OK, now I’m a bit upset that I’m being accused of “cheaping out” on my friend.
Doing a friend a favor is doing a friend a favor; if you think she should make money off of me sleeping on the couch then it’s no longer a favor. I appreciate her being there for me, but I also think that I’ve racked up about a thousand hours of free babysitting for her kids for the last 5 years, so I think treating me as a boarder is a bit unfair*. I’m just trying to cover what extra expenses she’s incurred due to my stay, with a little extra as a thank you.
*Not that she is treating me like a boarder, but a couple of posters here seem to think I should act like one.
I agree with you 100% on everything you’ve said here. However, she made it clear she wants money; she’s not doing a friend a favor. She fucked up by not detailing exactly what she wanted. Since you split the place with her for 3/4 of the month, the only number you can offer her is 3/4 of 1/2. She can always refuse to accept that much and throw out a “friendly” number, but I’m thinking she’s not going to do that.
Not really possible to estimate unless you throw out numbers, if you are looking for a more concrete answer than 3/4 of 1/2.
What is rent?
Have you eaten any of their food? Then you have an equal share in grocery, no matter that you have tried to eat little- learned that from the commune. How much you eat is a matter of personal preference- that you partake means you joined the group and are equal.
Bath supplies? I count them as nothing, but to my roommate, if you touch it, you bought it…
People vary. Give some hard data, and estimate high.
Oh, and I gave my (good) friend (who would’ve let me stay free), for letting me and a three year old stay two weeks when I was down and out- $350
But as I said, details matter. Location is rather important. We (and he) live in a rather expensive town. In the same circumstance, in a different city/state, I would have offered to buy drinks on an extended eve and called it even.
I don’t think you’re cheaping out on your friend, and I’m sure you’re a very good houseguest. However, I think your friend is an awesome friend for letting you crash at her place. If I had two kids, was heavily pregnant with two more, and was trying to work out problems with my husband, the last thing I’d want would be a houseguest for almost a month. I would consider it a damn big favor, no matter how much free babysitting she gets out of it.