neighbors asking for money weekly.

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With the start of school, my doorbell has been ringing non stop.

I have a no solicitation sign up on the door.

It started with, hey do you want to buy this coupon book for 25 dollars for my football team? We bought one because it is a kid we see down the street a lot.

The coupons are worthless to us, but it was going to a good cause. We have no interaction with the kid or the parents otherwise. They do not know us.

Following week, another kid comes down to sell us kitchen wares. No thanks but good luck kids.

Tonight, hey do you want to give a donation to my track team? No thanks kids. There was no pamphlet for what the money was going to, it could just be kids asking for money for no reason.

I feel kind of like a jerk, but I only want to give money to organizations or kids I know or deal with.

A girl at work has a son in baseball and they sell catalog junk every year, so I buy it and send it to my mom.

I played sports a lot as a kid, and I don't remember having to shake down the neighborhood for money ever.

I live in a somewhat middle class neighborhood also, the average house is 300k.

We stopped answering the door, but I think they come back repeatedly until someone answers.

Before the no-solicitation sign went up I would have guys selling multipurpose cleaner door to door, spraying my concrete in front of the house to show me it.

Also meat out of a beat up f150, and every service thinkable.

I have had a crackhead from the only section 8 house in my neighborhood repeatedly come to my door asking for cigarettes or trying to sell me costume jewelry off her arm.
 
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I hear ya on just feeling like you get shaken down everywhere. I'd only buy from the kids you know/see often.
 
Also, our local walmart is allowing groups to pitch for money every single weekend. Some of them are somewhat aggressive in selling BBQ lunches and other food items that are not up to health code of any kind.
 
I usually don't give. I really get annoyed at the people in front of stores. Especially when the store only has one entrance/exit or the people are at both doors.
 
What was once generally an urban problem is becoming a suburban issue. People in urban areas gate up their front entrances and don't answer the door which stops a lot of the unwanted solicitors. Unfortunately I now see iron gates surrounding suburban properties which I believe are put up to stop the unwanted people from coming around. It's a sign of the times.
 
The kids are in a tough spot cause the booster clubs are pushing the coaches to push the kids. I just say no and my son is a high school athlete.
I don't allow him to solicit, that's what the concession stand, gate fees and parking money is for as far as I am concerned.
 
Seems our houses are no longer a private domain. Solicitors at the door and ringing the phone, and scammers calling our phones and sending phishing emails. This [censored] never ends. I don't answer the door or the phone unless it's someone I know or am expecting.
 
Why do school groups need to send kids to solicit money? Are they that underfunded?

A good chunk of my money nowadays goes to pay property tax. And a lot of that money goes to the local schools. Livonia recently (and craftily) passed a special millage just for schools, which immediately raised the property tax another 10% for the next 20 years. It was rather underhanded how they went about getting it passed.

Another thought -- if these kids would temporarily take on a paying job, like raking leaves in the neighborhood, for the time they spend asking for money, they could actually accomplish something of value for their neighbors and get the funding they're looking for. So next time they come around, hand them a rake and tell them they could work for the money.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
So next time they come around, hand them a rake and tell them they could work for the money.

Lots of kids these days are taught to just ask for stuff and then expect it to be laid at their feet. "Work" is a dirty 4 letter word to them.
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It's very rare anyone rings our doorbell given the relative rural area we live. OTOH, with 4 school aged kids, athletic, music, etc related fundraising is a common occurrence given the constant budget constraints our public schools deal with. Way too much overpaid administration. That's another topic unfortunately. We buy stuff and ask family and close friends. Absolutely no door to door. I probably spend a few $100/yr on stuff, along with our ~$2500/yr school tax bill.
 
The programs where the kids have to sell somebody's product to participate in events get under my skin.

At the back end of these programs is some business for profit. I often wonder if special "incentives" are offered to encourage the decision makers to choose their businesses product.

Most of the products aren't something I would normally buy, the kid knows this. I'm suppose to buy their product just so some innocent face can make their quota to become part of the team? A peculiar lesson for the child indeed.

I do like the yard work idea.
 
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Welcome to the reality of budgeting for salaries, air conditioning/bussing, extra curriculars, and the rest of what goes into teaching kids.

Oh, and keeping your "high" property taxes down while keeping sales and income tax down.

Can't have your cake and eat it too.

So we can chop teacher salaries and benefits ($48,819 average in TX, far, far from "high" pay), chop bussing from these regionalized districts, chop remedial classes for the dullards and ap classes for the bright kids, drop sports, etc.

Instead of forcing the community to pay for sports in taxes, or the parents to pay directly a la carte (which probably is how it should go), the kids get to sell junk to return 50c on the dollar (or less) to these programs. Upgraded fields with lights and turf also gets under my skin...

Welcome to the nature of keeping to a budget. So, what should we drop so they don't ring the doorbell?

I like the bill for any extracurricular to go to the parents, and if the parents make the kids pick up a range or snowshovel, great. If not, oh well. If they can't work and can't afford to partake? Sorry. But I'm also 110% against athletic scholarships in college too...
 
Originally Posted By: riklyn
The kids are in a tough spot cause the booster clubs are pushing the coaches to push the kids. I just say no and my son is a high school athlete.
I don't allow him to solicit, that's what the concession stand, gate fees and parking money is for as far as I am concerned.



What happened to the bake sale for high school baseball and football teams.... or cheerleaders washing cars ?
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It's been years since people knocked on my door to sell something, I'm not sure if they passed a law to prevent this stuff from happening around here. I remember people trying to sell steaks out of trucks which I thought was totally ridiculous.

For the last 2-3 years right around this time until the end of the year I get this guy named " John Walker " calling me from India I assume, telling me that I owe money to the IRS, He also doesn't call me by my name, he calls me Sean.
 
Originally Posted By: mclasser
I don't even answer the door anymore unless I'm expecting somebody.


Same here, plus I have a camera that shows me who is knocking.
 
My friend had this problem with certain religions. He answered the door in the nude and they never returned. When my daughter was in Cheer, I just bought whatever she sold, so she wouldn't have to go door to door. It's sad what these schools make kids do. ]


Respectfully,

Pajero!
 
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