How does your home care caregiver pay for groceries or other purchases when you are not with them?

I provided a gift card for store that only sells food to ensure the money was used for food only. I also required a copy of the receipt for purchases. It was not the best way, but the gift card was refillable easily.

I was a remote POA for my aunt. I sent my aunt's caregiver a check that she could cash for weekly expenses. She was trustworthy from the caring perspective, but not so much with money. Ask for itemized receipts, and try not to let cash build up.

Just my opinion, I cannot understand leaving a loved one with a person you wouldn’t trust with a check or credit card. I check all receipts. I would not want to have someone that I had to suspect of theft.

Around here with COVID issues and the popularity of home delivery of groceries now, not to mention picking a 2 hour window to receive them, I'd opt for you placing he order on mom's credit card and arranging delivery when the caregiver is there to put things away....and I would be making sure all the items are there that same day, that the caregiver didn't take anything.

Another way if the caregiver is leaving your loved one alone to do this and you're okay with that is to buy gift cards for the store of choice and only with minimal values. YOU keep them and only leave the one that is necessary for the shopper, and make clear you expect the receipt and change (if given) to be there for YOU.

Hi there, usually the client and / or the client's family will give our caregivers at Likefamily.care any cash needed ahead of time to go grocery shopping, etc. However, this is completely up to the family at hand.

For the very short time we had aides coming (1hr/day only, to get her used to them), there were a few times the aide ran to the store to pick up milk and or juice for mom. I had already taken over her finances, so quite honestly I don't recall now how these items were paid for. It is possible they added it to her bill, but perhaps mom let her use the CC. If I'd known she was doing that, I would have made sure to take the CC and give her a minimal reloadable debit card instead.

While several here have had good luck with their care-givers and trusted them, it's only going to take once to mess things up! I was taking mom to the store, letting her pay with the CC while I was with her. I also bought non-perishables at warehouse and let her reimburse me.

I did try the grocery home delivery one time. If the situation had been different, esp if she hadn't refused to let the aides come in, I would have continued the home delivery, but probably only for non-perishables. Sometimes she might not hear the doorbell, so I wouldn't want fridge or freezer items to sit outside! IF we had a long time care-giver and felt they were trustworthy, maybe the reusable debit card, however when dealing with dementia, the care-giver shouldn't be leaving them home alone either.

Definitely be sure to get the receipts. You can always double check items if you think something untoward is happening, but if there's ever a need for Medicaid, you'll want those receipts!

No. Mom had a caregiver that she liked. L bought her groceries and Mom paid her back. When I looked in Mom's checkbook she was paying $800/week for groceries to feed one tiny little lady. L was buying her family's groceries on Mom's time with Mom's money.

A few people here are saying that it is a matter of trust, but even an honest person will have a week when they are running short of money or forgot their wallet and will just pick up a few things for themselves when shopping for their employer. They may even mean to pay it back, and forgot. But after one time there will be another and it will escalate.

Our caregivers are not wealthy people, and it is wrong to put temptation in their way. As others have suggested there are many alternatives.

I routinely sign a check or give credit card to household help to make purchases. I’ve done this for 30+ years never a problem. I do not care if they spend a little time doing their their shopping. Ttrusting help goes a long way in having loyal and dependable help.

Imho, since I was the live-in, out-of-state caregiver for my late mother, she #1 gave me her debit card, #2 let me use her credit card or #3 reimbursed me for every dollar that I spent with my own money.

I am daughter and caregiver, plus POA. Mother's bank accounts are joint with me, but for transparency, we opened another account which I use for her purchases. I pay with a debit card and shop at 2 grocery, a general, hardware and drug stores (small town) so the transactions are familiar. Every 6 months we transfer money from her main account to this account. Perhaps you could open a 2nd account, keeping in it a suitable amount of money for the month's shopping, then hand the caregiver a debit card linked exclusively to that account on shopping day. I could show my mother the matching receipt and transaction online, if she were ever to become concerned.

EVERYTHING is deliverable.
Why put the caregiver and your loved one at risk (and wasting time) by trudging through stores???

Instacart costs a little bit more, but you or caregiver can order needed essentials from several different sources, and items are delivered right to the doorstep. This has the added benefit of allowing your caregiver to spend their time caregiving - not shopping.
If items on your list aren’t available, you can either preselect substitutions, or the shopper will “text” you via the instacart app. Instacart provides the receipt to via email. Amazon (Prime = Free Delivery) and Walmart also deliver groceries.

Get Venmo, any teen can explain it, and did to me. Have your caretaker keep the receipt for you. You can return the money to her instantly. No one should object to giving you a receipt. Venmo is easy, safe, and all the younger people are using it. You do need a smart phone, but again all the younger...

Working for an agency. you have to be VERY transparent about any money issues. I took my clients grocery shopping and they usually handed me the debit card and I always kept the receits and left them in the 'log book' for the family to check over. I never had any problems.

If I also needed to grab a couple of things at the store, I would, of course, do my transactions separately, but I really tried not to do that. My time was being paid by my employer and even that extra 10-15 minutes that I took for something personal made me feel like I was cheating my client. Some clients were perfectly OK with me doing a little 'personal' shopping--but I had to be super careful.

Just be honest in all your actions and there won't be any problems.

Shopping online and having things delivered is wonderful--but for many seniors, the 'going to the store' is more than survival--it's interraction with the employees that makes shopping a very social event.

I give my husband's credit card to his caregiver. She takes him to the grocery store when he wants to go. I can not stand to go with him, because its like having an 80 year old toddler with me. Don't get me wrong, I do love him, but I have severe arthritis in my spine and I can't handle standing in one place for 30 minutes while he decides which brand of paper towels to buy. She is wonderful, and will take as much time as he wants. She will text me if he wants something she doesn't think he should have, but generally he buys whatever he wants. She will also pick up things we are out of while she is there. I have never had a problem with her buying something for herself. As a matter of act, I've told her to do her own shopping if she needs to since she's at the grocery store anyway. When she goes without him, she still gets the credit card. She gives me back the card and the receipt when they get home.

Is the Caregiver a relative or private pay. Some relatives you have to watch but I definitely would not allow hired help to know where any of my checks or Credit cards were kept. I also would not expect the Caregiver to pay out of pocket and you pay them back. One poster did this and the family refused to reimburse her.

I think the best course is see if the store you shop in has curb side or even home delivery. Then the Caregiver just picks up the items.

Gift Cards to the store is a good idea. The receipt will show the balance left on the card besides the items that were bought. No caregiver should buy anything for themselves on the same receipt. I did it many times were I would put Moms stuff on the counter, pay for it, then put my purchases on the counter and pay for mine. I see people do it all the time.

If you make any reimbursements with cash you must get a receipt from the caregiver with the amount and what it was for plus the date and the caregiver's signature (you can use the grocery receipt and circle what are and are not your items). Personally I would opt for the prepay/pick-up if at all possible.

There are several approaches:

Prepay: order the groceries for curbside pickup and pay by credit card online. The caregiver picks them up as directed.

Reimburse: the caregiver pays and you pay them back. You would confirm that everything is yours by looking at the receipt, then give them cash or a check. The caregiver may not be ok with lending you the money or may find a check inconvenient.

Cash or gift card. Give the caregiver a gift card or cash with a shopping list. They buy the groceries and give you the receipt and the change or the card back. Check the receipt and count the change. Or confirm the gift card balance before and after each trip to match to the receipt. It wouldn't hurt to write the date and amount of cash given on the shopping list and to take a picture of it when you hand it off so you both have proof.

Remember to be fair about shopping on work time and mileage reimbursement.