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Good for you! Money is worth something, but kindness is priceless.

Living here in Stockton has given me the opportunity to frequently make less-fortunate people's days a little better. When most people scoff or shudder when they see a person pushing a shopping cart around the outside of a Burger King, I already have my hand in my back pocket as I get out of my car searching for my wallet so I can give the person enough money for a meal. If time permits, I'll instead try to go into the restaurant, order them a meal, and take it out to them. As far as I'm concerned, the gratitude on their faces is worth so much more than the satisfaction you'll get out of buying the Black Eyed Peas latest (which on a COMPLETELY unrelated note is simply fantastic).

Go to the CraigsList.com website, click your city, and post:

"Free stereos, food, lamps etc. on the corner of...."

It's free and generally people will snap up the stuff very quickly.

-Nev

What would be really cool would be if there was some sort of "pick through the leftovers" day at the end of the school year. Because I always had an excuse to stay after they kicked out undergrads, I always snagged a few items. But if we can donate food through SPOON, it doesn't seem like such a stretch to rescue half empty bottles of detergent either. I bet UMPA or Clara-Mateo would be interested. Okay, now I actually want to do something about this.

It is absolutely amazing how much stuff we Americans buy that we just throw away. Adding to the shock is the realization that we are going deeply into debt to foreigners to buy it. If we find we have so much stuff that we can't take it with us and have to throw it away, maybe that's a signal that we need to buy less.

Hmm.. Having a donation campaign at the end of the year would be a great idea. This type of thing happens at every college campus this time of year. Of course, it usually conflicts with final exams...

You really have a grasp on reality that most people just miss.

Taking that guy home makes me realize that you actually get 'it.'

hi, i'm from india, where 70% of the country is living on agriculture. its not a land of plenty like many countries in the west. but slowly wastefulness and lethargy is setting in. Let me pen a quote that i always would remember : Being rich is not having things that money can buy, but is having things that money CANNOT buy. How many things do u have today that money cannot buy ? - Mathew, India.

John Bunyan, I believe, said, “You have not lived today until you have done something for

someone who cannot pay you back.” Absolutely true.

Even setting aside your good deed, however, I would point out you're already giving and serving a great deal; teaching basic financial literacy is a desperately-needed service in this country (for reasons, I think, not entirely unconnected to the giant metal dumpsters filled to overflow on Move-Out day with usable, valuable, saleable goods).

And let's not forget to consider how much MORE we would be able to give if we were debt free. Think about - no boat payment, no car payment, no credit card debt, no second mortgage... Think you might be able to give above and beyond your tithe under those conditions?

You are *sniffle* my hero...

That's only 52% sarcasm. Actually I was inspired by your thought process regarding what the guy looked like, and why he was doing what he was doing. I've been reading your blog for the past couple of hours, keep up the good work.

Bub, just wanted to say a big-time thanks for spreading the word about being responsible with the dough, and for helping that guy out. More people in this crazy world need to do that. Here's looking at you, kid.

I went to Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, and we had a similar issue. I furnished my first apartment with the "trash" at the end of the year. In fact, I just realized my CURRENT dresser was pulled from the trash (and refinished).

Good blog. Kind of sad. A lot of people don't understand what wealth is.

Good perspective post to remember where you are at and where you have been.

Many blogs out there write a serious quantity of posts per day, but your posts are pure quality. Keep up the good work.