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Original poster

What % of your disposable income is your cleaner?

42 replies

roses2 · 14/02/2026 09:49

My cleaner has just gone back to her home country and I’m debating whether or not to replace her.

I’ve worked out I am paying her 25% of my disposable income after bills etc which seems quite high. The rest of my disposable income goes into our savings with the odd treat like a takeaway once every 3 months or a long haul holiday once every 5 years (we have a small annual holiday to the Mediterranean each summer to see MIL).

What % your leftover income are you paying your cleaner and at what point does it stop being worthwhile? I think I am close to reaching that point.

OP posts:
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LeedsMum87 · 18/02/2026 10:10

We don’t consider our cleaner part of our disposable income. For us it’s a necessity so is part of our monthly bills budget (£100 pm).

Twinsmamma · 16/02/2026 12:08

Pibrea · 16/02/2026 10:27

Wow, at about £20 an hour for a cleaner your disposable income must be over £80k a month. If I had that kind of money I’d have my cleaner round every day!

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Thank you for doing the maths, this reply stopped me in my tracks too 🤣

Pibrea · 16/02/2026 10:27

AmberDreams · 15/02/2026 16:40

2 hours every fortnight. It represents less than 0.1% of disposable income.

Wow, at about £20 an hour for a cleaner your disposable income must be over £80k a month. If I had that kind of money I’d have my cleaner round every day!

BudgetBuster · 16/02/2026 09:49

roses2 · 16/02/2026 08:38

Not if he cleans anything like his mum! I was brought up in a house where my parents clean every day. His mum hoovers once every 3 months. Me and DH have very different views on what clean means.

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Yes, but what does he do all day then?
He isn't working, so isn't contributing financially liek he used to. There's no reason why the cost of the cleaner can't be cut and made into his "job"... a list of things that need doing weekly (bed linen, groceries etc), things that need doing daily (wiping surfaces, dishes etc) and things that get done a few times a week (laundry, hoovering etc).

If he goes back to work, ye can agree and budget a cleaner again?

AfternoonTeaAddict · 16/02/2026 08:42

Ours is 140 a month. So that is circa 10% of my income after mortgage, bills etc. I think of food, vet bills, car expenses and petrol etc as part of 'disposable' income bit it's probably not really.

Original poster
roses2 · 16/02/2026 08:38

Reinventedblanket · 16/02/2026 07:08

Surely if your DH isn't working then he can be doing the cleaning anyway and you don't need a cleaner?

Not if he cleans anything like his mum! I was brought up in a house where my parents clean every day. His mum hoovers once every 3 months. Me and DH have very different views on what clean means.

OP posts:
Pepperedpickles · 16/02/2026 07:38

Kingdomofsleep · 15/02/2026 16:51

I understand your question but for us, the cleaner is such an essential expense because we are so time poor, that her bill is just part of "the bills" like the electricity bill.

So it's deducted before I get to my disposable income rather than being part of the disposable income.

We have very little disposable income after "the bills". But we'd rather have the cleaner than the money.

Same here. I’ve just worked it out and it’s around 20% if I include it in our disposable income but I’m disabled and can’t clean like I used to so it’s essential for us. We just treat it like any other regular bill.

Reinventedblanket · 16/02/2026 07:08

Surely if your DH isn't working then he can be doing the cleaning anyway and you don't need a cleaner?

FriedFalafels · 16/02/2026 06:39

2% of my monthly income. I certainly wouldn’t have one if the % was that high. It’s a luxury I’ve only recently invested in

FullOfMomsense · 15/02/2026 22:39

Around 1%, but we have a cleaner/housekeeper who is in for a few hours twice a week. I would sacrifice many things before letting her go.

Try managing without for a bit, you might find you can use the money for some handy cleaning products or things to make your life easier.

Viviennemary · 15/02/2026 22:37

If I really struggled to afford a cleaner I don't think I would have one. Or maybe cut it down. Or just have a one off clean once in a while.

