My neighbor is in her 70s. I’m in my late 20s and live in the apartment upstairs from her, so when it snows I like to help clean off her car/shovel out her parking spot. Today she tried to pay me after I helped her. I don’t want to accept the money, but want her to still feel comfortable asking for help/not feel like she’s taking advantage of me. How should I go about this? Maybe ask her for something small so she feels like she’s helping me too? It’s never any trouble helping her with the snow removal, it never takes more than half an hour
Just be clear you are an option for help if needed, other than that be nice and don’t over worry. People with limited mobility like to run their own lives, just the same as we all do. It sounds like you’ve been a pleasant neighbor, keep it up and continue shoveling if you want. Snow is usually considered fair game for anyone willing, and people almost always appreciate its removal. If you don’t want pay, say it’s not something you accept for snow removal. Pretty normal for people who grew up in snowy cities to volunteer some shoveling time. If they ask you to stop, you should heed their request.