Are you getting more philanthropic as you get older?

[Kingfisher101]

I give away various clothing to Charity shops and also sports gear to the Alpkit recycling initiative. Where I can sell them on Ebay I will do and I have also given loads of spare kit and bike bits to the local bike project for others to benefit. If I can make some money first myself out of an item I will do, but if its low value items then they are recycled through the above. I always have a few items on Ebay and am currently selling vinyl records from the 1980s. I've also sold loads of shoes and boots, I probably had about 50 pairs and am down to about 10 or so now which is enough.
I don't want loads of stuff, because you can only wear so much etc then you just get stuck moving things in big bags around the house, upstairs in my case. A few years ago a fireman came to fit some smoke alarms and said that the stairway and upstairs needed sorting out because there was so much stuff it was a fire risk.
I wont do jobs and favours for people really unless there was a total emergency because there's too many liberty takers. Elderly people have family who are perfectly capable of doing jobs for them as far as I'm concerned its for them to step up.
A friend was telling me that a neighbour who was 90 gashed her leg and called him and his wife at 6.30 am to go round. They got dressed and ran round. She needed the walk in medical centre so they rang her daughter who came round and said that she couldn't take her Mum because she had a sports club at 10 am, so would the neighbours mind taking her? My mate's wife agreed and he was really annoyed as he didn't want to do it etc as it was for the daughter to do. No one offered them petrol money or anything.

 

[stephec]

Do I give stuff away to those less fortunate? Not that much now as when I have given it personally to someone I've had non to grateful acceptances of my offerings. I've given nice clothes to folk, only to be told they sold them on fleabay for a few quid. I've also had those I've given stuff to come knocking on my door asking if I have anything else for them. I do however put unwanted clothes in those Salvation Army clothes skips, but that's when I want to get rid of them, not to do some kind of charitable thing. Sorry if I sound 'uncaring', but I always ask myself who knocks on my door asking If I need anything. The answer to that is no one. I have to look after number one!

Accrington, the only town where the tramps look smarter than most of the locals, and now we know why. 😂😂😂

 

[bikingdad90]

I’m probably one the few of the younger generation who tithes a minimum of 9% of my net income, it’s non negotiable and is done out of faith but I am aware that if our family members were to look at our finances they’d probably fall off their chairs as it amounts to £k’s per year before gift aid.

I don’t see it as philanthropy or a requirement of faith, just that I am in a comfortable position and can afford to do so and still live and build a modest nest egg for rainy days even if it means missing out on “necessities” such as that PCP car loan, holidays abroad every year etc. I see it as something that will continue right through to my death as I am one of the odd ones who has never “lived” as they like to say. I have never drank so much I’ve puked, don’t see the fun or attraction in it as well as not seeing the need for a Frappuccino from Costa everyday or even the latest iPhone.

I do like random acts such as paying for someone’s shopping/fuel etc.

 

[steveindenmark]

I thought this was about stamps.

But I am 66 😁

 

[PK99]

I thought this was about stamps.

But I am 66 😁

And need new specs.

 

[Beebo]

A friend was telling me that a neighbour who was 90 gashed her leg and called him and his wife at 6.30 am to go round. They got dressed and ran round. She needed the walk in medical centre so they rang her daughter who came round and said that she couldn't take her Mum because she had a sports club at 10 am, so would the neighbours mind taking her? My mate's wife agreed and he was really annoyed as he didn't want to do it etc as it was for the daughter to do. No one offered them petrol money or anything.

Frankly the neighbour needs to tell the family member to step up. A sports club meeting is not more important than taking your mum to the doctors.

 

[Kingfisher101]

Frankly the neighbour needs to tell the family member to step up. A sports club meeting is not more important than taking your mum to the doctors.

He was going to but his wife told him to just "leave it" presumably because she didn't want any arguing etc.
My friend has a lot on with his own Mum who has dementia and he has to go and see her everyday and sort things out etc.

 

[All uphill]

Do I give stuff away to those less fortunate? Not that much now as when I have given it personally to someone I've had non to grateful acceptances of my offerings. I've given nice clothes to folk, only to be told they sold them on fleabay for a few quid. I've also had those I've given stuff to come knocking on my door asking if I have anything else for them. I do however put unwanted clothes in those Salvation Army clothes skips, but that's when I want to get rid of them, not to do some kind of charitable thing. Sorry if I sound 'uncaring', but I always ask myself who knocks on my door asking If I need anything. The answer to that is no one. I have to look after number one!

