In life there are always going to be people that have things better than you and worse than you.  No matter how bad you've got it now there is someone out there that has it a lot worse than you.  Some people hate it when the telemarketers call up asking for money or items to pick up.  To my wife's chagrin, I will always say yes as long as your charity isn't obnoxious or your a cop.    If your a vet group, and there are about 6 billion of them, I'll give what I can.  I don't give money on Sundays (and won't till they melt down all that gold) but I do think charitable giving is an important responsibility for all individuals.  I much rather give money to a charity than see my tax dollars go to an abuser of the welfare system.  Here is an example of why the welfare state is broken.  It's an interesting call, be sure to listen to the entire call.