How have we gotten to the point that people are begging online? Instead of standing on the street corner, they put their hand out on social media. I’ve seen this more and more in the past year, to where it is becoming normal.

I doubt that they think of it as begging, but how can it be anything but? It is more sanitized this way, but the effect is the same. They want others to pay their bills for them. Their idea of financial planning is to tap into someone else’s financial plan. They ask to use other people’s savings, rather than saving up anything themselves.

Perhaps you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about? It is when people open up a Go Fund Me or a Kickstarter account, asking friends for money for things that they need, such as unexpected burial expenses or medical treatment for an accident or a chronic condition. Another one I saw was a plea to help a lady buy lapidary equipment so that she can expand her business. The further heart-string pull is that she is homeschooling her special needs child.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could all quit our jobs and do whatever we wanted, not worrying about our futures? We’d never have to deny ourselves anything, because we could buy whatever we wanted and not have to save. We’d never have to work at a low-paying job and feel chained to it because it provides health insurance. Then, when the inevitable happens, we can just go begging online.

How have we gotten to this point? Why aren’t people saving money? Why aren’t they thinking ahead? How did they pay their bills before these online begging options arrived?

I remember that it was once considered shameful to beg. Is that over now?