weekly budgets...

basketcase

saintly wrote:

She has just called me a scrooge and tight all over the office so feel about an inch tall, tellin me that i should manage my money better ( duh i do know that) and bring more money into work!!!

You're not the one who should feel an inch tall - she is! :mad:

I'd go for the jugular (but in a quiet, dignified manner :rotfl: )

I'd tell her calmly (in front of the whole office, like she is doing) that you're not tight, you're poor. You don't have any more money to spend on essentials, let alone "bring into work" and that Christmas this year is going to be hard enough as it is, without pressure from people like her.

You could also point out that Scrooge didn't want to give out of what he DID have, not what he didn't. And it was Scrooge who didn't understand the plight of the poor in a season of plenty, not the poor themselves. So who's the real Scrooge then?

BAH! :mad: (Though not "Humbug!")

Teddysudds

You should be proud of yourself. It must be horrible to be made to feel so sad but you've definitely done the right thing. Keep your chin up!

lady_fuschia

You know, the fact that she feels the need to put you down in front of everyone suggests she's probably quite an insecure person (bullies generally are). Perhaps she's feeling a bit guilty about her own over-spending???

lady_fuschia

I know its a bit cheeky but you could try saying very loudly "I'll be giving MY £4 to charity. I'd much rather see it go to some of those poor starving children in Africa." (and lay it on thick about how some people don't even get to eat on Christmas day at all) that'll soon shut her up.

tyllwyd

I think it is completely unacceptable - have you spoken to someone in your HR department about it? She has no right to bully you over a voluntary donation.

poorbutrich

Too annoyed to give any useful advice! Don't take any notice of the sad, sad woman. If humiliating people in front of their colleagues gives her pleasure, she doesn't deserve a second of your time - ignore her.

saintly_2

thanks guys you have made me feel a hell of a lot better, she has gone home now, she only works part time so am happy about that.

I have just spoke to one of my managers about it and he is in agreement, he is on a £20 a week budget and he has forked out £12 this week on collections and sponsorship monies. We are starting a revolution hehe.

I was meant to be going out with them last friday on a night out but i didnt go because of cash and its a good job really coz my OH grandad died so people are not having a go anymore.

Sat here now, smiling because you lot are so nice and I've got the company credit card sat on front of me an its screaming shoes shoes shoes!! good job i know i cant spend on this one lol!!

thanks everyone.

xx

pusscat

Poor you - how insensitive and crass! Big hugs to you

If you want a get-out clause which will make her squirm (it will involve a little white lie mind.......) announce to the whole offfice, loudly and crossly that you find the materialism and commercialism/wastage of christmas offensive and you had decided to make a contribution of all of the money that you would have wasted on Christmas cards/secret santa/crappy bits of tinsel/xmas parties/office drinks to a worthwhile cause such as homeless people/famine struck countries/AIDS relief/Christian Aid/Oxfam etc

Tell her that you think this is a far more worthwhile gesture than the tacky commercialism that is her christmas. The fact that you were trying to do it quietly and with the minimum of publicity has meant that she has now forced you to tell everyone about your personal gesture to *insert charity here*.

If you want to make it a little less of a lie then make a donation of what you can afford (the widows mite and all that) to your charity.

We have done this in my family for years, we spend a maximum of £5 on each other (except the little kids) and then all write a cheque for whatever we would have spent (no one else sees the cheque so there is no pressure and no competition) and we nominate a charity that we think would benefit from our dontation each year. This year it will be buying goats in central africa, last year was a roof for a school in Ghana that my Dad had been teaching at - far more rewarding than a crappy bit of tinsel.....

Alternatively, you could just drop the dirty dishcloth in her tea for a few seconds the next time you make her a cup :-)

Smile girl, she is the one with the personality problem......

CAFCGirl

I'd echo a previous post, talk to a superior.

Highlight the fact to them that it is unlawful to enforce another religion upon someone in the workplace (some jargon like that) would she still have asked for a donation if she knew you were Muslim/Sikh/Hindi?

No I can bet she bl&&dy well wouldnt! Cheeky rude son of .......

And this does constitute bullying in the workforce, you can bet her £4 donation to the XMAS decs came out of a cash advance from a CC!

By the way why have xmas decs in an office? Dont you guys get a few days off over xmas?

My advice, talk to a superior, get her in the doody doo as it were, bring in your own xmas decs for your desk, screw her basically, and dont let other people see that it has bothered you, chances are more people actually begrudge paying up but she's bullied them into it.

Failing that, have a quiet word in her ear, stand up tall, march on over and lean over and whisper
"The reason why, not that its any of your business, that I do not want to participate in this, is not through lack of funds, but I do not believe that people should be bullied into contributing, it should be a choice, whether to, and as to how much they contribute, so it is because of YOUR actions that I wont participate, so thats on your conscience not mine!"

melaniec_2

I'm so glad you spoke to a manager about her behavour and he totally understood your position. I was really upset to hear how you had been treated. I hope the manager will speak to her.

I can't believe that you need to spend £4 per person on decorations she probably has a very wealthy husband and throws out all her decorations each january to buy new the next.