Paying It Forward and Making the World a Better Place

What have I done?

I like to pay for the people behind me whenever I'm in a fast food drive-through. They've already ordered by the time we get up to the window, so I just tack their bill on to mine. I always watch to make sure the worker doesn't accept their money, too, before I drive off.

When my mom and I went to lunch one day, we picked up the tab for some local policemen and their family - a party of six.

I take all of our used clothes, toys, and books to the women and children's homeless shelter.

I send random PayPal tips to people who help me out in forums.

An elderly woman was in front of me in the grocery line. She was a few cents short of what she needed to get the ingredients for some recipe. She told the clerk to put it all back.

Not wanting to embarrass her, I said nothing. When it was my turn, I had the clerk quickly ring all of the items up and a bagger boy ran the items to her (she was old and walked slow). She came back and hugged me with tears in her eyes.

When we were shopping another day around Christmas, my daughter kept bugging me for a large Elmo stuffed doll ($30!!). I finally caved because I had the money to splurge.

As we went through the aisles, another little boy her age kept screaming for the Elmo doll. His mom said no, and you could tell they didn't have much money.

I took an extra Elmo with me to the counter. I paid for it and had the manager take it to her son and tell them Merry Christmas. I saw them looking happily shocked as we rounded the corner.

This all makes me feel good.