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Im live in caregiver for a elderly couple with dementia,I get little breaks during the day long enough to walk my dog, no days off.The lady is up like a dozen times all during the night so i get little to no sleep, The man requires less care from me but i still do alot for him There son pays me $3,600 per month but i wonder if thats enough ?

Just know that if these folks were in a facility they would be paying anywhere from $6000-$10,000 EACH a month, so yes I'd say you are way underpaid, even if your housing and food are included in your pay.
Might be time to find another job, where you can actually still have a life and get the much needed sleep we all need.
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Reply to funkygrandma59
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Whether it is enough for you, is up to you to decide, but of course working 24/7 is impossible and is therefore illegal in almost all states. What is required is two shifts of care. The sad fact is that often family members do this work--exactly this work. And it breaks them completely. We here have seen them fall terribly ill attempting this. So on that basis I think it is wrong to attempt 24/7 care. I don't think it is safely done.

Given that, and ignoring my opinion, if you are doing this then it is up to you to ask for the salary you feel is deserved. It will be up to the family whether or not they can afford it, and whether or not they continue to have you do this work, or decide to hire another.

I wish you the best.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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So you are essentially a slave unable to leave. you still have to fill out taxes even if you are under the threshold. Otherwise if you do not file taxes, your senior social security and Medicare will be affected. Did you all your state office on employee affairs? Do you have a written contract? Does your employer have workmans comp insurance? If you get injured, then you can sue him. Everything spells illegal.
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Reply to MACinCT
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BurntCaregiver Dec 15, 2024
Slaves do not get paid, MAC.
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I priced out 24/7 home care through an agency and it was $30 an hour.

There is too little information provided in your post to tell you if it is enough.

Are you a family member? If you are living on premise do you have a lease agreement for an exchange of service? I strongly suggest your have a private care contract established for the begining of the year if you do not have one currently. To many variables that can lead you to being homeless and jobless if you do not.
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Reply to AMZebbC
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BurntCaregiver Dec 15, 2024
I own a homecare agency. Live-ins are not paid hourly.
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You should consider your Health and Lack of sleep . One Person is hard never Mind 2 - I Know because I took care of 2 People . Eventually you will get exhausted and unable to function .
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Reply to KNance72
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Your rate works out to 8.88 an hour assuming you work 12 hours. It’s 4.44 if in fact you have to attend to her 24 hours a day.

Your “free” rent is what it would cost to rent a room. Around here that’s 1000 a month.
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Reply to PeggySue2020
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Twelve years ago we paid 150/day for 12 days on and 2 off. For care of one person. Duties included making meals, laundry, cleaning and driving to appointments. I would say you are vastly underpaid.
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Reply to imadaughter17
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You should have some time off. Even a live-in caregiver does not need to be working 24 hours a day with no days off.

Tell the son he needs to hire someone to give you relief so you can take regularly scheduled days off - you determine what that is for you, one day a week, two days? What days would those be?
or you need 4 hours break on some days, with someone to come in and help or take over so you can just get outside, or take a nap. You can't be at your best for this couple if you are so exhausted mentally and physically.
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Reply to CaringWifeAZ
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Hateithere, if you ‘Hate it here’, quit. A pay rise won't stop you hating it. Or are you thinking of suing?
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Reply to MargaretMcKen
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BurntCaregiver Dec 17, 2024
Margaret,

If the OP is under-the-table and paid in cash she can't sue for anything. She gets paid $3,600 a month. If there's no taxes getting paid on that the IRS will come after her. If she tries to get cute with her employer and threaten a lawsuit, all they have to do is claim they have no idea what she's talking about because if they literally pay her with the envelope system in cash, there's no paper trail or proof that she even works for them.

Now $3,600 a month has to be kept somewhere. So unless she's keeping it stuffed in the matress, it's in a bank. Like I said, if she tries to get cute with her employer and make lawsuit threats, they can easily put her on the radar of the IRS and or ICE if she's illegal. I certainly would if someone ever made a threat like that to me under such circumstances.
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Hateithere: Considering the fact that you're not having to pay rent or have a mortgage payment, this "pay" sounds good. However, you are caring for TWO individuals.
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Reply to Llamalover47
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BurntCaregiver Dec 16, 2024
It's still a good deal. The OP would not make this kind of money through an agency.
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