I don’t think so.

Here’s the site of a girl called “HELP ME PAY FOR MY WEDDING” (Credit: Tova Darling)

I don’t want to go to it, but from what Tova says:

Basically, it’s a girl who recently got engaged, she can’t afford to pay for the wedding she wants, and so she’s asking other people to donate a dollar or two to help her afford a nice wedding.

I don’t f*cking think so!!!!!!!!!!

I am not even going to pull out the “I could donate $20 to cancer instead, and get a tax benefit off that” card.

Or that you could donate $2 and save a starving family in Africa.

That’d be too predictable and kind of stupid, and those people are like what Tova says correctly, sitting on their high horses, thumbing their noses at the fact that they could donate money to a better cause but are actually contradicting themselves because THEY aren’t donating all of their extra $2 and $5 to charity:

In Tova’s words:

I’d love to ask all of the people up on their high internet horses if they’ve ever purchased coffee from Starbucks. Or bought a new outfit they didn’t need.

Or bought cute shoes because they were having a bad day. Or bought candy or soda. Or if they own a TV. Or ever eat at restaurants.

Or bought a newer car when their old one still ran. Or, heck, bought any car at all.

Because those things are not necessities, and there is a gigantic portion of the world’s population that cannot afford those luxuries.

And I totally agree with Tova. I am not even going to argue that point, she’s totally right.

But see, I have a different view.

I don’t have a problem with the fact that people’s money could be going to a better cause than some girl’s wedding.

I am not interested in comparing what $2 given to this girl, or $2 given to Africa could get you.

Different strokes, different folks.

If donating to her makes you happier than saving a family in Africa, who am I to judge you?

I am the one spending $1000+ on vacations here and there and living a comfortable life.

…but wait, am I invited for my $2 contribution? Do I get a say in what she buys for my $2?? Just saying…

what I have a problem with is her lack of responsibility to act like a grown, adult woman (which I assume is what you become when you get married), to be independent and to pay her own damn way.

She should grow up, take her lumps like a big girl, save for the wedding that she can afford, not the one she’s been dreaming of, and chew on reality like everyone else.

And if her parents don’t donate money to it? Tough. Many people I know getting married right NOW or just got engaged, already:

A) Had plans in place for the big day, and have been saving for a while for it (Hi Ginger!)
B) Have help from their parents but didn’t expect it
C) Are figuring out what they CAN afford and sticking to that budget (Hi Frugal Dreamer! and Hi Amy! and of course the just married DogAteMyFinances)

I mean what she’s asking for is easy money she didn’t work for to pay for a party. Plain and simple.

She probably knew she was going to get married, and didn’t save a fund for it, or even think about what it would cost.

Heck, not even I do that, but apparently this one wants a big shindig, and I’d be happy with a big dinner and nothing else.

And she’s got the balls to do it, I’ll grant you that, but it’s still easy money.

It’s like we’re the society that should feel bad that Princess is not getting her $2000 wedding dress, but on a real budget would only be able to afford a $200 dress.

Boo hoo.

We’ve lived far too long as a society who thinks the American Dream is attainable for everyone.

And guess what? It isn’t.

You have to make choices and come up with different strategies because the fact of the matter is that not everyone can afford the Dream, just in the same way that not every kid is the most special, brightest, smartest genius in the world that their parents ever gave birth to.

The American Dream became inflated, and bloated. People now say “I deserve…” instead of “I worked hard for…“.

The real American Dream only comes if you work hard.

Foreigners coming over here via Ellis Island in New York soon realized that the streets of America were in fact, not paved with gold as promised.

Immigrants: WTF? Arg. We have to actually WORK here? Damn capitalism!!!

…and by working hard, you earn money (which is the paved with gold street thing), have a better life for your family than if you had never grown up or moved to the States.

Plus, you want to work hard not only for yourselves and to raise good kids but to benefit your community to thank them for everyone’s continued hard work in keeping peace and crime rates fairly low.

I would not want to live in countries with high crime rates (Sao Paulo? Mexico City? Hello?) …and I am happy to live in a society of people who are like-minded and won’t stab me for my wallet in broad daylight out of sheer desperation of not being able to work even if they have the will to.

Especially in light of the recession and that everyone’s wallets are a bit tight right now, it is foolish to ask for money when the economy in general is not doing so well.

She should also understand that a wedding is not so much the big party day, as hoped for by most women (even men)…. but the joining of two kindred souls in marriage and a commitment to each other for the rest of their lives.

And yes, all this girl is asking for, is a big fat party.

But hey, I do admit the idea is pretty smart.

Kudos to the people who donated to what I think is a stupid cause.

You’re just fueling society’s Keeping up with the Joneses mentality by approving that it is valid that she wants a big party she knows she cannot afford, and is asking for charity to pay for it, when she otherwise could not have done it.

In fact, if you want to really make dreams come true, how about the Make a Wish foundation? Kids with life threatening diseases get their wishes granted, just in case they die one day, they can at least say they went to Disneyland.

Maybe we should start a Make a Wedding Come True (TM) foundation. (Hey don’t steal that name, I’m going to trademark that!)

What? *innocent*

All joking aside, I do hope, that for your $2 contribution, she’s going to at least send you a Thank You card.

Or, an invite to the wedding if you donate more than $20, because according to society (again with DogAteMyFinances) $20 seems to be an acceptable gift as a wedding guest. (Hey I am not trying to start a fight. Just stating what I’ve read lately).

I’ve been using this Golla Backpack for a while now, and I feel confident in writing a review about it. I AM NOT getting paid for this, NOR did I get it for free just for writing this review. I just wanted to talk about how much I love it.

I paid $59.99 for it in Future Shop because I needed something that was not a laptop bag because my back and shoulder really hurts with a single strap on a shoulder, and it’s bad for your back because the weight is not evenly distributed.

But I really DETEST the look of normal backpacks, and I was not going to be an IT cliche and buy a plain black backpack, nor am I going to be a girly cliche and buy a pink one (even though I really wanted to).

This Golla backpack hit both of my loves – professional, yet a bit girly!

It has 3 major compartments.

The first compartment is the one for the laptop, that opens with a zipper on the side, and you can put a laptop inside the built in sleeve and secure it with a thick velcro tab.

The second compartment is just in front of it, where I put my file folders.

The third compartment holds three mesh pockets. Two near the top, one near the bottom, and then a little area for pens, pencils, post-its, etc.

There is also a secret compartment near the top of the bag where the handles are that you can put your keys, cellphone and anything you don’t want to dig through your bag for.

The bag is padded, thick, and the laptop sleeve (thankfully) is not sewn all the way onto the bottom because if you set the bag down, the laptop won’t get slammed onto the ground every time like with other backpacks because of that little air ‘cushion’ before the bottom if that makes sense.

The best part? It’s girly, but professional with a dark grey backpack and a large pink outline of a tulip all the way across the back.

This specific design is NOT meant for boys, but not so girly that other people would choke, but they have other designs available.

It will also save your back, because you CANNOT over stuff the bag. Know how in other backpacks, you can overs stuff the bag until you can’t even lift it? Not this one. The sides are FIXED and you cannot put more than the space will allow you to, which helps you pare down on what you actually bring around with you all day.

It’s a catch-22, because I do carry my own lunch all the time, so not being able to fit a fat box in there kind of sucks.