Maybe I'm a jerk, but I wouldn't donate anything. Even when I have spare cash, if I am going to give it away, I give it away to people who really deserve it or who I do like. But especially in tight times, I just can't toss away my money on an ephemeral gift to someone I don't like.
I would just tell them what you've said here. "Times are very tight for me right now, and I just can't afford to pitch in." Did you get to vote on what to give the boss for a present? Did you even vote on whether to give a present at all? Or did you coworkers just say "We all decided to give this present, now chip in $25?" Don't feel guilty, because you had nothing to do with this. The only correct thing to do is be true to yourself!
When I worked at Bank of America, it was very similar. A lot of the women were making tons of money because this was a side job they did for extra cash, because their husbands were the breadwinners. I know that once you start chipping in for these things, they're not going to take no for an answer in the future. "Why can't you chip in for X this month? Last month you helped pay for X." and so on.
Oops, my bitterness is really showing here! Like I said, I have experience with this type of atmosphere, and it's really frustrating to deal with people who have no concept of what being poor is like. It must be very nice for them!
All bitching aside.. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT NEW BONES TONIGHT! :D Last week's episode was great, yayyyy.
Glee is a pretty fun show. It's quite silly, and the song/dance numbers are overly scripted, but the story is very funny.
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I would just tell them what you've said here. "Times are very tight for me right now, and I just can't afford to pitch in." Did you get to vote on what to give the boss for a present? Did you even vote on whether to give a present at all? Or did you coworkers just say "We all decided to give this present, now chip in $25?" Don't feel guilty, because you had nothing to do with this. The only correct thing to do is be true to yourself!
When I worked at Bank of America, it was very similar. A lot of the women were making tons of money because this was a side job they did for extra cash, because their husbands were the breadwinners. I know that once you start chipping in for these things, they're not going to take no for an answer in the future. "Why can't you chip in for X this month? Last month you helped pay for X." and so on.
Oops, my bitterness is really showing here! Like I said, I have experience with this type of atmosphere, and it's really frustrating to deal with people who have no concept of what being poor is like. It must be very nice for them!
All bitching aside.. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT NEW BONES TONIGHT! :D Last week's episode was great, yayyyy.
Glee is a pretty fun show. It's quite silly, and the song/dance numbers are overly scripted, but the story is very funny.