Ah Accy!

I've got some old tat I can drop round to you. You'd have to wash and iron it of course, but with a bit of darning and patching you should be OK.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

No, but I get grumpier and less tolerant of muppets every day

 

[Slick]

My philanthropy probably relates to the harsh treatment of young guys who came to work for me when I was in my prime. I didn't suffer fools, and was quite harsh if they were unable and meet my expectations. I moved into a job that allowed me to support apprentices with zero commercial pressure, and I loved it. I've moved on again to a backroom role, but I'm still take my motivation from making sure we are still supporting our apprentices as best we can.

Mrs Slick is a bit different, and was always kind and generous in a number of ways. I've got loads of examples of this but none more so illustrated her generosity more than when her brothers mate brought home this broken ring that looked like the cheapest of costume jewellery. This poor guy was brought up with nothing and he still had nothing, so hawked this ring round the pub that weekend, hoping to fetch the price of a couple of pints for it. He soon discovered that he couldn't even give it away, and eventually Mrs Slick asked him if she could have it, and he quickly handed it over. A number of years passed and Mrs Slick eventually got it valued and was the only one not to be surprised that should it be repaired, it would be worth around 18k. She agreed to pay I think around 2k to have it repaired and it sat in her jewellery Box for another couple of years when the guy and his brother were killed out their head with drugs in a road accident. Mrs Slick knew the family would still have very little and would struggle to cover a funeral for the 2 boys, so she took the ring to their mum and told her the whole story. There were tears as it dawned on her what Mrs Slick was handing over, and she eventually sold it for a bit less than its valuation, but got 15k for it. I'm still not sure I would have done the same thing, but it was a good thing to come out of horrendous circumstances.

 

[Yellow Fang]

I find I am becoming more of a ba5t@rd as I grow older. I think it was always latent. I used to think I was good person; now I am not so sure. I am definitely more curmudgeonly. I reckon when you are younger you have to be a bit more careful what you say and do, or it's career and social suicide for you. When you approach retirement age, or work unsupervised, you do not have to watch your step so much. That said, I reckon most people are at their worst in their teens, and that is when most people ship a great deal of their psychological damage.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Ah Accy!

I've got some old tat I can drop round to you. You'd have to wash and iron it of course, but with a bit of darning and patching you should be OK.

I saw one bloke I gave some of my clothes to wearing one of those items one day. Not beating about the bush he was pissed up and had spewed up down the front of the cashmere sweater that cost me over £100 a year or so earlier. Then a week or so later he knocked on my door asking if I had anymore stuff 'I didn't want'. It wasn't a case of not wanting, more of giving, but that must've gone over his head. In another case, I gave a retro Blackburn Rovers almost new/hardly worn jersey to a former neighbour down on his luck after losing his job. I washed, ironed and gift wrapped the top for him. After a few times of seeing him, but not in that shirt I asked him if he'd worn it yet. He told me he hadn't worn it as he sold it the day after I gave it him for a tenner on fleabay! Those two cases taught me to never again give stuff thinking you were doing the receiver a favour!

 

[gbb]

I'm very charitable to family but perhaps like Accy, I never donate to charities. They've become too corporate, you can't (or I can't be bothered) to unravel which has bigwigs siphoning off the cash they get. I refuse to support that kind of thing. Clothes etc to charity shops yes, but financial donations...no.
But for family, yes.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I saw one bloke I gave some of my clothes to wearing one of those items one day. Not beating about the bush he was pissed up and had spewed up down the front of the cashmere sweater that cost me over £100 a year or so earlier. Then a week or so later he knocked on my door asking if I had anymore stuff 'I didn't want'. It wasn't a case of not wanting, more of giving, but that must've gone over his head. In another case, I gave a retro Blackburn Rovers almost new/hardly worn jersey to a former neighbour down on his luck after losing his job. I washed, ironed and gift wrapped the top for him. After a few times of seeing him, but not in that shirt I asked him if he'd worn it yet. He told me he hadn't worn it as he sold it the day after I gave it him for a tenner on fleabay! Those two cases taught me to never again give stuff thinking you were doing the receiver a favour!

I take this was during the Covid toilet paper shortage, no way he got a tenner for it otherwise.

 

[Dave7]

I take this was during the Covid toilet paper shortage, no way he got a tenner for it otherwise.

Ha....I am still using toilet rolls that my wife stocked up on when she believed there was to be a world shortage.