I'm so weak!!

pennypinchingpenguin

i agree with what has been said previously - if we all gave to every charity we would all need to BECOME a charity to support ourselves!
if you can, pick one closest to you and then think about volunteering or do what i do, take my old clothes or books etc to charity shops - that way you are still doing your bit. i even buy my books from charity shops and take them back when finished - that way im helping twice. i usually split any unwanted items between a few shops, that way i feel im helping more than one. xxx

Superheavy

As I work for a bank, I know that on occasion unscrupulous people getting hold of bank details and setting up lots of DDs on people's a/c's can be a problem, albeit fairly rare.

I saw one case where a society a/c was getting three or four DD mandate requests coming through almost every day...phone companies, internet, etc etc. That's enough for me not to want to set it up.

As for your son Soolin...he sounds like one of the most conscientious people out there, just needs to realise there's a balance in all things.

oldtoolie

The whole point of MoneySavingExpert is to stop letting your money trickle away without knowing where it went. So stop being a wimp!

Save your money with all the tips here, plan your spending and budget for generous charitable donations to the causes you believe in.

Then you will sail past any street fundraisers with a confident smile on your face and a cheery, "no thanks, I already give."

Works every time for me.

Larry

Mountain_Goat_2

I haven't been stopped by any for a while, ever sine I learnt to perfect the "bulldozer" look! If you walk fast and look straight ahead with a look of steely determination, most have enough sense not to even try. It's become a real annoyance though, you can't seem to walk anywhere these days without a line of 10 of them trying to block your path. Chuggers should be banned!

Ianna

soolin wrote: »

Just keep walking, there ar eall being paid a lot of money to get people to sign up.

I was cross recently to discover that my student son who can't get a job in his uni town and relies on me to keep him going at uni was signed up by Red Cross and not only that but they phone him every month to get him to up his donation. he was up to £15 a month when he finally confessed to me he didn't know how to stop them and he couldn't even afford to buy himself any food.

Funny you should mention the RC. I donated £15 to them online last year and entered my address for giftaid. They've sent me a letter pack a month since with freebies like teabags and pens and all the packs have been large and technicolour, we're not talking a single sheet letter here. I don't mind being asked for money every month but I know a lot of people do so they must be seriously annoying some people. I do have a problem with the fact that so much of what I donated has basically been given back to me in blooming letters that I don't want!! It's such a waste of their funds.

OP: when stopped I politely smile and say that I give to 4 different charities monthly and do a lot of volunteer work so I can't actually give more than I do. If they get pushy I warn them that I don't appreciate it and if they continued I'd note their name and number and complain to the charity. Remember the problem isn't finding good causes to support, it's choosing which good causes you can afford to support. It's great that you want to help but maybe look at other ways like saving up your £2 coins and choosing a charity once a year to give it to or just offering your time. Charities love people to sell raffle tickets, do street collections, volunteer at a local service and that doesn't cost you a penny!