Ask Lemmy

I hate when they come by the car and look in your car.. if you move a little they think your gonna give them money..

Sucks I know but come on what’s up with the pressure ?

I tell them I'm homeless myself and wish them good luck.

My grandmother who raised me always did the "I don't have any money on me" thing. And I always followed suit until pretty recently. But I got to thinking more about it and eventually concluded that I should always keep a $20 or two in my pocket ready to give.

And then the pandemic came along and I didn't go out much. And now I work from home full time and don't often go anywhere that I'm likely to run into folks asking for money. But I have put that into practice a few times and felt good about it.

There was a woman with a sign standing outside the post office. I ignored her on the way in with the intention of giving her a $20 on the way out. And I made good on that intention. It was scary, but only because I'm kindof an agoraphobe. Heh.

I do have the means to go handing out $20s willy-nilly. And of course with how infrequently I'm likely to pass folks asking for money out in the world, the rate at which I give is tiny. But I do give when that situation comes up.

I'm not saying you should give $20s out to folks. But if your financial situation is stable, I'd say you should give what you can in those situations.

And the fact that these thoughts/questions/concerns are rattling around in your mind are probably a sign of personal growth, so good on you for that.

I donate to a charity that I know will help (they've helped family members in the past), Shelter, but I genuinely say to those who ask me around my town that I have no change

At home: Nothing. Genuine homelessness isn't really a problem. There's this joke that we have a government programme called "winter" that takes care of this. Truth is, there are actual government programmes in place that takes care of this as well - It is written in law that anyone who cannot afford a place to stay, as well as basic necessities will have this covered.

Abroad: When not in what causes fox news talking heads to clutch their pearls over socialist hellscape societies (Norway), I'm a lot more giving. Plus, I usually carry some currency that I will no longer need once I leave. I especially remember the happy outcry of a beggar I walked past while visiting this developing country. I was on my way to pick up some supplies the last day before heading for home. Repeated "Bless you!"-s once he realized that the stack of leftover cash included quite a few 20$ bills.

In short, he obviously needed them more than I, so I gave what I could.

Oh, and if it counts, I often give to buskers as some of them are actually pretty good.

I don't carry cash on me. I'm mostly not lying. It's rare that I have any. I use my phone for 99% of my daily purchases.

I’ve struggled with this like you for years. My empathy fights with my practicality.

I usually carry some cash and if I have small bills I may give a buck or two to someone. This is more and more rare for me because it’s hard to know who really needs it.

More often, I usually just smile and look them in the eye to acknowledge their humanity. If they ask I just say I’m sorry I don’t have cash.

I give to the obviously mentally impaired ones the most. The last person I gave a 20 to looked straight through me as he talked to god. There is only so much you can do. I know it sucks.

May not be the most polite thing to do, but when outside I always wear headphones walk at fast pace and don't hear anyone no matter who speaks to be.

I've noticed that as long as I have my headphones on, even if they aren't playing, most ppl won't speak to me anyway.

My brother has told me many times before that giving them money ain't gonna do nothing because that's money that they can use for drugs if they're addicted. He says buying them food is better.

As messed up as it is, kinda gotta agree, especially since zi don't know who's an addict and who's not.

I normally ignore them because I don't keep physical cash on me unless I'm making an as discrete as possible purchase. It may sound kinda cruel, but I find it easy for me to just ignore them and pretend they don't exist. Don't know whether that's more of a personality thing with me or because of my autism already making me less likely to wanna deal with people in general.

Usually im with my kids, why would you ask a parent with kids for money? Any money I have is for the kids

I used to give them a cigarette. I quit though.

I feed them, get them any medical care they need and help them get into section 8 housing.

And then they introduce me to their friends to do the same for them.

Or they were just trying to play on people’s sympathy for money and avoid me like the plague.

If I have change or a spare buck, I give it to them. I don't care what they spend it on.

I give them negative five dollar bills so they actually owe me moneys. Gotta love UOIs!

Say "no sorry" and move along, its not a problem for individuals to solve.

I’d be much more likely to give money to someone trying to sell something or offering a service. They don’t even try anymore. Miss the old gas can routine.

I'll give sometimes if they're not pushy. If i don't want to, sometimes I'll tell them "I just gave all my change to that guy back there"

Keep an amount of change on you that you won’t miss, it doesn’t have to be 20s or even 1s. Even if it’s just 20 or 30 cents, it will be appreciated. And if it’s not, that person either has some serious mental health issues that are making them lash out (most likely) or they’re scamming (unlikely but not impossible). You’re not going to look like the asshole in that situation if you just walk away.

I feel really guilty and to avoid feeling worse by making eye contact, I just ignore them. The first time I encountered somebody homeless after being on my own, I felt like a huge asshole because all I could say was sorry while walking by them with grocery's. I didn't have cash on me at the time. Ever since then, I've just always ignored them. I'm what they call a hypocrite. Sucks

I have given sporadically in the past, depending on how poor I was at the time, etc.

I don't carry cash at all anymore, though.

Shake my head, say "sorry man, God bless," and keep walking. I'm not religious, but they often are.

Donate to real charities that actually help people change their lives, or to food banks or shelters that support them. Giving to individuals feels nicer (or worse to avoid) due to the directness, but is ultimately not as helpful.

I give whatever change I have, but when that's gone:

"Sorry. I get paid electronically and pay for damn near everything electronically, the only time I touch cash I have to pay extra to get it."

now I have been hit with the: can you venmo me five?

I really don't have cash