Help me figure out what to charge

[la79al]

My grandparents are getting to the point where, in order to stay in their house, they need some help with housekeeping, meals, errands, etc. They are currently using a company that charges $19 an hour for (very) light housekeeping and (sporadic) meal preparation. I am currently doing a lot of their errands. They have been contacted about meals on wheels but that would be $4.65 per meal per person. They can't afford both and quite honestly, no one has been really impressed with either (my greatgrandmother used MoW before). I am going to be taking over with the housekeeping and meal prep slowly over the next few weeks and full time starting in June. Obviously the housekeeping I can charge an hourly fee and that's pretty self explanatory. My question comes with meal prep. Do I have them buy the groceries for the meals and then charge for meal prep time or is there some way I can make extras of whatever I am making for us and then charge a per meal rate? Any other suggestions?

 

[dakcp2001]

How old are you? Is this going to be your "employment" ? And who has made this decision for you to be in charge? The reason I am asking is because what you are doing seems like normal things we do for family without being paid, but of course, with the rest of the family pitching in and taking turns to help so it does not all fall upon one persons shoulders. If this is going to be your "job" and all your responsibility and take up most of your time, I would talk with your parents and aunts and uncles to see what they (grandparents) can afford. If a proffesional is charging 19 per hour for light housekeeping and meal prep, I would think you would charge less than that.

 

[marmalade]

My grandparents are getting to the point where, in order to stay in their house, they need some help with housekeeping, meals, errands, etc. They are currently using a company that charges $19 an hour for (very) light housekeeping and (sporadic) meal preparation. I am currently doing a lot of their errands. They have been contacted about meals on wheels but that would be $4.65 per meal per person. They can't afford both and quite honestly, no one has been really impressed with either (my greatgrandmother used MoW before). I am going to be taking over with the housekeeping and meal prep slowly over the next few weeks and full time starting in June. Obviously the housekeeping I can charge an hourly fee and that's pretty self explanatory. My question comes with meal prep. Do I have them buy the groceries for the meals and then charge for meal prep time or is there some way I can make extras of whatever I am making for us and then charge a per meal rate? Any other suggestions?

I would NEVER even consider charging my grandparents for helping them.

 

[YO's Mom]

I would NEVER even consider charging my grandparents for helping them.

That was my first thought. Then I thought, well, maybe she is giving up a job to do this. Even then, I would charge as little as I could and still be able to pay my bills. Family is family. I'd cook and clean and run errands for them for a certain dollar amount per hour. No "extra" charge for making meals. Still, I can't imagine a scenario where I would feel comfortable taking money from my family for helping them.

 

[ah1126]

I know my Grandparents were the kind of people who insisted on paying you for doing things. They wouldn't let you do it, if you wouldn't let them pay you. They knew if you couldn't do it, they would be paying someone else, and they would rather pay you.

I would charge less per hour than the other company is charging and just add the meal making into your hours. I would have them pay for the groceries.

Enjoy spending the time with your Grandparents! I used to "babysit" my Grandpa when he couldn't stay on his own and my Grandma needed to go out. I really enjoyed spending the time with him and getting to hear his stories.

 

[marmalade]

I know my Grandparents were the kind of people who insisted on paying you for doing things. They wouldn't let you do it, if you wouldn't let them pay you. They knew if you couldn't do it, they would be paying someone else, and they would rather pay you.

I would charge less per hour than the other company is charging and just add the meal making into your hours. I would have them pay for the groceries.

Enjoy spending the time with your Grandparents! I used to "babysit" my Grandpa when he couldn't stay on his own and my Grandma needed to go out. I really enjoyed spending the time with him and getting to hear his stories.

This is my grandparents as well, but I would never charge them. If they insisted on giving me money I would let them come up with the amount comfortable to them. I could never give them a dollar amount.

 

[JennyWren]

IMO, you don't charge family...

 

[Califgirl]

I wouldn't charge family, either, but like a PP said, sometimes they insist on paying.

Since you are trying to help them out, and they can't afford MoW and cleaning, I would charge something less than what they are paying the cleaning service, and just include the meal prep. I would have them help you create the menu and then they could pay for the food that you need to purchase.

Perhaps you could charge a weekly or monthly rate (hopefully the same or less than they are paying now), rather than splitting up the costs due to the things you are doing. However, I agree with a PP, see if you can get other family members to chip in and pay the cost for them.
That is probably what would help them the most.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

I would never charge my grandparents for helping them. Family is family. If they really insisted, I would take reimbursment for the groceries I picked up for them, but nothing more. It sounds like they have a very modest income, I could never dream of taking any of it, the guilt would be too much.

 

[disny_luvr]

I wouldn't charge my grandparents either. If they want to give you something, then fine, but I wouldn't charge them. When my grandparents were ailing, we would take turns cleaning, cooking, taking them to the doctor, etc. I loved helping them and never asked for anything. Sometimes my grandpa would give my twin sons (at the time they were about two) money to put in their piggy banks. They loved it and I thought it was sweet of him, but he never, ever once gave me anything, and I was/am 100% fine with it.

My grandpa would try to give my mom and my aunt money sometimes and they jointly decided to take the money and put it into a checking account that they later used to pay for expenses for him and my grandma (nursing home, selling house, funeral, etc). Neither of them wanted to put up a fuss with him about not taking the money, but neither of them felt comfortable taking the money either since my grandparents didn't have much. They looked at it as a win-win situation.

 

[hereyago]

Considering this is the budget board, some of you are not thinking good money sense with the hung up on' it's family' thing,lol.

OP has said that she all ready does errands for them. Gas isn't cheap, so she will be using up more gas doing this full time. Not to mention her time to cook and clean.