Lambington · 15/02/2026 22:33

0%

SurreyisSunny · 15/02/2026 22:28

I gave up my cleaner last year. I found the rates of cleaners going up and up. Near me £18-20ph is the norm with 3 hours minimum. Also finding someone really good and reliable was hard. I worked out I’d rather spend the money on other stuff.

Didimum · 15/02/2026 20:23

About 2%? We pay £136 a month.

Kingdomofsleep · 15/02/2026 16:51

I understand your question but for us, the cleaner is such an essential expense because we are so time poor, that her bill is just part of "the bills" like the electricity bill.

So it's deducted before I get to my disposable income rather than being part of the disposable income.

We have very little disposable income after "the bills". But we'd rather have the cleaner than the money.

pinkspeakers · 15/02/2026 16:45

depends what you mean by disposable income? you seem to have a very narrow definition as it doesn't include eg clothes, socialising, or even your annual mediterranean holiday.

AmberDreams · 15/02/2026 16:40

2 hours every fortnight. It represents less than 0.1% of disposable income.

Original poster
roses2 · 15/02/2026 16:35

Dogmum74 · 15/02/2026 16:25

The rage bait posts seem to get worse. Well done OP. Good one

What’s that supposed to mean?? My post was a genuine question.

OP posts:
da675fh35 · 15/02/2026 16:33

quietlysad · 15/02/2026 16:30

I echo all the posters saying get a robot hoover. My cleaner was 500 a month but now I have a robot hoover upstairs and down it leaves me more time to do the other stuff. It’s been a game changer for me. Mine was about £300 so well worth the money.

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Which one do you have?

quietlysad · 15/02/2026 16:30

Peridoteage · 14/02/2026 10:03

We can easily afford but it but recently got robot hoovers and i realised that at pushing 20 quid an hour/250-300 quid a month mine really doesn't feel worth it any more.

I echo all the posters saying get a robot hoover. My cleaner was 500 a month but now I have a robot hoover upstairs and down it leaves me more time to do the other stuff. It’s been a game changer for me. Mine was about £300 so well worth the money.

OnlyHasEyesForLoki · 15/02/2026 16:27

Mine is £36 per week although she often doesn’t do all the school holidays as childcare is tricky as a single mum and sometimes goes away for a week term time with her partner when her children are with their dad or grandparents. She changes the beds as well as thoroughly cleans every room in a 4 bedroom house (the box room is my office so no bed in there). It’s a life saver because I’m also a single parent (youngest is 16) and I have to travel for work a fair bit. The odd missed week doesn’t matter because I’m very tidy and the house is very clean thanks to her.

Dogmum74 · 15/02/2026 16:25

The rage bait posts seem to get worse. Well done OP. Good one

INeedAnotherName · 15/02/2026 15:12

He got made redundant and is now pulling his weight more which means I have the time to clean.
There is something very wrong in this sentence OP. I hope you see it when it's written down like this.

The value of a cleaner (or gardener or someone who irons) is based on what you would not be doing if having to clean/garden etc. If it gives you rare family time back or reduces your stress or pain levels then 25% might be worth it for some people. If it gives you an extra 2 hours free time when you already have 50 hours free time then it's not got value.

Original poster
roses2 · 15/02/2026 14:44

PickledElectricity · 15/02/2026 11:25

Are you saying that you had a cleaner out of peer pressure?! 🤣

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No we had a cleaner when DH was working and I was doing the bulk of the chores. He got made redundant and is now pulling his weight more which means I have the time to clean.

I kept the cleaner in the hope he would find another job soon because she really was fantastic but he hasn't and she is leaving the country so this feels like a natural end point.

At the point of taking her on, it was probably 5% of our joint disposable income but with DH being out of work for > 12 months it is 25% of whatever I have left after bills.

OP posts:
da675fh35 · 15/02/2026 11:42

1.6% currently, it would have been a heck of a lot more a few years ago, we’ve had a cleaner long before we became higher earners. I see it as buying time so it’s been worth it to me for a long time, although 25% is very large.