AITA for asking to be paid for house-sitting after I'd already offered to do it free?
AITA"I paid the last sitter," my cousin said while showing me where the spare key was. "You offering is a huge help."
Until that sentence, I'd agreed to check her house for five days without payment. I'd offered because I live nearby and she was taking her first break in months. The plan was three visits to water plants, collect mail and check that things looked as she'd left them.
When I heard she'd paid someone before, I asked what she'd paid. She said $90, but that person had made daily visits. I asked if she could give me $50 for my three.
She said she'd accepted my offer as a family favor and hadn't budgeted for another sitter this time. I replied that if the work was worth paying for before, it should be worth paying for now.
I don't know everything the previous person did. The duties she has asked me to do haven't changed since I offered. What changed was learning that another arrangement involved payment.
She says she can ask someone else, but she's leaving in two days and thought this was settled. I still have time to do the visits. I want to be valued, but I'm wondering whether I turned a comparison into a new price after she relied on my offer. AITA?