Last night was the usual get together of our friends…..The attendees range from 8 to 12, depending. We sat at two tables and each seemed to have their own topics.
Ours was businesses, companies, non-profits and all the rest bombarding us with money requests. If it is not the phone, it is the TV. If not the TV, the mail. If not the mail, the internet, if not the internet, the store and so on, and so on, and so on.

We may be old but we are not stupid and we all agreed that donations to any cause were now studied first at great length. Ads tugging at heart strings only go so far.
After looking into uses of money, and overall costs of doing business, it is the way the money us used that counts…..Overhead is a cost of doing business, however, it should not BE the business.

We named many organizations who were always sending, calling, or discussing their plight. Many local organizations have a good heart when it comes to helping the cause, but they don’t seem to be thinking through the effect of their fund raising. I am all for helping schools be better equipped, as were the rest of the crowd, however, my TAX dollars should be handling the situation nicely. If it is not….that is the cause that needs to be addressed. Why should I pay tax dollars for school support, for instance, and then have to have or attend fund raisers to raise more for specific items the school can’t afford? In lieu of asking for money…..go to school superintendents and have them make the requests to the city/county/etc. If teachers are not paid enough…we should be backing them, not providing extra for schools districts who choose not to fight for their employees. We were all happy to see teachers walking out for better pay…..and better conditions. Pressure is not being applied to the vulnerable part of the school board and superintendents. It is my lowly opinion that if all donations were ended until the schools paid their teachers a fair wage and supplied them with good products and a facilities, it would probably take no more than one school year for the government to get their eyes and pocketbook put in the right place. So there! but I digress!

Back to donations…..attention companies, organizations, etc who are looking for money.
1. don’t send me a letter once a month…..You think I will forget you….no
2. don’t send me sad animals or crying children pictures…..You think it will help…no
3. don’t send me notepads, pictures, T-shirts, pennies, nickels, or dimes..or Christmas cards, get well, and birthday. Does it impress me…no
4. don’t send me Christmas stamps either….or tiny computers, and on and on and on.

In case you haven’t figured out why……it’s how you spend stupid!!! We will not pay for any of the above, nor will we donate to causes at the grocery store when it is finally donated in the name of the STORE…using the STORE’s product!

We retirees are on the ball….we know what is going on….we didn’t come this far, to live this comfortably without knowing when and where to spend our money.

So there! Free advice….from 9 at two tables on a Thursday night….