Archive for the ‘Give Money’ Category
Monday, June 2nd, 2008 |
My Favorite Posts from Last Year (May 2007)
Man vs. Debt - I still watch this show (Man vs. Wild) every week. One of my favorites. This upcoming documentary looks promising as well.
Blockbuster Total Access - Should You Try It? - I’ve moved on to using Redbox and TheNewRelease if at all possible, but you can read this article for a review of the Blockbuster Online service if you’re considering it.
eGiving - A New Way to Tithe - We still haven’t signed up for eGiving at our Church. For now, it’s easier for us to just bring the ole checkbook. But if you’re looking to streamline your tithing, check this article out.
Go to the Movies - Money Saving Tips - This was one of my favorite early articles on living frugally while still enjoying some entertainment options.
Posted in Blog, Frugality, Give Money | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 |
*Beware: Shameless Plug for Charity*
Please visit this page at Free Money Finance and place your vote in the comments for “Things”, which is my post on automatic savings and bill payment. It’s down to 32 posts in the March Madness tourney and I’m up against some solid competition from Cash Money Life with a post on A Penny Saved is Worth More Than a Penny Earned.
Remember the competition is for $500 towards the charity of your choice. I’m playing for Samaritan’s Purse. Now go vote! Thanks!
Posted in Blog, Give Money | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 |
Vote Now for March Madness
As I shared with you this past weekend, I’m involved with a blog post competition (March Madness style) over at Free Money Finance. I have two of my posts submitted to the tournament. The first post, on paying your own property taxes is doing well in the first round. Today, my second post, on Automatic Savings and Bill Payments, is up for voting in continued first round action…
Please visit this page to cast your vote.
I’m up against some solid competition in this game: No Credit Needed’s post on Exactly How To Pay Off Debt, Mortgages, Or Credit Cards Early (Debt). So I will need all the help I can get.
Samaritan’s Purse
Remember, this tournament isn’t strictly for our blogging egos: Free Money Finance is giving $500 to the winner which will go towards a charity of choice. I’m playing for Samaritan’s Purse, an International Christian relief and evangelism organization providing spiritual and physical aid to victims of war, poverty, natural disaster, and disease. Thanks for your support!
Posted in Give Money, Personal Finance Links | No Comments »
Saturday, March 1st, 2008 |
Samaritan’s Purse and March Madness
During the Month of March, Free Money Finance will be hosting the annual March Madness blog article competition for charity. I have two posts in the contest. The first is my post on paying your own property taxes, and it’s up right now in round one, game 5. If you enjoyed the post, please head over and vote so I can make it to the next round. My winnings ($500) will go to Samaritan’s Purse, a International Christian relief and evangelism organization providing spiritual and physical aid to victims of war, poverty, natural disaster, and disease. Thanks!
Blog Friends
Here are some of my favorite posts that friends in the personal finance world posted this week.
Being Frugal discusses Dave Ramsey’s Step 3: fully funded e-fund.
Bible Money Matters presents 5 ways to make some extra money.
Cash Money Life tells the truth about tax refund anticipation loans.
Credit Withdrawal is giving away several copies of Quicken.
DebtFREE-Revolution discloses what a debt free budget looks like.
Gather Little By Little talks about a financial epiphany.
Green Panda Treehouse shares how they spend money on groceries.
Hu$tler Money Blog lists some of the best printable coupons available.
Millionaire Money Habits answers a readers question about Roth IRAs.
Moolanomy discusses the two major lending clubs and has a giveaway.
Mrs. Micah has thoughts on how to hide money from an abusing spouse.
My Dollar Plan shares the checklist to have for your spouse if he/she dies.
My Two Dollars provides a link to an interesting video “The Story of Stuff.”
No Credit Needed shares his thoughts about these frustrating times.
Paid Twice is paying off debt using Dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball.
Quest for Four Pillars shares what it’s like to live without a car.
Single Guy Money provides part three on avoiding identity theft.
The Dough Roller lists the seven habits of wealth.
The Happy Rock tells the story of how the Happy Rock went bold.
The Penny Saved is giving away an iPod for cutting up a credit card.
