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Benefits of Hiring Domestic Help in Guatemala (With Prices)

Having a maid, a nanny, and a gardener in Guatemala is amazing. It is a luxury that once you have it, you cannot live without. Today we’re going to be talking about hiring domestic help in Guatemala.

80% of this country relies on this and this is something you cannot change. 80% of this country is in poverty. It is unskilled labor. They rely on these jobs. They rely on working in the household.

This is a massive part of their economic system. And you giving them these jobs really helps Guatemala. So it is really important that you understand that and don’t look down on these jobs because these jobs feed their families. They help these people’s lives, and it is wonderful. First of all, it’s wonderful for them and it’s beyond wonderful for you.

How much time do they work?

I have had a cleaning lady since we moved here. Having a full-time maid or cleaning lady here is usually Monday through Saturday, 8 to 10 hours per day, depending on what you work out. Saturday is usually half day unless you pay them extra.

Price

So normally it is between $300 and up. You can decide on your price. But I wouldn’t go too lowballing. It’s easy to lowball. I wouldn’t do that. But around $300 for a full-time is probably like the lowest. So it depends on how you want to work with it. I’ve noticed that a lot of the cleaning ladies, could also be your nannies. I know very few people that have separate nannies and separate cleaning ladies.

If you can afford both, great. But usually, they do both. It’s not like in the States where they only take care of your kid. They do it all. They clean, they do the laundry, they could even cook for you, and they take care of your kids.

This is not slave labor. This is normal here. So don’t look at it like you’re treating them poorly. They are accustomed to it, and they can manage it really well.

Hourly and Monthly Wages

You could also do it by the hour. The normal price by the hour is around $2 per hour. I personally pay per month.

Now, today, because both of my sons are grown, we don’t need nannies. I only have somebody coming three times a week, and I still pay her about $250 per month. Now, what does that include when we say that you pay per month, which is very different from per hour or per day.

So you could also do per day wage. It’s about $15 for the day. So when you pay by the month, you obviously could work out your own thing. But I like to treat them fairly.

Bono Catorce and Aguinaldo

Here in Guatemala, two bonus months. It’s called bono catorce and aguinaldo.

Bono catorce is paid in July. It’s literally an extra salary in July. And Aguinaldo is the December bonus. It’s just literally an entire salary. So when you commit to paying a monthly salary, it actually comes out to be 14 months salary.

Make sure you remember that and know that. And they really depend on those salaries. And also, what I used to do is, on top of the 14-month salary, I also always gave a bonus if you can’t do a monetary bonus, I also gave a huge gift basket of food. A lot of times. That alone is a huge help with whatever it is that you want to do. So these are some things that I recommend adding in. And again, with gardeners, cleaning ladies, nannies, it’s all the same way that you could structure it by the month, by the day, or by the hour.

My Take On It

To be honest with you, when I first got my first nanny from my first son, I was telling her, do not do anything when my son is awake. Be full on with him. You clean only or cook or whatever it is and do laundry only when he’s sleeping. That is not good. The kids are raised entitled. So when my second child was born, and I realized that my cleaning lady could do it all, I was actually happy to have her clean, cook, and everything when my son was awake.

So he saw that you could do all of that while taking care of him. He is not an exception. And that’s a huge thing. I know that it sounds privileged, but it’s not.

Like I told you before, this feeds their families. My nanny here, or a cleaning lady that took care of my second son in Guatemala. I permitted her to bring her daughters. So her daughters were hanging out. I fed them, I gave them gifts and everything like that. And you could work out whatever works best for you. Some people don’t mind having that. Their cleaning ladies and nannies bring their own kids. It’s more fun for everybody. Or you decide how you want to do that.

But just remember, it is definitely something that is really necessary for these people.

Hopefully, this helps you guys get a better perspective. And this is a luxury that you’ll eventually realize is a necessity on both your end and their end.

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Last Updated on June 6, 2023