People often ask for money on the street here in Russia. They can be persistent, like following you till the end of the street, trying to masturbate you with their stories of how they're decent people and just need a bit of money to travel/eat/survive. I decline every time. I was wary of it always: maybe because I can't automatically relate to a person's suffering, or maybe because I was conditioned (or self-conditioned) not to engage with panhanlders and the like.

One time, an older woman chatted me up for a bit of money "for a loaf of bread", softening me up with a sob story of how she used to work at a factory and now can't do anything - tears and all. I gave her twice more than she asked for, and only later, disengaged, berated myself for not noticing the distinct burn of alcohol around her. I regret falling for the old trick to this day, because I regret mistrusting people; it hits me hard, for what little trust for the world that I've accumulated.

Since then, I'm determined not to give money to people who ask for it in person, unless I know them. I'll give a few rubles for transportation to a groupmate, and I'll add change to your small shop purchase if you're lacking. If you seem nice, there's a chance I'll give you transport money. If you're a pretty girl, I will absolutely give you transport money if I have any, because I'm pathetically needy for female attention and appreciation.

I'm donating to Water.org and plan to donate to other charities once my income expands. The important part, for me, is that, maybe, I can trust faceless organizations to do better than single persons — even though those organizations consist inevitably of single persons. For me, it's about following a cause: if you do and if the cause resonates with me (the bigger and more humanitarian the idea, the better), I'm with you.

I'll share my knowledge, advice, time and effort freely for a good cause. I'll help a friend's friend fix their PC or move. Just not money. If I don't know your ways, I won't share my money with you.