We asked Mieke Eeckhout, 51, from Waregem how much she earns and how she spends it…
What do you do for work and what do you earn?
- For 11 years, I’ve taught courses at the Hotel School in Ghent. I teach company management, hotel organisation, restaurant techniques and practices. This means lots of practice and afterschool activities. We help at events like the Ghent Film Festival, Horeca Expo, the Christmas concert and at the reception of the Royal Place or the welcoming of Princess Mathilde at the Ghent Flower Show.
I earn €1800 per month after taxes.
- I still find it enjoyable. I prefer working with young people more than adults. In the last five years it’s even more than it used to be, but some students we literally have to first teach how to eat with a fork and knife and make it clear that text-message slang doesn’t work in restaurants. Adults are much harder to mould.
- What do you think of your salary?
- Most of my colleagues earn more due to seniority. I’m still not fully tenured, so I don’t earn as much per month. During the holiday months, my salary declines, but on an annual basis, there isn’t a difference with the tenured colleagues.
- On what do you spend the most money?
- Our house mortgage. And creating savings accounts for my two daughters: I invest in that with pleasure, otherwise these days it’s not possible to have a comfortable start to life anymore.
- What do you like spending money on?
- On travelling. Next year we’re going to India for five or six weeks. I also like to go to the theatre and museums. Contemporary classical music is also a passion. I play Mozart during my courses to calm the students. They find it beautiful and they learn something beyond culinary things.
