So, I have this friend. She lives in San Francisco, which is notorious for its extremely high cost of living. She has an amazingly well-paid job, no kids, and no mortgage. And ever since I met her, she's been extraordinarily generous with her money.

The first time was when I had just gotten my hours cut in preparation of being laid off entirely. I had a job at the time where Tshirts and jeans were perfectly fine as workwear, because the company did all its business via Internet and phone, and we never saw customers. So I didn't have any "dressy" interview-type clothes that fit.

Terri emailed me and said she would be happy to send me some money. We talked about it, agreed on a figure, and she sent the check, and there we were.

Over the years, though, I'm afraid she might have come to the conclusion that she has to bail me out every time I complain about money. We've almost never discussed it since that first time -- I'll just randomly get a check in the mail one day.

I'm out of work due to illness and disability and unemployment haven't kicked in yet. My family is sick of putting money into a black hole, but my friends have been helping out as well. Today I got a check from Terri for $1,000....completely unsolicited.

I work in a fun but not-so-well-paying field, and I will never see a spare $1,000 as long as I live. I would guess over the years she's probably lent me $5-6,000. I have no way ever of paying her back. I mentioned that to her once, and she said she just figured I was a better investment than the stock market. She doesn't seem to mind, but I'm feeling really guilty. I feel like I should be able to repay her somehow, but I don't know how. Anybody got any ideas?

Candy