🧭 Region & Middle East · #72
We earn Singapore salaries, and relatives assume we are rich and often ask for help. How do we decline kindly?
You can help sincerely and decline politely; neither is wrong as long as your own family comes first. A salary that looks large after currency conversion often comes with living and travel costs that are also large, something others rarely see. First set a monthly budget for charity and family help together with your spouse. When that budget is used up, say gently: ‘This month we can't manage any more, insya-Allah we will try another time.’ The Prophet ﷺ said: “The best charity is the charity from one who has means; and begin with those under your care” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1426). See family finances.
Sources
Sahih al-Bukhari 1426