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I have no problems

April 1st, 2009 at 04:53 am

I was at another site where there are a few members who are struggling with their personal finances. When you get even just a glimpse of their lives, know their names and faces, and the hardships they've had to endure in their everyday life, well... it just makes everything that I've ever gone through seem petty and shallow.

Here you have people hoping that their husbands will find a job soon, worried they might be evicted from their homes, and praying their daughter will be able to win the battle against cancer.... And here I am, trying to decide if I really want to upgrade to a set of surround sound speakers.

No. I didn't upgrade my audio speakers.

I probably shouldn't be saying this, because this will probably make me seem like some kind of attention-grabbing, self-centered jerk, but I felt so bad, especially for that girl with the cancer that I donated to her family's charity that's tied to the American Cancer Society.

I double checked before I donated to make sure it wasn't a scam or anything, and everything looked legit.

It wasn't money I'm going to miss anyways. I probably would've just ended up wasting it on video games or speakers or something.

I tried to stay anonymous, but didn't realize that they somehow show your real name, or at least parts of it, when you donate. That's rather problematic, but I had to use my real name because I was donating with my credit card. Fortunately, I don't think anyone can tie me to my online identity over there.

Oh, and don't worry about adding any more contributions. I gave them the full amount they needed to reach their goal, so they're all set....

I do have a question though. It wasn't a big sum or anything, but charitable donations are tax deductible right? I've never filed a charitable deduction before. Anybody know what is involved?

11 Responses to “I have no problems”

  1. Amber Says:
    1238560323

    The saying is if you think you have problems look at some one else or something like that
    I think it was very nice of you to make that donation. You're not a jerk, I think it just has made you realize to appreciate what you have

  2. baselle Says:
    1238563402

    I prefer to donate anonymously also. The name was necessary to allow the entity to charge your credit card. I'm sure that if you followed up with the American Cancer Society, they could book your pledge anonymously. I know that if you gave to us ... I could book ya that way. Smile

  3. creditcardfree Says:
    1238592455

    I sure don't think you sound like a jerk. We tend to get wrapped up in our own lives, whether we have problems or not. I think your experience with that family, just brought to the front of your mind how grateful you are. That's what I'm see you saying.

  4. Aleta Says:
    1238592625

    I think that what you did came from a generous heart. The great freedom of being out of debt is that it allows you to do just what you did.

    When I was a little girl and complained to my father, he would say "There was a man who complained about not having any shoes and then he met a man who had no feet". I have always remembered those words.

  5. disneysteve Says:
    1238593080

    I don't think you sound like a jerk at all. I think we all need that dose of reality occasionally to make us appreciate all that we have. It is easy to wallow in the bad stuff that befalls us, but most of us lead a pretty charmed life compared to lots of others.

    I'm healthy. My wife, a cancer survivor, is healthy. My daughter, who we almost lost in a car accident 6 years ago, is healthy. Sure, my investment portfolio is down a lot this year, but I've got more savings than some people could ever imagine having. I've got a great job. My wife has a good job. My daughter is a straight-A student. We own a nice home and 2 cars and have everything we really need and then some.

    We try and do our part to help others, support charities with both our money and our time. Even hanging out at savingadvice.com is a way I help others by sharing saving and investing advice.

    So you aren't a jerk at all. You showed sympathy/empathy with someone struggling and took action to help. The jerk would be the guy who saw the struggling and went out and bought the speakers anyway.

  6. Ima saver Says:
    1238594993

    I think you did a very nice thing! Thanks!!

  7. Phenomenal Woman Says:
    1238597396

    You should get a form or some sort of document in the mail. Keep this form when you do your taxes for this year and you should get some sort of deduction.

    You had made someone else's life better or easier in a sense knowing they are not alone anymore and that there are still kind people out there.

  8. ceejay74 Says:
    1238604846

    If you itemize deductions, you can put your charitable donations on Sched A.

    Even if you don't normally itemize, give it a shot. When you add in your state income/sales tax, your large charitable contribution may push you higher than a standard deduction. You can also itemize some other things, such as cost of getting taxes prepared and car licensing fees, that may make it worth it.

  9. dmontngrey Says:
    1238605308

    I struggle with this stuff myself. I have a lot of debt, but I also have a good job, a roof over my head, food, not too many major worries at the moment. I'm so hard on my mom to NOT SPEND MONEY and she's doing better about it. Then she calls me the other day to tell me about her coworker - retirement age but works full time, her husband is dying of cancer, and they have no money. She was going to drive him to the ocean over the weekend and didn't care that she didn't have any money. My mom slipped her $10 - all she had on her. Yeah my mom struggles to afford everything, but in the grand scheme of things she doesn't have any problems either! She survived her cancer and unrelated hysterectomy - she's fine.

  10. fern Says:
    1238628081

    Normally, charitable donations ARE tax-deductible, however, if you make a donation to benefit a specific individual, the IRS does not give you a tax break.

    I only learned this very recently myself.

  11. Broken Arrow Says:
    1238642220

    Really? If so, then oh well. Learn something new every day!

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