The daughter of our friends died of brain tumor over a year ago and everyone of us, friends and family, have either donated or did a charity event in her name. Crafty friends and I organised a Christmas fair last year which raised over $3000 in just 4hrs.
The latest event is a ball. While we can afford it (my husband makes enough for all of us), this event is way out of our budget. Besides the tickets we'll have to rent a tux for hubby, hire a sitter, and will probably be persuaded to buy a $20 (at least) raffle ticket.
I want to graciously say, hey, this is too expensive for us and it's not in our budget. But I kind of feel bad because technically we have the money and feel like we should support them. We do donate via other methods but they've just been $10 for a marathon or a half dozen cupcakes. I do want to do another fair, it'll be better and bigger too (that last one was organized in 4 weeks and this time we have months), but I don't want to be seen as not supportive and not visible. We love them and it's such a sad loss but this event is so expensive. I know a few friends, who are going, are feeling the financial pain but still sucking it up to show support.
What would you do?