Before winter break, I found a Go Fund Me flyer on my campus asking for money to fund a fellow student’s ski trip to Mammoth. I tucked this away in the back of my mind, thinking it was probably some joke, and it wasn’t really a student asking for money for a vacation.

I was wrong.

Since then, I have come across countless Go Fund Me pages shared onto my Facebook timeline, asking for money for a “21^st birthday bash in Las Vegas” and for $5,000 dollars to fund an out-of-state college tuition.

My one question is this: when did asking family, friends, and even strangers online for money for personal expenses become such a norm? I understand speaking privately to family about important monetary issues, but when it becomes a public issue online is when it starts to get bothersome.

Everyone has living expenses, and even if I wasn’t a broke college student, I wouldn’t be donating my extra cash to a Go Fund Me for partying in Las Vegas when I would rather donate it to a worthy cause, going to helping many people or animals truly in need.

I also would not be donating towards out-of-state college tuition, especially when going to a school in-state is an option, as well as applying for scholarships and grants. Or even attending a community college for two years is an option that many people choose to save money.

We all have had hardships and, trust me, I get it. College tuition is way too high, but that doesn’t make it OK to take the easy way out and incessantly share your Go Fund Me on Facebook.

In no way do I mean to be harsh, but I believe that Go Fund Me should be used for truly important matters, and I have personally donated to causes very near and dear to my heart. Yet, while importance varies from person to person, I think that funding a weekend in Las Vegas is not first on anyone’s list.

Honestly, Go Fund Me is the easy way out for situations like these. I find it very difficult to believe that there are absolutely no other ways to earn money. I don’t mean to sound like some cranky old conservative (because I’m actually the opposite) by saying this, because I know that getting a job is difficult, but there are other (legal) ways to make some extra money.

You can sell some old clothes online or at thrift stores, or some books or electronics on eBay. Or how about those textbooks you bought and will never use ever again? Or maybe you can babysit or pet sit for a few days. It won’t be much, but it will be money that was earned and can be used for whatever you want.

The way I see it, if you want something bad enough, you will work for it. If you wanted a vacation, a birthday party, or any other personal expense, I think you would be planning ahead for months and be able to save your money if it was something you truly needed, wanted, and have been thinking about.

While I have zero control of what goes on online, and while I’m not here to judge other people’s lives, I urge those using Go Fund Me for frivolous expenses to take a step back and really think about what they are publicly asking for.

If you’re ever in doubt, a good way to decide whether or not to create a Go Fund Me page is this:

If you wouldn’t donate to your cause if someone else posted it, it’s probably best to find another way to make money.