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$100 Gift & $25 Donation

December 28th, 2011 at 03:51 pm

On my side of the family we agreed not to exchange adult gifts since my brother in law is currently unemployed. It worked well for us; saved money and time. Turns out my parents decided to keep on giving! We received stocking stuffers with chocolate, smart wool socks, coffee, and vitamin C packets. And then a card with a $100 check. We were definitely not expecting that!

On my husband's side of the family we gave to our neices and nephews, his mother and exchanged gifts with two adults. Perfect. Except his sister was put on house arrest for a DUI and unable to attend our gathering.

My mother in law decided we should take up a collection, since SIL is unable to work, thus pay her rent and so forth. MIL started the envelope with $20. She asked if we would have cash to donate. Normally we don't have any cash on us. We use our debit card all the time. But I did have cash. Frown So with mixed feelings we donated $25 to SIL.

We have mixed feelings because we feel this is an area of personal responsibility. SIL chose to drink and drive on more than one occassion, was caught, went to court and in house arrest and all that comes with it (unable to work) is the penalty. And if she can't pay rent, then that is part of the penalty too. Not our problem.

I'm sure our $25 and whatever amount was collected won't amount to making a huge difference. DH also doesn't think she will appreciate the thought in anyway. Or that we will ever hear a thank you. But giving $25 won't hurt us a bit either. It is what it is.

What would you do?

3 Responses to “$100 Gift & $25 Donation”

  1. North Georgia Gal Says:
    1325088123

    I agree with you...her crime her punishment. However I would find it hard not to donate if I had the cash on me.

  2. PNW Mom Says:
    1325088279

    I think you were in a pickle and probably didn't have much choice...unless you lied and said you didn't have any cash on you....which probably wouldn't make you feel very good. I agree with what you said about personal responsibility....DH has a brother who had many years of substance abuse problems and his mom was always "poor him"...well nobody forced him to do the things he did. Thankfully he is in a better place now....hoping the same for your SIL. You were kind and generous.

  3. Looking Forward Says:
    1325110064

    I agree with you and the other comments above. I think you would have felt bad if you lied about not having cash to give. $25 seems generous enough to me.

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