Making Senior Care a Shared Responsibility: How Tech Apps Like Zeta and Splitwise Help Families Manage Costs

Caring for aging parents or grandparents is one of the most meaningful responsibilities adult children and grandchildren can share. Yet, it often comes with a financial burden that can be difficult to manage—especially when the costs fall unevenly on one or two family members. From medical bills to home care aides, transportation, prescriptions, and even groceries, the expenses can pile up quickly.

Enter the age of digital finance apps. Tools like Zeta and Splitwise, originally built to simplify cost-sharing among roommates, partners, or friends, are increasingly being adopted by families who want a transparent, fair, and easy way to share the financial responsibilities of elder care. These platforms offer an effective solution for keeping track of who’s paying for what, minimizing misunderstandings, and ensuring that no one feels financially overwhelmed.

The Challenge: Uncoordinated Care, Uneven Burden

In many families, one sibling or relative often takes on more of the caregiving duties—and the costs—than others. This can lead to resentment, burnout, or financial strain. Even when everyone is willing to contribute, without a clear system, tracking expenses and reimbursements can become messy and emotionally charged.

That’s where apps like Splitwise and Zeta come in. These tools make financial collaboration easier and help families stay organized and transparent.

How Splitwise Helps: Simplicity and Transparency

Splitwise is a user-friendly app that allows multiple people to split expenses easily and keep track of who owes what. It’s ideal for recurring costs or one-time expenses, and its core features are perfectly suited for managing shared senior care costs:

• Track shared expenses: Whether it's a co-pay at a doctor's appointment, a new walker, or monthly groceries, anyone in the group can log the expense.

• Automatic calculations: Splitwise automatically calculates each person’s share, so there’s no need to manually crunch numbers.

• Payment reminders: Gentle nudges keep everyone accountable and prevent forgotten repayments.

• Exportable reports: You can download summaries of expenses, making it easier to keep records for tax purposes or financial planning.

  
  

This means one family member can pay upfront for a medication delivery or home repair, and the app will divvy up the cost automatically among all contributors.

How Zeta Helps: Collaborative Family Budgeting

Zeta is another powerful tool, originally created for couples and families who want to manage their finances together. It’s ideal for families who want a more holistic view of shared caregiving budgets. Key features include:

• Shared wallets and budgets: Families can create a dedicated shared wallet for elder care expenses and set a collective budget.

• Bill pay and tracking: You can schedule recurring payments like in-home nurse fees, medical alert services, or transportation costs.

• Expense categorization: Helps track how much is being spent on healthcare, food, transportation, and housing, providing insight into cost trends.

• Custom permissions: Different family members can have different access levels, so primary caregivers can manage day-to-day payments, while others monitor or contribute.

  
  

Zeta works especially well when families want to co-manage financial goals, such as saving for long-term care or planning for assisted living.

Real-Life Example: A Grandparent Care Circle

Imagine three siblings and two grandchildren forming a “care circle” for their 82-year-old mother, who still lives at home but needs help with groceries, medical appointments, and a part-time home health aide. They decide to:

• Use Splitwise to record every expense as it happens—one sibling pays for the prescription delivery, another pays for the wheelchair ramp, and a grandchild covers an Uber to a doctor’s appointment. Everyone sees what’s been spent and settles up monthly.

  
  

• Use Zeta to manage a shared wallet with automatic monthly contributions from each family member. The shared wallet pays recurring bills like the home aide’s paycheck and medical alert subscription.

This approach not only ensures fairness but also builds a stronger sense of teamwork and emotional support.

Final Thoughts: Technology with a Heart

At its best, caregiving is an act of love. But love doesn’t pay the bills—and ignoring the financial side of elder care can lead to burnout and family conflict. By adopting digital tools like Splitwise and Zeta, families can bring clarity, fairness, and cooperation to the financial aspect of caregiving.

These tools won’t replace the tough conversations or the emotional labor of elder care, but they can make it easier for families to show up—financially and emotionally—when their seniors need them most.

Careworthy Home Care understands that every senior and every family is different. We welcome private pay clients and can accommodate many financial scenarios including families who use internal crowdfunding to pool resources to pay for in home care services. While apps like Splitwise or Zeta are amazing tech tools, the most important factors in family-wide financial collaborations are transparency and a heart to do so.

We are able to help in a variety of ways including

• Customized care plans; as little as 3 hours per week

• Sending invoices and receipts to multiple individuals

• Providing information on potential funding sources

For more information about how Careworthy can help you and your loved ones navigate in home care, please give our office a call.