...a fellow in our homeschool group is fond of saying.
A fine example of this is donating to various charitable organizations. We worked out our budget to include a certain amount for donations. Barring a lottery winning (we don't play; we know statistics) or a grand inheritance (we have no filthy rich relatives), we weren't going to gain any more money during the year, and therefore couldn't spare any more money for these organizations. I used to include a slip of paper that said something to the extent of, "we're happy to make annual donations to your worthy cause, but we cannot make additional donatons through the year. Please do not send us any other solicitations in the mail, and please do not call us. If you call us, we will remove you from our list of organizations to donate to."
And guess what? We still received various pleas for additional donations throughout the year from most of these places. I realized after a couple of years (I'm either a slow learner or huge optimist) that the lackeys who open the envelopes with the checks (or cheques, for Epi) never pass along our request and really couldn't care less, so I stopped including those little strips of paper with our request.
One year, I got so fed up, I actually deleted a few organizations off our list. I was royally tired of them wasting trees and resources to beg for money that I said was not going to be forthcoming.
Another annoying ploy is sending you "gifts" like notecards and calendars to ask for extra donations. It worked a few times; I'm not totally heartless, contrary to what the heart rate monitor may say about me. But, then, I grew tired of being manipulated that way and refused to send money we don't have.
Anyone have a solution to this "extra begging" problem?
"To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge." ~ Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)
