid news, information and advice. Please visit http://www.MaidAware.com/ to get further tips on how to manage employer-maid relations.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Atkins
Having a live-in maid is a delicate arrangement. For the duration of her work contract, an adult woman is "adopted" into your household, sharing your private living space. Clearly, such constant and close-proximity contact affects the privacy of both the recruiting family and the foreign maid. It is therefore surprising that many employers fail to give sufficient thought and planning to this unique situation, to ensure the personal space and privacy of everyone involved.
For harmonious living with your domestic help, you need to anticipate the privacy concerns of your family and maid, and actively address these issues. This may be difficult task because most people don't feel comfortable talking about their privacy requirements. Ignoring this awkward topic would be a short-sighted tactic, and a sure-fire recipe for conflicts later on.
We include below a few pointers to help you tackle the subject of privacy with a live-in domestic maid. As employers, the husband and wife should discuss frankly and prepare themselves before the "stranger" steps foot into their family home. Plan and implement specific dos and don't s to minimize any intrusion into their personal, couple and family lives.
1. Adjust your displays of affection
While hand-holding, quick pecks on the cheek, and cuddling in front of the TV are probably fine, you would be wise to keep the overtly romantic gestures out of the plain view of your maid. Of course, sensibility and decency are the obvious reasons to confine amorous exploits between spouses to the bedroom. A less obvious, but important, reason is to avert any feelings of loneliness and envy from your maid, who is far away from her own loved ones.
2. Dress suitably
Some adult males go shirtless while lifting weights and exercising at home; some walk from the shower to the wardrobe with only a towel wrapped around their waists. Some folks unclothe and dump the laundry directly into the wash, wearing little or nothing beside the washing machine, in the privacy of their own homes. Breastfeeding mothers lose their inhibition when nursing their babies within the four walls of their residence. While natural, such behaviours need to be toned down with the presence of a stranger in the house. Different people have varying levels of comfort for such exhibitionist conduct, and your maid may have a markedly more conservative upbringing.
3. Avoid confidential discussions and heated quarrels in front of the maid
Family members disagree sometimes, but always strive to resolve the disputes in private, without rallying the maid's support for either party. Learn to settle domestic quarrels quickly and amicably. Prolonged quarrels between the employers is embarrassing, for both for participants and witnesses! (A member shares his personal experience in our maid forum.)
4. Respect the personal space of every home occupant
Everyone should have his own time and space to indulge in private thoughts and activities, such as personal grooming, leisure and rest. Promote a respect for privacy in your household, and seek your maid's cooperation and understanding, to engage in some activities without her involvement. For example, you may wish to plan a fortnightly movie date with your spouse, or an outing with the kids to their grandparents' house without the maid tagging along. At the same time, respect your maid's need for time off to meet her own friends, and support her needs to communicate periodically with her family back in her home country.
5. Maintain an open communication channel with your maid
Our cultural and social conditioning influence our thoughts and behaviour. Despite your best intentions and efforts, your maid may feel uncomfortable with certain practices in your household. Instead of allowing the frustration to fester inside, you should solicit her feedback from time to time. Sometimes, it may be a small and simple matter that is easily resolved once it is made known. To quote an example, our maid felt awkward with a neighbour's harmless interaction with our year-old toddler. This elderly gentleman would bend forward to stroke our daughter's head and coo at her. I thought it is a friendly and heart-warming gesture, and would hold her in my arms while the neighbour talked and played with her. During a recent casual conversation, our maid finally revealed her fear and wariness about such close contact with a stranger. She fret over chance encounters with this neighbour. As my employee, she felt obliged to emulate my friendly disposition towards the man, which goes against her basic instincts. Made aware of her feeling of "privacy infringement", I had a polite word with the neighbour, and resolved this underlying problem quickly and successfully.
Sharing your house with a live-in maid usually implies some sacrifice in personal space and privacy. This is especially so in the small and tight living spaces of urban apartments for Asian middle-income families. With preparation and proper management, employers and maids can work and live harmoniously side-by-side.
Copyright © 2007 << Maid Aware >> All Rights Reserved
Rebecca Atkins is a mother of two, and runs a home-based business in Asia. She has employed, trained and managed many foreign domestic helpers for housekeeping and childcare responsibilities. Rebecca notes a growing reliance of maids among middle- and high-income families, as busy individuals and working parents contract full-time paid domestic help, to lessen their daily household chores. Personal accounts by friends and associates point to general lack of understanding between most employers and maids. Worse still, cases of maid abuse, accidents, conflicts and wrongdoings are frequently reported in the media.
Rebecca draws attention to this social problem through an online initiative where she shares her experience, knowledge and insights on how to recruit, train, manage and motivate maids. She hopes to grow Maid Aware into a friendly community for useful maid news, information and advice. Please visit http://www.MaidAware.com/ to get further tips on how to manage employer-maid relations.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Atkins
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