Thank you so much for all the love in this group. I've been helping to take care of my grandmother part-time for a year now and she is in need of more care. Going to bring in an agency part-time to help with cooking and errands and such. How should I handle the finances with the caregiver? Do I pay the agency directly and they pay for groceries or do I give them my grandma's debit card? IDK!
I can't imagine giving a new caregiver Gma's debit card.
Order the groceries online, pay with a credit card, and have the caregiver pick them up. They don't need any access to finances.
Do not hand over your Grandmother's debit card to anyone, for any reason.
A person can enter the card on any website and shop away without your knowledge, even after they give the card back, and have left your employment.
You may not discover the theft until much later, and after having to inquire of Grandma, did you buy this?
As a fiduciary, find out ways to protect Grandmother's finances. Suggestions can be found online. You can learn...
I would not give a caregiver a credit or debit.
If you can not order on line and pay that way give the caregiver a preloaded card. You can buy them at most grocery stores in any dollar amount you wish. I would keep the amount small but reasonable. And you must ask for the original reciept
Ask the agency how they usually handle this, and go along with it and monitor things if that's easier -- but with so many delivery services now, like Instacart, do you really need to go through them at all for this one?
And welcome to AC!
I do have to say that I do a spending analysis every month of all the expenses for the cash withdrawals and debit card payments to enable the family member who control the money to check the bank statement at anytime
It is a good feeling to feel you are being trusted and relied on.
I have been doing dementia care for 20 years and never felt I was not being trusted.
If there's a good client/caregiver relationship where they trust each each other, the caregiver will put in a few dollars if the bill goes over what they were given, but they're paid the difference right away by the client or family.
I've done this personally many times. I've paid for client shopping bills in full out of my own pocket if they didn't have access to cash. Many elderly people don't. I would produce store receipts and they would give me a check separate from my pay for money spent. I always refused to use a client's credit or debit card for shopping because this leaves a door open for a caregiver to be accused of stealing or some other nonsense an elderly client gets into their head and becomes fixated on. It's a matter of trust with caregiver/client and family. It's also a matter of the caregiver protecting themselves and their reputation. Cash and store receipts are the way to go for shopping needs.
I've worked for other clients and families who would send me to a store with a list and nowhere near enough cash to cover the bill. So, I'd get the items I could and they did without the rest or someone else went and got them. I would not so much as put up a nickel of my own money because I knew they wouldn't pay. It all depends on what the caregiver. client, and family agree to.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give anybody access to financial information.