She started out doing errands, so she was all ready helping them but put on cooking and cleaning, it isn't money smart not to get compensated for that. she is doing everything a housekeeper and home health aide would be doing.

There may not be other family members who want to help,so if she is doing this then yes she should be paid. Which you rather have? pay money to help pay for someone to help you stay in your home? or that money to go to a assisted living or nursing home?

I would talk the grandparents to see what they can afford if they are in charge of their finances or whoever is in charge as another poster said. I also second if they are able to get their own groceries and find out what they like menu wise.

 

[HayGan]

Not all families are the same so it really isn't fair to say to the OP that she shouldn't charge family. Plus, I know a number of the elderly won't feel comfortable being a charity case and not paying for things done for them no matter who does those things.

So, to the OP, I would sit down and talk with your grandparents about what they feel comfortable with. I would suggest for the meals, make extras when you make things for your own family (if they will like those things) as well as make batches of food that you can freeze and reheat easily for your grandparents. Find out what they are spending on groceries now and try to stick to that. You can do their shopping when you do yours. Even consider buying in bulk and splitting the items to save money for you both.

If I were in your situation, I would try and set a number of hours each week that you can dedicate to them each week and charge a flat fee that everyone is comfortable with. That fee would be inclusive of the labor portion of the work but groceries would be extra. I would say if you have to do any extra errands (dr appts or anything that is beyond your regular duties) that you have an arrangement set up ahead of time for what the charge (if any) will be for that.

The best thing you can do is come up with an agreement ahead of time that makes everyone comfortable. Otherwise you could be asking for trouble and resentment on both sides. Good luck!

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I would NEVER even consider charging my grandparents for helping them.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Eliza32]

By the sounds of what the OP is saying, I think this now goes way beyond 'helping' them. Sounds like housekeeping, shopping and cooking could be a near on full-time job.

The OP needs to have an income too, it's only fair.

 

[grannychamp]

I took care of both my Grandmother and Grandfather it is a full time job. As others have written I did it because they were my Grandparents and I loved them. There is hardly anytime for self. Are any other family member going to be available to help you? When you are weary and tired $100.00 an hour isn't enough to think about all that has to be done, not just today but tomorrow and tomorrow.....

 

[phred52]

I would NEVER charge for caring for family. Been there, NOT charged that!

If the OP runs errands and uses a fair amount of gas, I'd see perhaps Grandpa filling the tank on occasion. As for meals, consider asking grandparents to put a weekly or monthly $ amount in an envelope which OP can use to purchase groceries, making it easier for the grandparents not having to shop. When making dinner I often cook extra on purpose to package meals for easy reheating later, sort of like your own meals on wheels. We have a set of ceramic dishes just for this purpose which go back and forth back and forth between houses. VERY easy for me and is SOOoooo appreciated ...

Oh.. another thing I thought of ... my DM keeps a written list of whatever needs attention around her house. While I AM over there daily, that list only gets pulled out weekly and whatever needs 'doing' gets done during that time. We get to enjoy visiting during the daily visits.

 

[la79al]

OP here. A few years ago, when my grandmother had surgery, we had a huge family meeting where it was decided that I would pick up the housekeeping aspect. A price was decided upon by a few of my other family members and my grandparents. It is way less per hour than they are paying now for the service, I do a better job and I don't leave 2 hours early every day. I actually stopped doing the housekeeping when I was about 7 months pregnant with DD2.
At this point, I am babysitting a little girl but have already told the parents that I will not be able to continue after the end of the school year. I have talked with both my grandparents and my husband about my grandparents having me full time after that. They're going to pay for the service one way or another or the rest of the family is going to rally for an assisted living place, which neither grandparent wants.
I'm not trying to do this to take money from helpless people, I am trying to do this because no one else in the family really has the time or desire. I have talked with each of my grandparents and they both want to stay in the house with help. I know they both enjoy having my girls come visit them much more than they have a stranger coming into the house. Neither of my grandparents are in any way not in touch with reality nor are either of them shy about saying what they think or feel. If they have a problem with something, they will let me know. I am assuming from the 2-3 times a day they are mentioning to me that they can't afford MoW and the service they have coming in, they are looking to me for a solution. They aren't destitute (one of my errands last week involved carrying around several of their checkbooks), they have much more money than we do, and they would rather see the money go to me and my girls than some agency. I guess I'm just going to have to sit down and come up with some meal ideas and then sit down with my grandmother to plan it out. Thanks to you who helped to answer my question!

 

[Bob NC]

I would NEVER charge for caring for family. Been there, NOT charged that!

I'm wondering why the large cap letters, did you think maybe the OP wouldn't be able to read those two words?

 

[Sadie22]

Elder care lawyers can assist with written contracts so that family members can receive a market wage and in some states are even paid by government agencies to provide home care for loved ones. It is not necessary for younger family members to jeopardize their own standard of living in order to care for the elderly. Not everyone is wealthy enough to donate their time and resources.

OP, my mother was evaluated by a county health department nurse and social worker in her home and was found to be eligible for medical adult day care at a reduced rate based on her income. That included transportation and two hot meals per day on the days she attended. She could have had Meals on Wheels at a reduced rate. She was deemed eligible to have LIfeline installed through a service offered by the local hospital. If your grandparents have not been evaluated for services or as their needs change, they may be able to receive some of these services, which vary by community.

 

[hereyago]

Elder care lawyers can assist with written contracts so that family members can receive a market wage and in some states are even paid by government agencies to provide home care for loved ones. It is not necessary for younger family members to jeopardize their own standard of living in order to care for the elderly. Not everyone is wealthy enough to donate their time and resources.

I second the contract for "protection" for everyone. And no, family members don't need to jeopardize their standard of living.

Medicaid has the program for family members to get paid to take care as well as military retirees and their surviving spouses(with oodles of paperwork program similar.