Post: #1

Quality of life means less stress and more free time to pursue fun things in life. Time is invaluable. A high bank roll without time to enjoy the fruit of your labor is worthless. But we need money to enjoy the finer things in life. Finding a balance between work and time off is key. This past year, I made two simple and cost-effective moves to provide myself with more time to enjoy life.

1. A maid: This is a no-brainer. In retrospect, I can't believe how long it took me to hire a maid. The few hours per month that I spent cleaning my apartment is now replaced with more time to work on my side business which is more lucrative and rewarding than the cost of a maid. It also results in more time gaming, relaxing and spending time with friends and family. My apartment is also much cleaner than it was when I was doing it myself.

Total cost: 150 dollars per month for two cleanings

The clincher for me was when a relative made a comment, "You would never see Don Draper cleaning his a toilet". Replace this time with professional pursuits that will ultimately bring more cash in.

2. Personal Assistant

You don't need to be celebrity or wealthy to hire someone to do errands for you. I hired a college kid for 15 dollars per hour to do food shopping, pick up dry cleaning, and all the other things I don't seem to have time for during the week.

It is a win-win. I have more time to work on my business, again much more lucrative than 15 dollars per hour. The Assistant makes a few extra bucks in cash. I would have done this job too in college. Taking me too and from the airport has also been helpful and in most cases cheaper than an airport transfer.

Total cost: as needed, around 30 to 45 dollars per week

Post: #2

Cool man. I recently started dropping off my laundry. I drop it off in the morning and pick it up clean and folded at night. About $15/week, plus I nearly always have a full wardrobe from which to select an outfit. It saves at least an hour each week, really two or more, that I can use to enjoy life.

Post: #3

Cool ideas.

However having someone to do shopping for me would reduce opportunities for day gaming. My local store is always full of bad bitches, if I get someone to do the shopping for me, I am losing on gaming new chicks.The same applies for dry cleaning.

I guess this works for those who have full time jobs, for those of us with more time available and working from home, it may not work so effectively.

You may want to put this thread on the lifestyle section.

Post: #4

[quote='pitt' pid='878040' dateline='1415836062']
Cool ideas.

However having someone to do shopping for me would reduce opportunities for day gaming. My local store is always full of bad bitches, if I get someone to do the shopping for me, I am losing on gaming new chicks.The same applies for dry cleaning.

I see your point. If you have targets that you can approach while shopping ect, this may not make sense. The best places with targets are a little outside my area, so I end up going there to daygame. The talent in my local stores is not great.

Post: #5

Kinda boils down to how you value your time. If you look into a guy like Charles Ngo (great internet marketer), he has a virtual and a personal assistant to do that kind of stuff for him.

If you had all your waking hours free (ie. your income was taken care of) how would you spend your time?

Post: #6

(11-12-2014 06:35 PM)Dantes Wrote:  Quality of life means less stress and more free time to pursue fun things in life. Time is invaluable. A high bank roll without time to enjoy the fruit of your labor is worthless. But we need money to enjoy the finer things in life. Finding a balance between work and time off is key. This past year, I made two simple and cost-effective moves to provide myself with more time to enjoy life.

1. A maid: This is a no-brainer. In retrospect, I can't believe how long it took me to hire a maid. The few hours per month that I spent cleaning my apartment is now replaced with more time to work on my side business which is more lucrative and rewarding than the cost of a maid. It also results in more time gaming, relaxing and spending time with friends and family. My apartment is also much cleaner than it was when I was doing it myself.

Total cost: 150 dollars per month for two cleanings

The clincher for me was when a relative made a comment, "You would never see Don Draper cleaning his a toilet". Replace this time with professional pursuits that will ultimately bring more cash in.

2. Personal Assistant

You don't need to be celebrity or wealthy to hire someone to do errands for you. I hired a college kid for 15 dollars per hour to do food shopping, pick up dry cleaning, and all the other things I don't seem to have time for during the week.

It is a win-win. I have more time to work on my business, again much more lucrative than 15 dollars per hour. The Assistant makes a few extra bucks in cash. I would have done this job too in college. Taking me too and from the airport has also been helpful and in most cases cheaper than an airport transfer.

Total cost: as needed, around 30 to 45 dollars per week

French maid wearing fishnets in high heels by chance?

Post: #7

Excellent post.

