I always give my change away if I have any. Otherwise it'll end up in my car or a jar at home and doing no one any good. I have one of those electronic things for tolls; I have no use for change anymore. D: So what if they use it for booze? In that case it's no different than if you had given the change to the 7-Eleven cashier directly. :P

Once a homeless guy asked me for $2 or a Snickers bar. I actually had a snickers bar.

That's harsh :(

#30: TL;DR. Hope you told the bum to get a job.

oh #30 stfu. you're suuuuch a good person for going back and helping this man buy drugs cuz yes that helps the economy. its actually illegal, at least in Texas, to give to panhandlers. and as far as being christians goes, just because we dont give spare change to homeless people on the side of the road, it doesnt make us any less christian.

i hope you picked it all up, counted it, and kept on walking...

Yeah well #30, I'm not a Christian, and I fully resent that because you are you think you know what's better for my soul, and **** you assuming we all would be. You really think God likes you better because you're willing to throw fifteen cents at a stranger? If you really wanted to help the needy, you wouldn't have grabbed him a handful of change, you would have gotten real cash, or you'd work at a soup kitchen, or you'd donate to real charities. My God would rather I be stingy with my change and work my ass off helping people in more legitimate ways then be a pompous prick who tells people how much better I am then them because I help strangers buy weed.

I wonder if the OP is British, as I find lying about this sort of thing to be really typical here. From experience: Do NOT lie like this is Europe... I did with a homeless guy in Amsterdam, and he got really angry about it. "Don't lie to me, I KNOW you have some change" I finally gave 30 cents to shut him up. It wasn't enough for him, so he gave it me back, and stormed off angrily! Cheeky git!

@ #30 I'm a Christian and will help out any way I can. The thing about hobos/panhandlers is that some do it for a living, some just are addicted to drugs/alcohol and some have mental problems. I'd rather help out a friend or if you want to put it bluntly waiting for a sign that that hobo is the one to help. You give of yourself freely and don't expect anything in return is the Christian way. I'm sorry but to just give money to every homeless person isn't going to better there situation. If you were really Christian, you'd remember the teaching of Jesus that said "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime." It's about helping his situation and money isn't the way to do that. Help him get a new suit or a place to stay if you really want to show your Christian ways. Sometimes, like you stated, people are just down on their luck and a helping hand can better them. Money isn't going to elevate his problems because most likely he's not in a state to use that money to better his situation. Also, for the karma crowd.... it doesn't exist or not enough people believe in it (not sure which). Otherwise some of these "Christian" leaders and politicians would have exploded from fire and brimstone by now. Hasn't happened... I've lost faith in the whole karma thing...

Uerr. There's a distinct difference between a hobo and a bum/homeless man. Stop confusing the two. Also, cut the christian crap.