Blog Carnivals
I participated in the following carnivals this week:
Money Hacks Carnival #1 here at Prime Time Money
Festival Of Frugality #114 at No Credit Needed
Carnival of Money Stories # 48 — Leap Year Edition at Collecting My Cash
Carnival of Personal Finance #141 - The College Years Edition at Broke Grad Student
Thanks to all the hosts!
Remember to cast your vote over at Free Money Finance March Madness.
Photo: by Doug L.
Posted in Give Money, Personal Finance Links | 7 Comments »
Sunday, December 16th, 2007 |
The giving season is upon us. It’s a wonderful time to focus less on ourselves and do good for others in need. It’s also a time in which we’re routinely asked directly for charitable contributions while at the register of our local gas stations, movie rental store, and even at a stop light.
While I don’t necessary mind this type of method for collecting money by charity groups, I find it awkward when you have to tell these people no. You could have a perfectly legitimate reason for saying no: you gave to them last week, you’re out of coins/bills, you don’t have it in the budget, you’re in a hurry, etc… Still, regardless of the reason, you’re still telling them no…and it’s awkward. Or at least I feel awkward. Maybe I have trouble saying no (boundary problem? …maybe) Well, I’ve got a remedy for this uncomfortable situation. Here’s a magic sentence my wife taught me to say in response to these situations:
“Not today, thank you.”
Said with a smile, this sentence can work wonders. It’s a polite response and implies you are a giving person but choose not to give right now. It’s empowering. I challenge you to try this next time you’re caught off guard and asked for money.
The past few years my wife and I have tried to pick a few charities we are comfortable giving to, and give a set amount. This way, we stay within budget and remain intentional with our giving, which helps us to feel that our money is going to a worthy cause.
By the way, the magic sentence above can also be used in most retail situations when asked if you want to join their club, sign up for a store credit card or product warranty, or any other sales pitch.
Posted in Give Money | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 |
Last month I asked the question of what personal finance book to get a high school graduate. I posed the question on my blog, at yahoo answers, and on the Money Blogger Network forums. I got plenty of quality responses. Here are some:Jason Kelley’s “The Neatest Little Guide to Personal Finance”
Henry Hazlitt’s “Economics in One Lesson”
“The Only Investment Guide You Will Ever Need” by Andrew Tobias
“The Millionaire Next Door”
“The Wealthy Barber”
“Rich Dad, Poor Dad”
Suze Orman’s “Young, Fabulous, and Broke”
“Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson
Thanks for all your contributions. However, we decided not to get a book. Mainly because I just didn’t find one that specifically addressed high school graduates’ personal finances. I find this very telling; How many of us come out of college with plenty of personal finance problems and poor habits? What if we’d spent those collge years armed with quality directed advice on our personal finances. I actually see this as an opportunity to write a good book on the specific topic. I bet there are some other ways, like blogs, that high school grads are getting good info from. I know there’s youngmoney.com. Anyone know of any other resources?
We also decided not to get a book because we thought of two better gifts and decided to stop at two. The two gifts we ended up getting him were:
• $50 gift card to Walmart. We gave this instead of cash, so that our contribution wouldn’t get spent frivolously on fast food or arcade games. We hope he uses it to purchase supplies for his college apartment.
• $50 gift of savings from our ING Direct Orange Account. This is a wonderful tool provided by ING. All you have to do is make a referral and select the gift option. We hope this will get him headed down the path of healthy savings.
Well, I’m off to start my future best-selling book entitled, “The High School Graduate’s Guide to Personal Finance.”
Posted in Give Money, Money Books | 2 Comments »
Sunday, May 6th, 2007 |
If you tithe regularly, consider automating this process so that you don’t have to worry about last minute calculations or bringing checks or cash to Church services. You can set auto tithing up one of two ways:
1. If you have a free bill pay option in your bank account, you can set up your Church as a payee and create auto payments, which will mail a check to your Church. Of course, you may need to inform your Church about the process so they will be looking for the check and understand how to apply it.
2. A second and more efficient way is to sign up for your Church’s eGiving Program. eGiving is short for electronic giving. It is an automatic transfer program which allows you to make contributions without writing checks. The program basically withdraws money from your account at whatever interval you wish. Hopefully your Church has one of these. If they don’t, here’s an online program that could facilitate this service.
Posted in Give Money | 2 Comments »
