Over the past 17 years of being a professional nanny, I have paid for household expenses in many different ways.  Just earlier tonight there was a discussion amongst nannies on how they pay for expenses.  Here is the breakdown of how things are paid for:

    employer’s credit card-signing the employer’s name
    petty cash provided daily or weekly
    the nanny’s personal cash and they get paid back
    a credit card that is issued to the nanny  from employer’s account
    nanny’s personal credit card and paid back (this way nanny earns credit card perks for themselves)
    prepaid debit card, that employer’s refill regularly
    a household checking account with an ATM card associated with it
    employers give a blank check made out to the grocery store signed that I fill in
    I don’t spend any money for work purposes

What is the situation in your household? Everyone needs to come to a decision on what is the best for their household and job. I have done some of all of them. I have my preferences.  In the beginning of my nanny career, I was added to a boss’s credit card, an American Express. Years later when I finally got my own personal American Express card, it said I had been a member since I was NINE YEARS OLD!  I still laugh to this day when I see it on my credit report. I have luckily in my 17 years never had a negative experience using any of the above examples.

I want to share some additional articles regarding authorized users and joint account holders for credit cards.  There has been many debates and ideas on whether or not your, the nanny, personal credit is affected by being added to the family’s credit card account.