To donate or not to donate…is the question. I need your opinion on this!

August 11, 2007 at 7:03 am | In issues, random, teens |

aa.jpg OR apple.jpg

SITUATION 1 :
Recently, I got an Apple i-pod for myself. I am no music enthusiast, but I bought it anyway, as my birthday was approaching fast. I decided to mark the occasion by getting something for myself. This sleek product by Apple cost be a little over 4500 Indian rupees ( US $ 100).Since the day I got it, I have just loaded just one song..and have not even touched it for the past 20 days!

SITUATION 2 :
The same day, I saw a very poor beggar and her baby on the street. She was waiting for my car to stop at the traffic signal. She approached me, in the hope that I will give her some money..5 rupees or so. I didn’t have change, but only had a 10 rupee note in my pocket. I gave her the money..as I didn’t have the heart to deny her. For the next 1 hour, I kept feeling uneasy ! I was constantly thinking about the money I gave the beggar. Usually people give 2-5 rupees, but I gave her 10. It was pinching me !!! I was feeling as if I had ‘lost’ some money unnecessarily !

THE QUESTION ?
I may sound like a very bad philanthropist in SITUATION 2. But while analyzing the above situations, I asked myself the following question:

Do we get a little too stingy while donating, than we do while splurging ?

For an individual like me, getting an i-pod was a waste of money( Sorry Mr Jobs ;) ). I already have a MP3 player on my NOKIA phone, which is fantastic. I have another portable i-pod and MP3 player at home. I hardly use these gadgets ! But still, spending $100 on an i-pod did not pinch me at all ! On the other hand, giving some loose change to the beggar was pinching me later ! Why ?? Am I a bad guy ? Am I not generous to people ? Or am I just like any other human being?
Are we all like this, or is it just me ? Do we think twice about the amount we plan to donate, as opposed to the money we spend on ourselves ? Is it right to do so ? YOU DECIDE!

29 Comments »

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  1. My husband and I don’t give change to street people; there are too many that are pulling a scam. Honestly, I once saw a man, in a 3 piece suit begging for change! It is this suspicion that tends to tighten our purse strings when we see beggars.

    Our stinginess, though, goes away as we donate on a monthly basis to about 15 different charities, including local ones.

    I would say, if the ipod isn’t really being used, sell it and maybe put some of the money toward charity.

    Comment by Jayne dArcy — August 11, 2007 #

  2. nice going ! We also donate to reliable charitable bodies annually. Selling an i- pod here in India is next to impossible..no one will be willing to pay more than 100 bucks here ! haha !

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 11, 2007 #

  3. Another thing is..that the poverty in India is unimaginable to the rest of the world..there are people here living under $1 ( rupees 40) a day.More than 100000 people die of starvation annually. :(

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 11, 2007 #

  4. A very thought provoking post.Though I am not from India, we have a very high poverty level here in South Africa which seems to be rising daily.There are always beggars wherever you look.I dont think you were wrong to feel bad about giving that lady that largish sum of money, we are programmed to believe that when we give money we must receive something back,when it works like that, we feel ok..but when we give and get nothing in return, we may tend to feel a little cheated.I think lats of people may feel similar, I know I have, when I gave some money to beggars, I felt somewhat niggled when I gave too much.So, I guess maybe sometimes we are a little stingy minded when giving money to beggars.I always try to give food to the beggars I am more familiar with…or donate to a charity.

    Comment by Jesse — August 11, 2007 #

  5. Yes Jesse..I agree with you.We either donate cheques to organizations, or give away oldish clothes to the poor..through reliable sources.

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 11, 2007 #

  6. My experience is exactly the opposite. I find it almost impossible to justify any big-ticket (or even medium-ticket) purchases, but have no qualms about throwing a couple of hundred dollars at a time into the poor box at the back of the church. I don’t give this as much thought as I should in the day-to-day cash flow (buying lunch, coffee, etc.), but when it comes time to spend a chunk of cash all in one place, I always stop to think about whether that purchase is the most important thing I could do with the money, and that factors in not only our family’s needs but also those of anyone else I’m in a position to touch.

    Comment by Tiffany — August 11, 2007 #

  7. yep…donation boxes are reliable. You know that ur money is going to the right person.

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 11, 2007 #

  8. My point is..that i should not have felt that way..while giving her the money. That’s why I am feeling guilty. If one gives with a pure heart…then it’s worth it. :) Maybe I have a lot of improvement to do as a human being. :)

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 11, 2007 #

  9. We all need improvement, none of us are Perfect..though you seem a fine human being…You will grow with experience.

    Comment by Jesse — August 11, 2007 #

  10. You know what ? I have just put aside 1500 bucks to donate to CRY..Child Relief and You

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 11, 2007 #

  11. I think that you are a good person. Because you have something inside that tells what is good and what is bad. Bad people don’t have that inside.
    I am careful with money too. I think that you spent too much money in something that you don’t valued (ipod). When you gave 10 rupees I think that you felt that you were being spendthrift.You thougth I have spent 100 rupees + 10 rupees = 110.
    To be thrifty, careful with money is don’t to be a materialistic. The materialistic people don’t value nothing, nor even things. Only like rubbing our noses with what they have. I think that you are a good boy :)

    Comment by Emma Alvarez — August 11, 2007 #

  12. I don’t think you can go wrong by giving to people in need. It may just bother you that you don’t know how that money was spent. But I think it is great that you gave and you should do it again as soon as possible. It will become easier and you will start to enjoy the feeling you’ll get knowing that you are sharing your blessings with someone in need.

