how much should i pay my 6 year old neighbor?

[Balki.Bartokomous]

I asked her to water my plants while we're on vacation for 6 days. There are about 12 plants in all. It takes me about 5-10 minutes a day, so I imagine it will take her a little bit longer. I offered $10 & she accepted but I want to make sure I'm not cheating her.

I might be posting and running, so TIA!

[Deleted]

You water your plants every day? No wonder I kill so many-I do it once a week (or two-lol)
$10 a day or for all 6 days? I'd probably give $20 for all 6 days--thats pretty impressive for a 6 year old to do

[dexteroni]

I would have probably offered $20, but since you already offered $10 and she accepted, it's fine. Maybe you can also bring her a small trinket from your vacation.

Do at least one of her parents know she's doing this? I wouldn't expect a 6-year-old to be on top of this on a daily basis.

[Brie]

I think $10 is fine. I also might pick her up a little souvenir from the trip, too.

[agnes]

My 8 year old niece would be ecstatic to get a souvenir ontop of the $10.

[mollybrown]

She's 6. I think that anything more than $10 is overkill. She probably would have done it for a souvenier

[salbert79]

I like the $10 + souvenir idea.

[auggie]

I agree that more than $10 would be overkill for a 6 yo. If you want to make her extra happy, bring back a trinket and pay her in ones! That's a lot of bills for most kindergarteners!

[Balki.Bartokomous]

Thanks for the feedback! If I can find something good for her, I'll get that & give $15. She lit up when I told her that we're going on this road trip - she did this same one with her dad when he got back from Afghanistan and loved it, so I'm sure she'd love a souvenir.

flygirl - My tomatoes like water every day, as does my hydrangea. It's all in direct sun, so maybe that has something to do with it? I dunno. I have no clue what I'm doing, either, lol, but my tomatoes are skyrocketing & my pomegranate graft has a flower, so I guess I must be doing something right. ::fingers crossed::

dexteroni - Yup, her mom knows. I spoke with her first before I asked the daughter. And, I heard her repeat my instructions perfectly to her mom when they walked by my house later, so I know she was listening. :-)

[CloudBee]

Just chiming in that I think it's sweet you recruited your neighbor.

[Balki.Bartokomous]

May 22, 2012 11:39:28 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Just chiming in that I think it's sweet you recruited your neighbor.

Aw, thanks!

It's actually quite MM. I had planned on setting up a sprinkler system with a timer, so I'm saving a little bit by just paying her. I figured I always would have like opportunities when I was younger to earn a little more cash, so I'd rather my money go to her than spend it on a sprinkler.

[CloudBee]

I wish we lived in a friendlier neighborhood so we could do the same. I would LOVE to pay one of our neighborhood kids to let our dog out at 3 or 4pm when they got home from school. Unfortunately no one in our little neighborhood seems interested in forming relationships. I live in an area where there are lots of transplants, and people often leave after a few years, as they come for a few yrs for work, then head to another city or back home.

It seems common, unfortunately. Top that off with an odd batch of neighbors. Part of me is happy I don't have neighbors in my business, but the other part of me wishes we had each other's backs.

[Balki.Bartokomous]

I know what you mean. Her dad is pretty much the only person we know in our whole complex. I literally just met her mom for the first time when I knocked on their door the other day, and we've lived her for a year. It's sort weird - everyone is friendly when you see them, but no one actually bothers to reach out or anything.

[noodleoo]

I think $10 is fine. I used to take care of my neighbors cats on vacation for a week, feeding them twice a day and taking in their mail. I was in awe when they paid me $20! It was a lot of money back then! And I loved their cats, so I would have done it for free. Plants are probably less work than cats.

[MadamePresident]

May 22, 2012 10:32:49 GMT -5 Brie said:

I think $10 is fine. I also might pick her up a little souvenir from the trip, too.

+1

[GailGoldie]

I used to water flowers for a neighbor at that age - brings back nice memories... i felt important! She would always bring me back a little gift from her trip (bracelet or something) - i don't remember the money

[mayflowers22]

I like $10 and a souvenir.

[statlerwaldorf]

I think $10 is fine and I really like the souvenir idea.

[Balki.Bartokomous]

Ok, I got her a cute seahorse necklace from Monterey Bay Aquarium today. It was about $10, so I'll stick to my $10 in cash + the necklace. Thanks for the help!