Been out all morning earning money!!!

wannabedebtfree_2

And I have the cuts and bruises to prove it!!!

A friend of mine cleans a holiday cottage, and they were looking for someone to tidy up the garden, so I said I would do it, earn some extra money!!

Its been bloomin hard work, it was worse than it looked, lots of brambles, and weeds, and I haven't even finished it yet!!

I have worked up there for 5 1/2 hours so far, and have been told to just put a bill in, but I have no idea what to charge them........I have taken two car loads to the tip too, so any suggestions would be great!!

waterbaby

My mum has gardeners who clear and tidy up, and she pays about £7 an hour. There are people charging £10ph that she could have, but they are more about redesigning the garden, creative input as well as clearing plants etc.

saubryn

Who told you to put the bill in? Your friend, or her employer? If it was the employer, have you considered asking your friend what she is paid, and charging something similar?

I hate putting a value on my time too...

john_kent

id say around 7 quid an hour plus whatever for fuel. 45p a mle is good. put it down as sundries .

taplady

john_kent wrote:

id say around 7 quid an hour plus whatever for fuel. 45p a mle is good. put it down as sundries .

That sounds about right to me! by the way John how are you getting along living without credit and just using cash?

tipsychick

In central London gardening companies can charge £30.00 an hour!

What part of the country are you in?

wannabedebtfree_2

I'm in sunny Devon, another chap who was offered the job but said he was too busy, (then took on more work - my friend is very peeved with him) charges £10 an hour, but he is a burly bloke, I'm just a burly girl!!!

I think I might go for £8 an hour (bear in mind I have to pay tax on it......SOB.......) and a couple of quid for each trip to the dump.

Thanks for your input.

xx

Kevicho

If you did he exact same job you should charge the exact same amount

kiwigirl

My dad does gardening as FT work since he retired, he charges £10 per hour for most of his customers, more if he does hedges though, most of the time he leaves the rubbish at the location but sometimes he takes the stuff to dump himself - very rarely now as he was asked to pay up as they realised he had tools in back of car once and running a business.

I wouldn't reduce the wages as your female, probably you'd be doing as much or more than the guy who declined it - there's a local gardner here who refuses work unless the work is big enough for his sit on mower to be used and he doesn't rake up the grass nor does a tidy up of borders just moves the soil and doesn't dig - so all his people were asking dad to do their gardens!

Also dad's customers are all quite old / ill so can't do the work themselves. My 2p worth is if they can afford a holiday home..... they can spend £10 per hour on the gardner! :rotfl: Remember to charge how long you spent on each trip to rubbish tip too.

mintymoneysaver

My brother in law charges £12 an hour for tidying up....I'm going to tell him he's charging too much!

spud30

wannabedebtfree wrote:

I'm in sunny Devon, another chap who was offered the job but said he was too busy, (then took on more work - my friend is very peeved with him) charges £10 an hour, but he is a burly bloke, I'm just a burly girl!!!

I think I might go for £8 an hour (bear in mind I have to pay tax on it......SOB.......) and a couple of quid for each trip to the dump.

Thanks for your input.

xx

Dont forget, if you slightly undercut the burly bloke, it could lead to more work. :beer:

Especially if he messes people about, as he seems to have done