I found this letter to the editor from an Albany paper interesting. The writer is discussing the sorry state of donations to salvation Army bell-ringers, and suggests that our increasingly cashless society may be to blame:

If you go to a store with only a credit card on you, what are you going to put in the kettle?

I don't know if I agree. Not sure if my next statement is true, or if it's just goes along with my slow move up the financial ladder, but it feels like there are more and more organizations gunning for their share of my charitable giving dollars. This tends to make me feel a little less open toward any organization that approaches me for a contribution, even the Salvation Army bell ringers I hate to say. It's not that I feel like they're not worthy, or that I don't want to give, it's just that the numbers of those asking for a piece of my pie has gone up, and so I feel more defensive when I'm continually approached.

So, if I'm giving less to the bell ringers, it's not because I'm only carrying credit cards, it's because I would have nothing left if I gave to every organization that was asking. Over the years I've also changed from willy-nilly charitable giving to a more planned approach, which I'll talk about in my next post.