Hi everyone. I am a 23year old South African who is in the midst of the au-pair application process. I was just wondering if in your knowledge/experience, is the +/- $195 enough for an au pair to have a good time during her time off? and for her to travel on her 2weeks vacation? To do a bit of shopping and entertainment?
Any Tips and advise would be much appreciated.
Meagan
:-)
Pocket money question
That depends on you, actually. Yes, $195 every two weeks is a lot when you are not responsible for rent, most bills (maybe the occasional text messaging or special foods that you treat yourself to), and that sort of thing. If you spend every moment of your free time shopping and fail to save anything, then no, you will not have money to travel during your vacation. Our current AP just paid for her plane fare to go home for her 2 week vacation and still has money to get the new iPod Nano and a small laptop to take to her brother. It's all about money management.
Some areas of the US have a much higher cost of living than others, of course, but even in the high COLA area we live in, there are tons of activities and events that are free (cultural fairs, museums, outdoor movie showings, etc) or do not cost that much (bowling and pizza night with other APs, taking the local bus/subway to another area to sightsee). It's all about how you choose to manage your money.