Stipend

When An Au Pair’s Thriftiness Shortchanges Her Adventure

by cv harquail April 4, 2013

Frugality is an admirable trait. It takes a lot of restraint and self discipline for an au pair to save money from her/his weekly stipend. Whether s/he’s saving for a vacation, a laptop computer, or to send money back home, au pairs who are carefully watching their expenses deserve our support. But when an au […]

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Au Pair Confused: How much income to report for taxes?

by cv harquail March 11, 2013

Dear Au Pair Mom– I’m confused about Income Taxes. I am a second year Au pair who extended with a new family. Last year (2012) I worked 51 weeks and my host mom paid me $200 every week instead of $195.75. She declared $200 on her tax files. What number am I supposed to declare? I […]

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Au Pairs and Income Tax

by cv harquail March 9, 2013

Every year around this time I feel a creeping dread. Anytime now, my DH is going to ask me for receipts from my charitable contributions, any random pay stubs from freelance work, and those so called ‘records’ that I keep of medical copayments ‘n stuff. Because it’s time to file our income tax statement. Uck. […]

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When You Give Your Extension Au Pair a Raise, And She Wants More

by cv harquail January 29, 2013
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What a conversation we’ve been having about whether (or not) to offer an outstanding extension au pair a raise above the mandated weekly stipend! This all was prompted by an email from the aptly self-named “Host Mom Who Wants To Be Fair”. HM2bFair writes: Dear Au Pair Mom, I’m hoping to get some good advice […]

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Paying Stipends When Au Pairs Overlap

by cv harquail May 29, 2012
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When your departing au pair has finished training your new au pair, and they are both in your house but only one of them is working, do you (still) need to pay your departing au pair? If your outgoing au pair still has a week or two on her contract, you must still pay her, […]

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Should au pair rules be changed, to allow for “extra vacation without pay”?

by cv harquail January 25, 2012
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Within the legal boundaries of the au pair program, both host parents and au pairs like to have a bit of personal discretion. We want to be able to satisfy family demands and any sensible au pair dreams. We want to be flexible when issues come up, and we want to be accommodating and reasonably […]

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When an ‘Au Pair’ should really be a Nanny

by cv harquail January 19, 2012
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Sometimes you just don’t want to read the subject lines of the emails that show up in our AuPairMom emailbox. The email posted below came with the subject line, “Am I being taken advantage of?”. But, by the time the au pair finished telling her story, it was clear it the subjuct should have been […]

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Host Parent Tip: Pay Your Au Pair On Time

by cv harquail February 13, 2011
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“Doing something” and “not doing something” do not always have opposite effects. When something that is supposed to be done is done correctly and in a timely way, no one even notices. When the very same thing isn’t done, or is done incorrectly, it shakes the very foundations of a relationship. Case in point: paying […]

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