Kindest money-related act of kindness of 2021?

BethP

In Tesco queue to pay just before Christmas.  Elderly gentleman in front of us searching for money to pay - he couldn’t find his wallet.  I stepped forward and handed him a £10 note to pay for his groceries.  He was so relieved and kept asking us for our name and address to repay us but we said no; please accept this as a gift and maybe pay it forward.

BethP

Oh, I’ve remembered something we did when we still had our car, so a few years ago. We were in Tesco and saw an elderly gentleman several times in different aisles. He seemed quite frail. Reminded me of my Dad.  As we drove out of the car park, I spotted him at the bus stop across the road and asked my husband to offer him a lift home - he had to be fairly local.  We offered him a lift and he thanked us. He lived one mile away, just around the corner from my Dad.  As he got out of our car, he said, “Thank you very much; saved me getting my car out.”  We chuckled as we drove home.  Bless

Maat

Not a random act of kindness this one, but what it was for was quite random. My cousin found me on Facebook a couple of weeks ago (hard to do, I'm rarely on the site any more). She asked if she could borrow £8 from me so she could top up her fuel prepay card and have a bath. I transferred £10 immediately because I knew how important this was for her. Like me, she has bad mental health issues and being able to enjoy something so simple and so comforting would bring her a little peace of mind.

Something I've been doing since I discovered I was autistic is participating in university studies on autism. They can be quite interesting but you also sometimes get a reward for doing so - often shopping vouchers. I always send the codes on to the Manchester Winter Shelter so they can get new items to help homeless people. Such seemingly small things that we do but which can have a big impact on other people - mostly by showing that someone cares about them.

mumf

A work colleague approached me last year.She said I was the only person she trusted to be discreet. She had an advance on her wages the previous month,but obviously was in a mess to the tune of the same amount the next month. Her margin for emergency was/ is slim. Her question was “ do you think management would advance me again?” I asked how much. It was £20. I said I would lend it to her,and did that . Two weeks later ,bless her ,on payday she gave me the cash back. I told her to keep it and get straight. It may as well have been a hundred pounds to her,but I have been there myself. That day,my wife had a puncture on her car at work. A customer saw her distress,and changed the wheel quite gladly. Good deeds pay forward.

LameWolf

I have been doing the Royal Mail quality control thing where panelists post test items to other panelists, for about seven years now. This work is "paid for" in stamps - 12 normal 1st class and 4 large letter 1st class stamps for each month you're actually working (it's usually about 6 months on and 6 months off). A few months ago I realised I had a SABLE stash of stamps, so I sent 30 books of normal and 30 books of large letter to a local animal charity (animals being my Good Cause of choice). They were over the moon! It was only later when I did the sums I realised I'd sent them over £400 worth of stamps; and I still have plenty for my own use.

SadieO

Maat said:

Something I've been doing since I discovered I was autistic is participating in university studies on autism. They can be quite interesting but you also sometimes get a reward for doing so - often shopping vouchers. I always send the codes on to the Manchester Winter Shelter so they can get new items to help homeless people. Such seemingly small things that we do but which can have a big impact on other people - mostly by showing that someone cares about them.

This is a doubly nice thing to do as your participation in the research will contribute to discoveries/advances that could help others in the future