Free housing has an expiration date.

In this story, one working sister apparently missed the memo.

She moved in, contributed little, and let OP cover nearly everything.

Then OP finally requested help.

Let’s check out the details below.

AITA for expecting my sister to pay for our groceries while we watch their dog for three weeks?

My boyfriend and I (he’s 21 and male, I’m 20 and female) are currently watching my sister and her husband’s (35 and 39) dog for three weeks during summer holidays while they’re away.

We are staying in their house for the duration of their trip.

The dog is adorable, but still a puppy, so he’s quite a handful.

We have to walk him (according to their schedule) every 2/3 hours, he needs mental stimulation and we have to watch him closely the whole time as he will otherwise eat/jump on anything.

Let’s learn a little more about their context.

My boyfriend and I are both students with resits at the beginning of August, so we both are trying to study a bit while we are here.

We live on our own, so while we are staying here, we are still paying the bills for our own apartment.

I work ten hours a week, while he’s still looking for a job after he got laid off beginning of May.

So at the moment we have quite some expenses (university tuition and books, our own apartment rent, gas, electricity, etc.), and neither of us is supported by our parents.

And dog-sitting isn’t an unfamiliar occurrence for this couple.

We have watched their dog before and never asked for any money.

While it would be nice, we’re not doing it for money and genuinely just to help them out.

We love the dog, I love my sister, so I don’t mind doing it at all.

There’s some frustration here and there, but we always manage to figure it out.

However, there was a small issue at hand.

Due to the dog being a bit of a menace, we can’t go out longer than one, or tops two hours.

So doing groceries at the nearest store is not doable due to the time, and weekly groceries isn’t doable for one person (carrying drinks, etc for a long way).

My sister offered to order groceries for us, and also told our parents this would be the case.

We assumed that meant for the entire stay, as we’re not asking for anything else and we don’t get anything out of this, while we’re watching their dog and house.

But all was not as it seemed.

However, she just placed our order and send me a message asking me to pay her back for the groceries.

I didn’t include anything in the order I wouldn’t have done otherwise, however the shop they order from is over twice as expensive as the shop my boyfriend and I go to at home (they also have a store here).

Additionally, both my sister and her husband work full time and have high positions at a bank.

Their garden is bigger than the entire apartment that my boyfriend and I rent, and their house would easily be considered a villa. It’s not a secret that they have quite a bit of money.

Let’s see how she was feeling about being asked to pay for the groceries.

Am I wrong for expecting them to pay our groceries?

She said that they would (but apparently only meant the first time, which totalled up to about 20 euros as she said we can always order more).

I also feel it would be fair as a small thank you for doing this?

AITA?

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It’s clear that this woman and her boyfriend never asked for or expected payment for caring for the dog, but they’re right: her well off sister and her husband could really pay for two students’ groceries for a week as a gesture of gratitude.

They’re saving them a fortune in kennel fees, after all.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit thought about this.

This person agreed that, for the amount of money they are saving by having her sister dogsit, the couple could at least pay for their groceries.

While this Redditor urged them to be clear about their terms in future.

Others encouraged her to have a forthright (and evidence-supported) conversation with her sister.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a sister who refuses to give up her own holiday traditions to spend the day with her family at her brother’s cabin.

And this person explained from experience that providing groceries is the polite way.

After covering the rent, utilities, and groceries alone, OP asked her employed sister to contribute.

Her sister invoked family and threatened to move home, where their parents also charge adult children.

Turns out the family card doesn’t cover utilities.