One of the people I work with came into the office asking if we have any spare folders and wallets, so we showed her the stationery cupboard where they are all kept. Admittedly, all of it was in a used state, but they were all easily suitable for reusing around the workplace - but she turned her nose up at all of it. She wanted a nicer blue folder with no sticker residue on. Or failing that, one of the green ones. And she asked if we had any brand new wallets as the pile we showed her were usuable but she wanted them to look newer.

She has been there for years, and knows as well as most of us that we are on an extremely tight budget, and we just don't have the ability to buy new stuff at the moment unless it is an absolute necessity. It transpired, however, that the newer stuff she wanted was for someone going to school - so she basically just wanted brand new stuff for free, from work, for someone who has nothing to do with the company.

She has sent this text to me and honestly it's saddening to think I couldn't give her what she wanted.

So I work in a business area, lots of businesses and some people walking around during lunch. But I am in Houston so not too many people.

Anyways, I'm walking on my way to pick up lunch from Salata when I pass by a bus stop. Sitting there is someone who is rather obviously homeless. Her clothes were soiled, her things were in a Lowes shopping cart. And as I walked by, I heard, "do you have a mumble dollar bill?" Couldn't quite make out what she said so figured she asked for a dollar. But I didn't have any cash and kept walking.

As I was walking back, she much more clearly annunciated, "Do you have A HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL?"

I understand times are tough and all, but.... Geez.

Local buy nothing baby group. Safe to say she wants a free $300 bottle sterilizer.

Guy thinks €2k is "a ripoff" for a very difficult, almost impossible, PCB design and an app development for a commercial product.

As a reference, such a design would typically cost about €10k -excluding all certification paperwork- and a basic IoT app would be in the €20-50k ballpark.

So I've been helping a friend out with stuff she needs for her baby ( diapers, bottles, etc ), and I asked her what she and her baby would like for Christmas. She sent two separate list for her baby, and for her, I went through them . I noticed they were a bit pricey. For example she asked for an expensive toddler house that would cost at least $200 (I'm assuming it's for when the baby gets older) and for her she asked for a iPad, as she wants to watch her true crime shows on when she's not feeling like watching the TV.

I apologized to her and told her I wouldn't be able to get anything off of her list or her babies list, as my price range is ten to thirty dollars maximum. I told her I'd be happy to get her baby a stuff animal or a play set ( as like i mentioned, she was looking for a toddler house so I'm assuming she's planning ahead ) she got really mad at me and said "Seriously??? How can you not afford even one thing??? You are young, and you probably have money saved up. Plus, it's very upsetting that you can not do this for me and my baby, as I have helped you with stuff." Stuff meaning: helped me write a resume and relationship advice.

I replied with, "Times are extremely hard right now, I'm trying to make ends meet. But I still want to gift you and your baby." She blocked me, and I've not heard from her in 3 hours, so I'm not sure what happened.

This is the same woman from my last post! She’s unbelievable! Someone from our local Buy Nothing is literally baking a cake for her tonight!

My grandmother with Alzheimer's - in a rare moment of lucidity - woke me up at 8 in the morning, asking for well-done chicken wings and sushi. Lunch was decided!

I placed the order for pickup at a later time, since Wingstop wasn't open until 11 AM. In the meantime, I ran some errands, including picking up a California roll (sushi elitists, please don't @ me; with how far gone she is, I'm not gonna take a risk with raw fish), house-made at our local Japanese store. While I was there, I also decided to pick up some salmon onigiri (also house-made).

When I went to Wingstop to pick up my order, a car dropped off a gentleman at the entrance.When I left my car, he asked me if I had any money or if I could buy him "something good" to eat, since he was hungry. I explained that I didn't have any cash on me; I was only there to pick up food for Mom and Grandma.

But then, I remembered the salmon onigiri I bought. I asked the gentleman if he was able to eat seafood. I forgot exactly what he said, aside from reiterating wanting to eat "something good."

I figured my salmon onigiri counted, so I offered it to him. He turned up his nose and said, "Eugh, no thanks!"

I understand seafood allergies, and that Japanese food isn't everyone's thing. In hindsight, I feel like he specifically had his friend (?) drop him off at Wingstop to score a free meal from there. But dude...Wingstop ain't cheap.

Someone in my life I look up to is super courteous towards people asking for food. Since he can afford it, he always buys meals and hands out money. I wanted to try following his example, but the interaction with this gentleman was disheartening.

ETA: Mom and I decided on Wingstop instead of (for example) wings from a grocery store, since we've never had wings from the grocery store before and didn't know what to expect. Grandma, on the other hand, has had Wingstop before and liked it. I'm also not sure if grocery stores are able to honor the well-done/extra-crispy request.

We are getting hundreds of santa posts every day, and then we get the inevitable influx of "i'm so bored of these santa posts that are the same every time".

This is your official statement from the r/ChoosingBeggars moderator team that we do not want those posts here and will be continuing to remove them.

And as a PSA:

• Children asking the magical sky reindeer man to bring them expensive items and make their wishes come true is NOT choosy begging.
• An adult asking for christmas gifts is NOT choosy begging. Even if you think adults shouldn't be allowed to participate, doesn't make it choosy begging.
• In general, a person having a wishlist is NOT choosy begging. It might be distasteful to ask for only expensive items, but c'mon, it's a wishlist. Most likely they don't need to "wish" for things that are affordable.
• Poor people are allowed to want things beyond the bare essentials. It does not automatically mean they are choosy begging.
• An adult begging for a christmas gift and then refusing it because, for example, it's not a designer brand or a certain colour, IS choosy begging. Please do post those! :)

It is the season of giving but unfortunately it's really truly tough for many of us, especially in a society so focused on consumerism. Unfortunately grifters and scammers will be more active around this time of year but remember that shitting on the poor is never ever what this sub was about.

Before you post, ask yourself: "Is this an ungrateful choosing beggar who will only accept the best, or is it a person in need simply asking for something that they could not otherwise afford?"

TL;DR: Have compassion for others fist and foremost, but stand up against bullshit.

Happy holidays friends <3

Back in my Uni days (before cell phones) I had a classmate. She complained about needing a book for another class I had done the year before. the accompanying book wasn’t available at the library anymore and it was very expensive. I offered to give her my book for free. She said she couldn’t wait for our shared class next week and to meet her the next day. I was a commuter student and my classes ended two hours before hers but I agreed to stay since it was so important. So I postpone my trip home for two hours and then wait at the agreed spot for twenty minutes. It’s dark, it’s raining. She doesn’t show. I go home. The next week in class she tells me HER classes ended earlier that day and she didn’t feel like staying around. Oh, and where’s the book, she really needs it!

I (33m) went to university a few years ago in a city in the North of the UK. I'm walking down the main high street and there's a beggar sat near an ATM.

Note: as background I used to give money to beggars where i could but in the city I went to university a majority of the beggars aren't homeless - they live in houses or homeless support (where they receive benefits and money with conditions e.g. they attend drug/alcohol rehab services and seek jobs etc), however they will then catch buses down town and beg, so unless I KNOW someone is homeless I don't give them money anymore.

Anyway back to the story, I walk past this guy and he says 'got any change, pal?' I didnt, so I said no. At that point the cheeky lad nodded at the ATM and said 'well there's an ATM there'. Couldn't believe my ears.

Similarly to the other story, in my hometown I've had someone get angry because I've offered them something to eat instead of money