I never give beggars money because odds are they'll use it inappropriately (drugs, crime, etc) and I try to ignore them. The most common pestering getting asked to bum a cigarette, I always say no because 1) cigarettes are expensive 2) you never know if it's a sting if they look young, and 3) they'll usually ask for a lighter and if I do give them one I let them keep it because I don't know what kind of germs and diseases they carry when they touch the lighter...which means I need to buy another lighter.

If they seem like genuinely nice people, most commonly I'll give a smile and a wave, and if I'm feeling particularly generous I give food and a copy of Watership Down. I've handed out copies of that book to several homeless people and they've shared it with their friends and told me it was the most meaningful book they've ever read. (When I worked at McDonald's I came to know all the regular homeless, and now it's my kind of mission to collect copies of that book to hand out to those in need.)