There are all too many guys who can afford to do things like that and who could save themselves a lot of time and make their lives much more comfortable and efficient, but who don't do so out of excessive regard for conventions of one kind or another. Indeed, you don't need to be a celebrity to hire a personal assistant for $15 an hour but this is an insight that almost no one really has.

Of course there can be a great deal of charm in some of these tasks, like doing your own grocery shopping or running errands that take you to places that you might not go otherwise. A man misses something -- a lot, maybe -- if he never has to perform these tasks, if he never in his life found himself in a beautiful and desolate shopping center laundromat sagely reading a true crime book or perhaps sneaking off to the nearby bar while the tumblers spin. But at a certain point in one's life, one finds that there is maybe even more charm in not doing those things anymore. There is a time for everything...

Post: #8

(11-12-2014 08:47 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  Excellent post.

There are all too many guys who can afford to do things like that and who could save themselves a lot of time and make their lives much more comfortable and efficient, but who don't do so out of excessive regard for conventions of one kind or another. Indeed, you don't need to be a celebrity to hire a personal assistant for $15 an hour but this is an insight that almost no one really has.

Of course there can be a great deal of charm in some of these tasks, like doing your own grocery shopping or running errands that take you to places that you might not go otherwise. A man misses something -- a lot, maybe -- if he never has to perform these tasks, if he never in his life found himself in a beautiful and desolate shopping center laundromat sagely reading a true crime book or perhaps sneaking off to the nearby bar while the tumblers spin. But at a certain point in one's life, one finds that there is maybe even more charm in not doing those things anymore. There is a time for everything...

Nicely stated Lizard . The beauty of having a Personal Assistant in this way is the flexibility. There are weeks when I don't prefer or need this service and I do these errands myself. But this is a choice and it is nice to have the option of handing off some of these errands to someone else.

Post: #9

(11-12-2014 08:47 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  Excellent post.

There are all too many guys who can afford to do things like that and who could save themselves a lot of time and make their lives much more comfortable and efficient, but who don't do so out of excessive regard for conventions of one kind or another. Indeed, you don't need to be a celebrity to hire a personal assistant for $15 an hour but this is an insight that almost no one really has.

Of course there can be a great deal of charm in some of these tasks, like doing your own grocery shopping or running errands that take you to places that you might not go otherwise. A man misses something -- a lot, maybe -- if he never has to perform these tasks, if he never in his life found himself in a beautiful and desolate shopping center laundromat sagely reading a true crime book or perhaps sneaking off to the nearby bar while the tumblers spin. But at a certain point in one's life, one finds that there is maybe even more charm in not doing those things anymore. There is a time for everything...

Haha, I too have been guilty of pulling out a true crime book at the laundromat as the dryers take their sweet time. No less than a week ago I relaxed on the hard bench near the change machine and dove into the JonBenet Ramsey case... During the wash cycle I analysed the odd occurrence of movie quotes in the ransom note, and by the time the buzzer went off to inform me that my bedding was dry, I had become convinced that the father had done the deed.

Post: #10

That's a good idea. I don't have a Errand Runner, but I have a maid that cleans the house 1 time per week, for a total cost of $15 per month (Thailand rocks). Gives me more time to do professional work. If I spend 2 hours cleaning, I lose 2 hours of my time, so better pay $4 to save 2 hours.

Post: #11

I'm a great believer in outsourcing as much manual labour work as possible.

If you have the ability to use that time more productively, do it.

Even if you can't afford it yet, still do it. There's nothing like NEEDING to make money to MAKE you make money.

Post: #12

I have a maid, and I don't miss those inane chores for one second.

Cooking. Cleaning. Shopping. Laundry.

It's just time wasted for me. I see the value in cooking occasionally, but without my slow cooker anymore, I really don't miss cooking. I would be perfectly happy if I never had to clean or do laundry again in my life. It frees me up to work, go out, or relax. In short, a maid is an invaluable investment for me. Get one if you can afford it.

Post: #13

I really need to do this too, but I've been afraid my place needs a pre-cleaning by me (especially the bathroom) before I'd hire one to come in. Sort of a chicken and egg fuckover.

Post: #14

Yup, I have a maid and often drop off my laundry at a service to handle it. I have washer/dryer at my place, but unless I'm just watching football on a Sunday at home, I just drop it off. Usually on the way to spend time with friends/family for the day, and then pick it up on the way back.

And you're right, in the end it's not that expensive. I have a grocery right near office and home, and dry cleaner in the office building, so that I have handled.

