How hard is it to lend a stranger $2.75?

[KK7]

Sorry to say but for my personal saftey I usually don't talk to anyone and would not offer the money. Will not get into any personal storys but just not good, sorry about your friend but in this day and age this is a sad world it isn't back in the day when you would leave your front door unlocked hoping a neighbour might pop by that day. Not saying your friend is ANYWHERE NEAR THIS BUT Wasn't Karla Homolka a sweet looking person?

[momofkali]

I don't carry cash.

I did buy some bread and PB for a guy once but if my daughter hadn't been there and insisted I wouldn't have done that either cuz I can't afford to help people out.

Unfortunately I for the honest ones, the dishonest have made me skeptical so I just say no to everyone.

[Sally888]

i wouldnt of leant it to her.

I would of given it to her.

Now, if I happened to not have that on me, or any money (im a debiter) I would apologize to her for not having anything otherwise id help. I wouldnt just walk past though.

[AmberLab]

A measly $2.75? I would have given it to her. I had a fellow at a swanky mall ask me for money for a bus once. I didn't have any change on me, but I was a bus rider too, so I just gave him one of my tickets. He was quite thankful.

[DiamondLil]

If I had money (debit cards/credit card shopper) I wouldnt lend it to her, I'd give it to her. I wouldnt trust giving my name & addy to a stranger - too risky.

[TaraF]

I'm with the ones that probably wouldn't have given her money. There are a few reasons for this. The main one being I don't carry cash on me, I pay by Credit Card or Debit Card when I shop and I take public transit so I have a Swipe card. Our transit no longer has monthly passes and they also don't accept tickets anymore. Aside from that, I'm constantly asked for "spare change", by people I don't know on the street. The reason they want the change ranges from that they are homeless, want a coffee, want food, don't have money for the bus, etc. Who knows what is true and what isn't? I can go out and do my shopping and if I gave change to every person that asked regardless of the story I'm given, and if I bought a chocolate bar from every kid standing outside of the store I'm shopping at and if I donated $1 to every charity as I check out at the store, I'd be dwindling what little I have for my famillies spending very quickly.

The main thing to remember is, this is your friend to whom you know and the people she approached didn't. If someone approached you that you didn't know and gave you the same story would you have given them the money? You may or may not, but regardless I'm sure you can understand peoples hesitation to give their money to a stranger.

I really also don't think it's a cut and dry answer to the question either. What people have experienced in life can greatly affect their decision making.

[FallenPixels]

Not to mention the people who get their wallets stolen as they take them out to give the person the change

[DH666]

It depends. I asses every situation differently. Since I am far away from downtown, I don't get a lot of "requests" I would have more than likely given the money. It also depends on my mood too.

[ginger150]

I live and work in downtown Toronto, and I get asked 10-20 times a day for change, so honestly, I rarely listen anymore.

[Miss_April]

I guess it all really depends on where you live.

For me, I rarely get asked for change maybe like 3 times a year so when people do, I know its usually sincere.

But if you live in a place where you get asked 30 times a day I can understand why you wouldn't have stopped.

[nicole0214]

Yes, there's always the issue of trust.. Well, i take it that this experience thought her at least a thing or two in life.. And I do agree, the dishonest ones make people skeptical bout helping others..

It's not just once that I saw people (most of them elderly) who board the bus and get out again when they swiped their card and found out that they don't have any bus pass left.. I guess it all comes down to 'responsibility' and all that.. It's like "you shouldn't have gone out of the house in the first place" thing.. But $hit happens.. Learn from it..

[cliff]

Probably not I live in TO and see this a lot. Once some girl/lady came up to me quietly asking for money because her sweater had been stolen with her bus pass on it. I couldnt hear her so she repeated it. I said I didnt have money. Honestly I only had debit and I told her i had debit ( which is a mistake cause what if she asked me to withdraw money for her and then stolen more :S) then shes like not even 50 cents I said no and she gives me this nasty dirty stare and goes "WHAT A LIAR"

I was like um yes you look like you totally need it...bye.

[saraL]

It depends. I asses every situation differently. Since I am far away from downtown, I don't get a lot of "requests" I would have more than likely given the money. It also depends on my mood too.

^^this!

there is a man in my town that begs for change but i know for a fact that he has money and a home and a car. he's a liar and i regret ever giving him money. there is another man who is sincere and i give him food and change when i have it. honestly, i'm almost at the point where i might be begging out on the street myself so i try to look at each case and SEE the person there and what they really need. if i'm ever in that situation, i hope people would do the same for me.

[ninna]

This can be a touchy topic indeed.

Whether or not I give depends on several factors. If I am alone and someone asks, I tend to be more cautious unless I'm somewhere that's busy and populated and others are around (in case I need back up! LOL). If DH is with me, that changes a little--because he can back me up in case someone is not ahem, genuinely intended.

It also depends on the circumstances too. I always ask what they want the money for. In my opinion, if you're gonna ask me for my money, I have a right to know where you're going to use it.

Generally, I try to avoid giving "money" if possible and that tends to keep people a little more honest about their intentions. If they want money for the bus, I'd buy them a bus ticket. If they want money for food, I take them into the grocery store and buy them a loaf of bread and some sandwich meat or something. If they want money for a hot drink, I take them to the nearest TH's and buy them a coffee.

There ARE some people who are scammers and that's unfortunate because it makes it hard for those who legitimately need it. I've seen people sit grocery store parking lots, dressed real grubby, with signs begging for money, then watched them hop into their nice cars (nicer than mine!) and drive away at the end of the day.

I've also had people tell me before that they wanted money for food and when I'd offered to take them to a grocery store to buy them some, they told me to go f**k myself. lol. Guess they weren't really hungry after all?

[abbasgirl]

I used to give to everyone that asked me for change but I don't anymore. I don't believe that any of them are truly hungry because there are social service organizations where they can go for help. I prefer to give money to these organizations rather than to people directly because they are a lot better equipped to help them than I am. It bothers me a lot to see people begging on street corners and as cold as it seems, I respect them too much to be part of their problem by enabling them.
I probably would have given money to someone for bus fare though, if they looked believable and if I felt like I was in a safe place.