It is not unusual to have a shopping purse which the live-in carer uses to do the shopping. In some cases, the family will bring money to top the purse up.
Many families will not leave a debit card for carers to use because debit cards can be misused, and disputes may arise about what has been spent. Having cash often seems a better way to handle the shopping situation.
Even using cash can leave things open to dispute and misuse so there are some things that a live-in carer can do to prevent accusations about misuse coming their way.
Buy a book and keep it entirely for the purse. Record every single time you open the purse and spend anything, no matter how small the amount. You should be able to, at a glance, see exactly how much money is left in the purse, and what it has been spent on.
Always ask for a receipt, no matter what you buy. You may find that some smaller places will not offer to give you a receipt so get into the habit of asking for one every time you use money.
Look on the shopping and the purse as a part of your daily routine and make sure that at the end of every day, you have balanced your account.
If family give you money to top up the purse, make sure that you have them witness that you are adding it to the purse and showing it as a top up in your book. This will also let them know that you take money matters seriously and are diligent in taking care of it.
On handover day make sure that the incoming carer counts out the money and compares it to the total income in your book. Watch the incoming carer do this and make sure that both of you sign to agree that what you are handing over is correct.
Where money is concerned, you should be meticulous with your transactions and always cover yourself. It is never a good thing for a live-in carer to be accused of misusing the household money, and unfortunately it is easily done when transactions are not accurately recorded.
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