fair pay for neighbor's kid

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My wife and I are going on vacation for ~6 days, and we would like to ask our neighbors' 16-yr old son to keep an eye on the house while we're gone--this would provide some peace of mind for us and give him an opportunity to make some money for gas/college savings/etc. What we would like him to do would include bringing in the mail, watering some new grass in back, emptying a dehumidifier in the basement, and just generally checking to make sure everything is O.K.
What's a fair amount to offer him for doing this? We were thinking along the lines of $10/day; is that too little? (I'd rather be over-generous than cheap)

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Doesn't sound like you're asking him to do much, so $10 a day sounds fair.

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doubles-sorry!

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My only question is, how large a lawn does he have to water? If you have a hand held hose, and we are talking about watering every day, I might offer him a bit more. If it is just a small patch, or you have a sprinkler system and he just has to turn it on, 60 bucks sounds good to me!

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That's fine, but if you can afford to, just give him an even $100 and make his day!

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Re: fair pay for neighbor's kid

lab rat wrote:

My wife and I are going on vacation for ~6 days, and we would like to ask our neighbors' 16-yr old son to keep an eye on the house while we're gone--this would provide some peace of mind for us and give him an opportunity to make some money for gas/college savings/etc. What we would like him to do would include bringing in the mail, watering some new grass in back, emptying a dehumidifier in the basement, and just generally checking to make sure everything is O.K.
What's a fair amount to offer him for doing this? We were thinking along the lines of $10/day; is that too little? (I'd rather be over-generous than cheap)

First of all, how would this activity affect your homeowner's insurance.

Next, I'd pay the boy $10/hour with a minimum of $20/day. Write up a contract and have the child sign it.

By the way, can I conclude from the responses posted here, that women tend to pay a lower wage, than do men?

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I agree that if it's a large lawn that needs watering every day, that the amount should be more, but if it's just a small lawn, then $10 is fine. If it takes an hour or less a day to get these tasks done, then over $10 would be too much. How much time would you assume he put in a day.

Miller
You make me sound cheap and I'm far from it. Paying a 16 year old $20 for an hour of easy work is way too much. I've had to work my ass off for $10 an hour.

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Drat. Now we all know that Montana has no ass. And all this time I thought she had the junk in her trunk.

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LOL! It's amazing what you learn about people over the years, eh ;-)

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We're anticipating he'll spend no more than 40 minutes a day. The grass will have sprinklers on it at that point--he'll just need to water a few corners/edges that the sprinklers won't reach and check to make sure the digital timer is still working with the sprinklers.
Thanks for all the responses!

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lab rat - When I do the math, it comes out to $15 an hour. Not too many 16 year olds can earn that much!

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Quite frankly, lab. You do need to consider your homeowner's policy. If he gets injured, welllllllll. You can figure that one. Talk to his parents, first.

I'd do a blanket thing, myself. Too tempting for kids to fudge a little.

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lab rat wrote:

We're anticipating he'll spend no more than 40 minutes a day. The grass will have sprinklers on it at that point--he'll just need to water a few corners/edges that the sprinklers won't reach and check to make sure the digital timer is still working with the sprinklers.
Thanks for all the responses!

Then, I think $10 a day would be just fine. Hey, if I lived next door, I'd be happy to do it for $10 a day. Easy money :-D

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Montana wrote:

I agree that if it's a large lawn that needs watering every day, that the amount should be more, but if it's just a small lawn, then $10 is fine. If it takes an hour or less a day to get these tasks done, then over $10 would be too much. How much time would you assume he put in a day.

Miller
You make me sound cheap and I'm far from it. Paying a 16 year old $20 for an hour of easy work is way too much. I've had to work my ass off for $10 an hour.

I never mentioned one hour of work. I said $20 minimum. Let the kid work 2 hours.

I'm sorry that you had to work your ass off. But what has working your ass off got to do with paying the kid $20 for working 2 hours?

I am right, most women are not in favor of paying extra money.

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Montana wrote:

lab rat wrote:
We're anticipating he'll spend no more than 40 minutes a day. The grass will have sprinklers on it at that point--he'll just need to water a few corners/edges that the sprinklers won't reach and check to make sure the digital timer is still working with the sprinklers.
Thanks for all the responses!

Then, I think $10 a day would be just fine. Hey, if I lived next door, I'd be happy to do it for $10 a day. Easy money :-D

Do you need the money?

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lab rat wrote:

We're anticipating he'll spend no more than 40 minutes a day. The grass will have sprinklers on it at that point--he'll just need to water a few corners/edges that the sprinklers won't reach and check to make sure the digital timer is still working with the sprinklers.
Thanks for all the responses!

Why don't you give the kid a break and work out a schedule for 2 hours with a pay of $20? When you get down to counting the minutes, you sound cheap, if I might say so. WHen counting the minutes, are you sure it was 40 and not 40.5 minutes? Razz

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cjhsa wrote:

Drat. Now we all know that Montana has no ass. And all this time I thought she had the junk in her trunk.

Can't say that about J. Lo, can we? Thank the good Lord!! Razz

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I think you also have to consider that you have this great kid that you are trusting with a huge asset, your home. If you trust him with that, pay him for that trust. Just give the kid $100. he'll do a superb job and probably some extras.

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Miller wrote:

Montana wrote:
I agree that if it's a large lawn that needs watering every day, that the amount should be more, but if it's just a small lawn, then $10 is fine. If it takes an hour or less a day to get these tasks done, then over $10 would be too much. How much time would you assume he put in a day.

Miller
You make me sound cheap and I'm far from it. Paying a 16 year old $20 for an hour of easy work is way too much. I've had to work my ass off for $10 an hour.

I never mentioned one hour of work. I said $20 minimum. Let the kid work 2 hours.

I'm sorry that you had to work your ass off. But what has working your ass off got to do with paying the kid $20 for working 2 hours?

I am right, most women are not in favor of paying extra money.

But, obviously there isn't 2 hours of work to be done and you're wrong about women not in favor of paying extra money. I've worked in businesses where I depended on tips, so I assure you that women are not as cheap as you think. Also, since I did work in those jobs, I have always been one to over tip.

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Miller wrote:

Montana wrote:
lab rat wrote:
We're anticipating he'll spend no more than 40 minutes a day. The grass will have sprinklers on it at that point--he'll just need to water a few corners/edges that the sprinklers won't reach and check to make sure the digital timer is still working with the sprinklers.
Thanks for all the responses!

Then, I think $10 a day would be just fine. Hey, if I lived next door, I'd be happy to do it for $10 a day. Easy money :-D

Do you need the money?

I'll take easy money any day ;-)

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fair pay for neighbor's kid

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