While in college, I regularly gave money to my grandmother Big Mama to help with some expenses. I would pay for her groceries if we shopped together or cover a utility bill every so often.
In my late 20s, I started paying her property taxes each year. Big Mama would never have asked for financial assistance, but I knew it would provide her with some relief. She was a great money manager, but she lived on a small pension, and Social Security meant there wasn’t much extra in her budget.