Homemaker, Know Your Worth!

The life of a homemaker isn’t as easy as it seems. There are endless tasks at home and if a homemaker has no help, the day might seem even longer than it is to them. The bigger the family, the more the demands.

A working woman’s day might start at 10 and end at 6 but a homemaker’s day ends only when she hits the bed. The primary responsibility of a homemaker is to care for her family and she does it with utmost love and selflessness. Some homemakers even save up their monthly allowances to make investments such as Mutual Funds and Fixed Deposits.

More often than not, we tend to take homemakers for granted and completely discount their role. Today we’re going to take you through their role and its importance. We’re going to answer the question, ‘How much is a homemaker worth?’

Let’s imagine all the tasks of a homemaker and imagine her not doing them. Or, if you were to appoint someone to do them instead of her. Do this and you’ll know the actual worth of a homemaker!

We will try to assign a monetary value to each task that a homemaker does every day. Note that we take into account only those tasks that are quantifiable and use the least value possible for each of them so that you don’t think we are overrating the homemaker (as if that’s possible!). This is all hypothetical, of course, and we have our reasons for the same.

In real life, the worth of a homemaker can never be estimated. Homemakers are surely worth their weight in gold. So, get ready to know the value of one.

Chef

The most important part of the day is your meal. A homemaker prepares meals for the entire family on a daily basis. This is done with top-notch quality ingredients, keeping in mind every family member’s tastes, preference and choice. And it isn’t just one meal. It starts with bed tea (for the very lucky ones), breakfast, lunch, and goes on till the after-dinner snack that you might crave when you watch that late night movie. We, of course, are leaving out the part where she spends time and takes the effort to plan this elaborate menu the night before. Now, let’s assume it costs you Rs. 200 for each meal and you have 4 meals a day. The total will come to Rs. 24,800 for the 31 days that she cooks for you. Surprised? We have just begun.

Laundry Service

She picks up your dirty clothes every single day (even the stinky ones!), washes them, dries them out and irons them for you. Your clothes are ready the day before you actually need them. If you were to use a laundry service, the most reasonable ones would charge you Rs. 80 to wash and iron each item of clothing. Suppose you were to use 5 sets every week – a pant and a shirt is a set (we are excluding your unmentionables). Every week you will have to shell out Rs. 800, which makes it Rs. 3,200 a month. Note that we are not even including your jeans, T-shirts, pyjamas, Bermuda shorts, and handkerchief. If those were part of the list, the bill would run into thousands more.

House Cleaner

Undoubtedly, without your homemaker, your books, keys, cups, shoes and toys would be strewn all over the place. There would be large cobwebs on every window which would be enough to invite Spiderman to your house, and the dust from your set top box could probably give you severe allergies. Not to mention the newspapers that would be all over the dining table and don’t get us started on the disarranged wardrobe after you’ve rummaged through it for the missing sock. If you appoint a maid for cleaning the house, you might have to shell out at least Rs. 3,000 every month. If you want those vessels to be washed and the bathrooms to be sparkly clean, make it Rs. 4,000. This is only if you live in an apartment. If you live in an independent house with 2 floors, you might have to shell out double that amount! Feeling grateful already? There’s some more to go.

Caretaker

If you have kids at home then you may have noticed how effectively your homemaker has a routine planned for them. They are fed, washed, and changed into fresh and appropriate clothing, put to bed and woken up on time to make it to their school bus. Often they turn towards your homemaker for love and comfort too. They are taught the right manners and their homework is taken care of too.

Apart from your kids, your homemaker also takes care of your (and her) parents. They are taken care of with tons of love and affection. She ensures that they take their medicines on time and finish their walking routines. She also makes sure that their diet restrictions are met and that they are taken for routine check-ups and tests. What if you had to hire someone to do all this for you? Taking care of your kids all day can cost you Rs. 6000 per month for each kid (that’s a very conservative estimate). The same goes for each of your parents. So, the total for the month could come to Rs. 24,000 if you have 2 kids and both your mother and father have to be taken care of.

According to a very conservative estimate, a homemaker is worth – Rs. 24,800 + 3,200 + 4,000 + 24,000 = Rs. 56,000 a month or Rs. 6,72,000 a year. This, however, is totally hypothetical. One can never quantify the amount of love and care she pours into every task that she does for the family. It isn’t easy quantifying the umpteen other tasks she does, which include answering the door-bell every time it rings, calling up your relatives when they are unwell, wishing your family members on their anniversaries or birthdays, doubling up as a nurse when you, your kids or your parents are sick and ensuring that everything in the house runs smoothly including the television and the washing machine!

Now, if you are a home maker and understand your worth, ensure that you have insurance and investments equal to the value of the services you render (approximately). Remember that you are irreplaceable and you need as much in your name as your husband.

Ensure that you are the nominee for all your husband’s investments. You must have investments in your name too. Consider a Term Plan for yourself. And never underestimate your worth. If you need any financial advice, feel free to write to us or leave a comment below.

Cheers to all you homemakers! You certainly make our worlds go round.