Paying friends for help
I posted this query elsewhere today and received one good answer. If anyone else would chip I'd very grateful. I've no confidence at the moment. I don't want to cheat otter but neither can I afford to be way out of pocket:
https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/128693/petrol-costs#latest
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yes i pay my friend todo several tasks that i either can no longer do or tasks that I have difficulty doing.
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Hello @smokey18 Do you pay the going rate per hour or just cover costs? I pay friends their professional rate when they are doing a professional job for me. In other circumstances such as driving me places I cover costs and buy coffee, etc. Hence my question about mileage and petrol costs.
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Hello zips I pay my friend £10. Per hour for whatever she does for me. As for my support worker, social services pay headway for the time my support worker is with me but if I have to go out pr to an appointment I am responsible for paying the mileage 70p per mile. Hope that helps you🙋🏽♀️.
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If your friend is happy with £10 an hour that seems very reasonable to me.
As others have written, the line between friends and personal assistants can sometimes be very fine.
I'm paid PIP and I've always thought it best to throw a bit of that at people if they're doing something I'd otherwise pay someone to do.
Again, it just seems reasonable. They could be earning money if they weren't helping me.
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@smokey18 and @Littlefatfriend My friends expect £20 per hour or more. It’s their day off work and I'd rather have a friendly face even if I sometimes feel a bit "used".
Is petrol 70p per mile? Google suggests a maximum of £25p. @noman wrote "An average size car driven around town for example I would expect to cover around 100/120 miles on 20 quid".
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@smokey18 I think I've been paying too much towards petrol, even taking posh cars into account. This is a useful tool:
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/costs/fuel-cost-calculator/?FuelType=SuperUnleaded&PencePerLitre=147.77&Mileage=70&ManufacturerId=32&ModelGroupId=129&DerivativeId=1230#
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Sorry Zipz but cars cost a great deal more than their fuel. Buying them, maintaining them, etc.
Add to that a person's time and it quickly adds up.
My Jaguar XKR does no more than 15mpg (which is very low on that scale of things) and googly just told me that's 16-18 pence per mile. Your link says it would be 43 pence a mile.
My perspective is biased by the circumstance that it's impossible to hire a taxi on an evening in county Durham. The driver is always the most valuable aspect of taxis.
£20 for an hour of their time doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
Times are hard, good luck
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@Littlefatfriend I think there are two issues here.
First, I agree the £20 per hour for work be it by friends or stranger is fine.
Secondly, there are occasions when somebody gives me a lift. Just short distances that are not iut of their way. I more than cover the cost of petrol, pay for coffees and food, give generously at Xmas and birthdays. The people are friends not the local taxi firm. I feel used. However, if I thought friends were out of pocket it would be made up to them.
It's difficult to know what's a friendly gesture and what's a professional job.
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your friend expects £20 per hour. Who does she think she is. Way ott. I’m sorry but I think £10 per hour is reasonable. To me that’s no friend.
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If we're assuming £20 per hour Zipz, we should also add to that all the costs of car ownership.
Driving a car with a passenger is necessarily a far greater responsibility than not doing so.
Passengers will be helpless victims of any accidents and a driver must assume ownership of that risk. It's quite a responsibility.
I could reduce my insurance costs by guaranteeing that I'll never take a passenger, these things add up.
I'm also confident you'd be surprised how much time it takes to pick someone up, when compared to not doing so.
Only you are in charge of your paying for their coffees, food and Xmas gifts. Put bluntly, don't pay for that if they aren't worth it to you. That's only your choice.
As you're comparing them to professionals I'd encourage you to try seeing how much it would cost you for a professional to do those jobs, to enable that comparison. It might surprise you how much these things can cost.
I empathise that it can sometimes feel a bit strange because other people may not pay for that, but other people probably give your friends lifts in return.
To answer your question I suggest you try finding a cheaper way of getting those lifts and I encourage you to enjoy bunging a friend a few quid. It all helps.
Always please live your own life, good luck
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@Littlefatfriend If you were to risk driving a colleague to work and home again and the two journeys added up to an hour what would you charge your colleague? I'm just trying to get a rough idea because I'm not a person to sponge. Thanks.
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Unfortunately Zipz these things are entirely subjective.
Are we assuming my friend lives on the way to and at the same time as my trips to work and back (I work from home)?
Either way that would depend entirely upon which friend it was. Some of us regularly help each other make money, many people would struggle to get out of my car, I went to school with some of them, and most likely I wouldn't charge them anyhow because I enjoy driving my car.
£20 (particularly for two 30 minute journeys) seems reasonable to me and I've no idea how long it takes you to get into/out of the car etc.
The question I suggest is how much is it worth to you? What would an alternative cost?
Sorry but I can't put a value on your friendships. That's a question I can't answer.
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@Banarama123 When a friend works for me I pay the going rate. When a friend does me a favour I cover all costs. I don't want anybody out of pocket. But you're probably right. They're not true friends. Friends sometimes do things for free. If I give an elderly neighbour coffee and a slice of cake I don't charge ccafé prices! It's free because I'm a friend.
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I mean it was tge part that your so called friend could take £20 an hour from her friend who has a disability and unable to do some chores that this friend asked £20 an hour is disgraceful. Try to fill her day off by leaving a disabled person out of pocket. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying she should do it for nothing but a true friend woukd have a different approach
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I pay my daughter £15, but I don't at the same time. She borrowed money off me and I said if she will do certain things I find difficult I will knock it off what she owes me. She's happy for that, but said she would do stuff for me anyway because I'm her mom. I choose that amount because its the going rate for a cleaner and i want her to do some cleaner type stuff. When she has paid me back or earnt it, I won't be paying her money, I babysit for her, so its a mutual thing…I just wanted her to work for what she borrowed as means of not paying it back…kind of a life lesson.
If the friend is willing and you can't afford much, then a tenner seems good (if its under the table so to speak). If she declares it, It should be £15. But I'm sure she declares it……. … …
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Jaguar XKR? Nice. I don't care much for the modern line up and who wants a diesel Jaguar for goodness sake? Give me an XJ6 any day!
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It must be good to have a family. Even when there are a few probs, it's a comfort in hard times.
Declare? I doubt it! Straight into Aldi….
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@Littlefatfriend I'm not even talking 2 x 30 minutes. I'm mainly talking 5 minutes trips. Friends that perceive me as a cash cow are not worth it.
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@Banarama123 I can't really think of them as true friends now. I would never expect anything for nothing, though.
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Sorry the keyboard wouldn't show up.
I would be paying the going rate for a PA in the area I live in. I would be very careful about paying friends to do things because their insurance will not cover them to use their car for work, unless they already do.
I would also do things properly with receipts etc, because it's okay until it's not okay. If I am using my benefits then I want to keep track of my expenses.
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