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
The other advice is solid, and I agree with it all as of this posting. I did want to focus on the money thing.
I think you should accept the money. Some people, particularly older generations, view money as sign of respect, and turning down is against their understanding of social protocol.
You could even use it to get her a nice gift (flowers, cards, gift basket, etc).