What's funny is some of my married friends/coworkers say "oh, you're single so you should have plenty of free time to do all that stuff". Sure, I do. But I also don't have a wife/kids so I have more financial flexibility to do what I want. I think the concept of maximizing one's free time just throws them into an internal rage.

Post: #15

I can't even imagine how much a maid would cost in Australia. She'd probably make more than some professionals. There is none of the much-stereotyped US TV 'illegal immigrant mexican maid' in Australia.

My biggest concern with a maid etc, especially in countries where it is very cheap, is the security problem. I'd be afraid to leave my stuff lying around, only to come back one day to find it all gone and the maid disappeared.

Cheap laundry service is awesome though. I have dirty clothes? I drop it off and 1 day and $3 later its all clean and ironed. Awesome. Even the Japanese with their $5 fully-automatic wash-dry laundromats can't beat that.

Post: #16

(11-12-2014 06:47 PM)pitt Wrote:  having someone to do shopping for me would reduce opportunities for day gaming. My local store is always full of bad bitches, if I get someone to do the shopping for me, I am losing on gaming new chicks.The same applies for dry cleaning.

Reminds me of a classic thread, "Elmechs daygame hack" :

Quote: Take the convenience out of your life.

/thread-16884.html

Post: #17

Thanks for posting this. Good reminder of something I can improve on immediately (maid) and one that I'll need in the future (personal assistant).

I'm working too much for other people at the moment so I constantly struggle for free time to do the cleaning in my house.

Another thing I noticed is that the less "stuff" I had as far as furniture, etc... the easier it was to clean and to keep things "picked up."

I've just gotta find a maid that doesn't impact my budget too much.

Post: #18

Great thread. I have been thinking a lot about getting a PA shortly.

Any security risks with letting a maid come around to clean up your place?

I have a lot of paperwork and valuables around that I don't want to take a walk.
Just stuff them all in a safe?

Post: #19

Yeah or just take them with you for the couple hours she is over, safes are kind of excessive and expensive. I will always do this after I had my passport stolen from a motel by a housekeeper in Louisiana when I was there for work- figured my hiding spot inside the bible in the night side drawer was fine. Oops

Post: #20

(11-13-2014 03:27 PM)AneroidOcean Wrote:  I've just gotta find a maid that doesn't impact my budget too much.

In the USA?

Post: #21

(11-13-2014 04:33 PM)Atlantic Wrote:  Great thread. I have been thinking a lot about getting a PA shortly.

Any security risks with letting a maid come around to clean up your place?

I have a lot of paperwork and valuables around that I don't want to take a walk.
Just stuff them all in a safe?

Get good references. If a maid works for a local network of people who all know each other then she faces more consequences if she fucks one of them over.

Post: #22

(11-13-2014 01:21 PM)Phoenix Wrote:  I can't even imagine how much a maid would cost in Australia. She'd probably make more than some professionals. There is none of the much-stereotyped US TV 'illegal immigrant mexican maid' in Australia.

Typical Australian rate:

http://www.awomanstouch.com.au/cleaning-...-rates.htm

Used to be able to hire international students off the books for a lot cheaper but since Australian unis have priced the smart poor ones out, the internationals we get now are rich kids, who can't and won't do any cleaning.

Post: #23

Haha, exactly what I thought. After tax I'd be lucky to be paid that hourly rate at my own job, and its STEM. Fuck Australia.

Post: #24

This is a brilliant thread.

I simply have too many pursuits - internet marketing, nightlife, and fitness - to spend time cooking and cleaning repetitively on the weekends. it's precious hours and willpower that I need to focus on the big picture.

I live in a college town with college kids, I wouldn't mind paying one 15/hr for like a morning and afternoon of putting food in tupperware, vaccuming, and doing my laundry.

Post: #25

(12-14-2014 01:48 PM)HBG Wrote:  This is a brilliant thread.

I simply have too many pursuits - internet marketing, nightlife, and fitness - to spend time cooking and cleaning repetitively on the weekends. it's precious hours and willpower that I need to focus on the big picture.

I live in a college town with college kids, I wouldn't mind paying one 15/hr for like a morning and afternoon of putting food in tupperware, vaccuming, and doing my laundry.

It has made a big difference in my life just for a few bucks for things I dont want to be bothered with. The kid that helps me out actually just leased a luxury car, so i will be getting airport transport in style.