By Faleh Alsoghair
Having several domestic servants working for the same family has become an important status symbol for some Saudis. Those Saudis do not, in fact, need to have two housemaids and two drivers. They just do it so that they can boast to others.
Some families bring two housemaids from two different countries and assign them different chores. Unfortunately, many children develop affection for housemaids and grow up to love them more than their mothers. This affection can have a negative impact on a child’s life in the future, especially when the housemaid returns home for good. The child will definitely feel some vacuum or emptiness in their lives when they do not see their housemaid with whom they spent most of their time in the house.
Having more than one maid is a waste of money. Statistics show that a household spends around SR60,000 on a single housemaid every two years. This amount includes the salaries, flights and other expenses. If a family has two housemaids, it will end up spending SR120,000 in two years. If the family has three housemaids, then that is SR180,000. One could buy a fancy car with that much money.
The sad thing is that some families cannot afford to have two housemaids but still hire two just to show off. The breadwinner might end up borrowing money just to pay their salaries. Such people are preoccupied with only one thing: satisfying their own desires no matter what, even if it gets them in trouble.
I know some Saudi men who spend more than what they earn and love to boast about having two housemaids, two drivers and traveling to Europe a lot. The funny thing is that they wonder why they cannot save money.