    Comment by Ebabe — August 11, 2007 #

  13. We have to look at what motivates us more, I don’t give a second thought about spending $3,000 on a new telescope, but cringe at the thought of giving a few dollars to the needy, thats just wrong, thanks for making me think about this more.

    Comment by Bob Johnson — August 11, 2007 #

  14. well said guys :)

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 12, 2007 #

  15. Thanks Emma..for the encouragement ! :)

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 12, 2007 #

  16. It is wrong that we can’t give money away - but you should - I like what Emma says.

    Comment by Ross — August 13, 2007 #

  17. Thanks Ross :)

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 13, 2007 #

  18. If you feel the urge to give something, then go for it! Some may not be fortunate to have at least the basics in life. So giving them the support they need is already worthwhile! If you’re guilty of not sharing your blessings to those people, think twice, how about if you were on their shoes?

    http://www.writinerary.com

    Comment by Xerendipity — August 14, 2007 #

  19. You are absolutely right. I am 22 yrs old now..the sooner i learn the good things in life, the better. :)

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 14, 2007 #

  20. Its a rather tricky thing.Many beggars dupe us in to believing their sad faces and stories, and we get suspicious of all of them. How to tell if someone is telling truth and is genuine or not.Same goes for NGOs too. There are genuine as well as fake ones.

    Comment by sheetalahlawat — August 14, 2007 #

  21. Maybe you should just TRY it. Maybe you’d be surprised by how pure of heart you might find yourself. After all, you know what it feels like to buy an iPod…but maybe not what it feels like to drop 10% of your paycheck in a slot in the wall knowing that no one will ever know you put it there and you’ll never know what happened to it, but it might change some stranger’s life.

    Comment by Tiffany — August 14, 2007 #

  22. Well I “donated” an iPod to my SO for his birthday and also gave him 200 American bucks for his Cancer walk.

    I see it as an investment.

    The best way to donate is to donate your time.

    Would I have bought myself an iPod? No. I bought myself a laptop but made sure I got the cheapest deal for what I wanted.

    I’m more apt to spend on others than I do myself.

    Comment by Jordan — August 15, 2007 #

  23. The most annoying thing I experienced during my visit to India were the beggars. It was simply impossible to have a peaceful walk for a minute without 5, 10, 20 people coming to me asking for money… On a 200 metres I counted (no kidding, I did count) over 250 people that apporached me. To whom you give and to whom you don’t?

    I basically do not give to any beggars anywehere (and I travel a lot), if the only thing they do is to stretch their hands and ask for money. What right they have to ask me for my money? I do give money though to people who at least try to do something - sing, or play or dance or whatever.

    But, I have my list of charities that I contribute to every year. I choose for my own reasons. At the end of the year I decide the amount of money I am going to donate and I split it among the charities on my list.

    Your “feeling guilty about wasting money on iPod” - never feel guilty when you do something that makes you happy, even if it is for that moment only when you open that new box with a new gadget. It is your money, your life, enjoy it.

    You can always donate the iPod to one of your readers :-)

    Comment by milos — August 15, 2007 #

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  25. I used to give to charities but admit to feeling a little resentment at the amount it cost me, when there were other things I needed to buy. These days I will give, whenever I am able, to causes close to my heart and feel good about doing so. Life’s experiences have taught me that material things do not bring me happiness and that giving rather than taking brings lasting satisfaction.

    Despite this,I still sometimes forget and make an impulse buy without thought. Do not feel bad about your purchase but appreciate that you have learned a valuable lesson on this journey called life.

    Comment by Sueblimely — August 20, 2007 #

  26. Thanks Sueblimely.. :)
    I think I am learning a lot of new stuff every day in life :)

    Comment by aboyfromindia — August 20, 2007 #

  27. In India with so much poverty one has to “pick you battles” so to speak. I only gave to widows outside of temples whose sons had turned there backs on them. Anyone there knows what I mean.

    Luckily, we lived in a town off the beaten tourist track. By Indian standards it was fairly well off. In addition, after a few weeks we basically blended in & were considered part of the community. What beggars there were knew who I gave to and left me alone.

    The cities were different, but I developed the thick skin needed to transverse the places. A raised hand tended to run most of them off.

    Comment by beenthere — December 4, 2007 #

  28. i WORKED A GAS STATION AND SAW MEN IN MERCEDES AND LEXUS PARK AND START BEGGING FOR CHANGE, SELL THE CAR AND BUY A HONDA.
    MY SEND A DOLLAR PAGE>

    Comment by MAVERICK — December 11, 2007 #

  29. I felt a great pain like stabbing with a knife through my heart while reading your post.

    Hats off to you for the braveness you wrote about your thoughts.

    For me… its an endless pain to get,
    and an endless happiness to give.

    May God bless you.

    Regards
    Anthony Muthu

    http://anthonymuthu.blogspot.com/

    Comment by Anthony Muthu — May 5, 2008 #

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