As you know, Haiti's in a very sad state of affairs and they need all the help they can get. I don't like asking people to donate much because it feels kinda weird, so I won't, BUT I did want to spread the word in case you *are* looking to give back. As a blogger we have the awesome ability to reach more people than in our "normal" lives, so I feel it's important to share and do what we can to help :)

I've personally been texting "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 each time to Red Cross, but there are a ton of other options available too. Google has a GREAT relief page set up (http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/) with a bunch of legit ways you can help, as well as support numbers, updated news, links, etc. And prayers work too!

If you DO decide to donate, please be sure to check out these other bloggers who are matching or donating on your behalf just for leaving a comment. Or even better, a blog post:

• The Centsible Life: Kelly is donating 10 cents for ever comment dropped, but even better is that many of us are matching those amounts too!
• Ask Mr. Credit Card: Mr. CC will donate $1.00 per comment AND $5 for every post a blogger writes about supporting Haiti.
• Money Saving Mom: Crystal is donating 30 cents per comment AND $10 for every blog post supporting Haiti!

With enough luck and love it'll all make a difference :)

Labels: charity

Guest post by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval

As the authors of THE POWER OF NICE and THE POWER OF SMALL, we know first-hand how our small, kind actions can have a tremendous impact on the lives of others, and consequently our own. And contrary to what you might think, things as seemingly trivial and simple as making small talk with a stranger can have life altering consequences.

Don't believe us? Just listen to Sandy and Annamarie tell their story:



From holding the door for a coworker, to making casual conversation with the cashier at the corner store, the opportunities to effect positive change are all around us, and you can discover them, too. The key is to shift your outlook and retune your focus from the big picture to the small details... and the holidays are a perfect time to start.

Sure, hitting the mall and loading up your shopping bags full of fancy toys, designer clothes, and high-tech electronics is fun and feels good, but we believe that making small, kind gestures as a token of affection can feel even better. In fact, by harnessing the power of small, you can make a little go a long way and discover that sharing holiday cheer with friends and family doesn't have to cost a thing. So, whether or not you're pinching pennies this season, why not try these tips for a SMALL, NICE holiday?

Write a letter.

When we were reading this month's Real Simple Magazine, we came across an idea from a reader that really hit home. Each year, in lieu of a store-bought gift, she writes a heartfelt letter to each of her relatives, expressing her feelings of thanks, love, and respect. Although inexpensive, the looks on each of the recipients' faces year after year show how valuable the letters really are.

Offer your services.

If you're a great cook, why not become a personal chef for the day? Love kids? Channel your inner Jo Frost and become a "supernanny" for the night. To make it more festive, design your own "gift card" on your computer or by hand, redeemable any time. Giving your friend or relative (especially a busy mom or dad) a bit of time to relax is a gift you can be sure they will appreciate!

Call an old friend.

With the popularity of online social networking, reconnecting with your long-lost friends is as easy as clicking "search," but once you've found each other, why not give him or her a call instead of writing on his or her wall? The opportunity to catch up over the phone will raise both of your spirits.

Make a donation.

Show your loved ones that you care about the issues that matter to them by making small donations in their honor to charities you know they support. With just a few dollars, you can make a real difference to non-profit organizations of all kinds while letting your friends and relatives know you're listening.

So this year, if you're feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of blowing your budget on lavish gifts for all of your friends and family, remember that there are other less expensive yet just as meaningful ways to show your generosity. By harnessing the power of the little things, this holiday season and throughout the year, you'll find you're well on your way to creating a nicer way of life for you and all of your family and friends.

-----------------
Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval are the CEO/Chief Creative Officer and President, respectively, of the Kaplan Thaler Group and the co-authors of the bestselling books Bang! and THE POWER OF NICE: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness. Their newest release, THE POWER OF SMALL: Why Little Things Make All the Difference, debuted on the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and USA TODAY bestseller lists and is available in stores now. You can catch up with them on their blog, follow them on Twitter, or find them on Facebook.

Labels: charity, holidays, life, saving, shopping

For anyone who missed it, on Friday I decided to embark on a $100 Scratch Off Lottery Project.

At first it was purely for entertainment, but after generating some buzz on Twitter I decided to donate all my winnings to charity - specifically Project Hopeful.

Before I get into the results though, I wanted to thank all those who have graciously decided to match my contributions! What started off as a financially stupid game has now ended with a handful of money for our charity :) So a major thank you to JerryB, Sid, Forest, Michele, RainyDaySaver, and Brad - you guys are awesome.

And now, the results:

Well my friends, the party has ended and I feel hungover. For all the build up (and hope) this weekend, the results really blew. As expected as it may sound, I really thought I'd win a lot more than I did! And not because I was feeling extra lucky lately either (which I was) but because I usually win at least every other time when playing on a whim. Like an idiot I was just hoping it would carry over into this little game of ours ;) Oops.

But with all adventures in life, there is always something you can take away from it. I'll be getting into that in a bit, but first I thought it would be fun to share some interesting stats from this weekend's project (I created a gallery of pictures too):

• When placed end to end, the 100 tickets reached 400 inches long! Or roughly 33 feet.
• Stacked on top of each other it was about 2 inches thick (1 inch if smooshed).
• The store clerk wrapped all the tickets in a white paper bag. I found this strange for some reason.
• The odds of winning on back of tickets: 1 in 4.21
• The REAL odds of me winning: 1 in 5 (20 winners, 80 losers - bleh!)
• It took me 1 1/2 hours to scratch them all off.
• Then another 5 mins to make sure I didn't miss any!
• I did them all with my right pointer finger.
• By the end I had a MAJOR headache, followed by weird finger sensations?!
• I was also frustrated, pissed off, grumpy, and overall just sad.

So, how much did I win? $38 freakin' dollars. It could have been worse, but it could have also been much better. On the plus side, we generated a lot of money to go out to Project Hopeful! Here's how it all breaks down - winning tickets & generous matches:

• $1 winners: 12
• $2 winners: 4
• $3 winners: 2
• $6 winners: 2
• MY TOTAL WINNINGS: $38.00
  
• Add in JerryB's match of $38.00
• Along with Sid's match of $20.00
• And Forest's match of $38.00
• With Michele's match of $38.00
• And RainyDaySaver's of $25.00
• And finally Brad's of $25.00

And we come up with a grand total of donations worth $222! Not too shabby for a random experiment, eh? I'm still reeling a bit from not hitting at least ONE winning ticket over $20 bucks (wtf, right?), but I suppose it just wasn't my time yet...

Takeaway Thoughts:

When all was said and done though, I came away much more enlightened. I wasn't the happiest person to be around when finished, but I did learn from this. Here is what I wrote minutes after the last ticket was scratched (I wanted to get my feelings down while they were hot & fresh):

Sometimes it's more exciting thinking about things than doing them. The *idea* of all those lottery tickets was awesome!!! Going to the store and buying them was awesome! The thinking about "what ifs", the buzz around it, the whole damn thing was awesome - right up until the point of scratch time. That's when things started sucking.

Gambling brings out the emotions in you. As soon as I began scratching them off I started getting super competitive. And then mad, and then happy!, and then sad, and then nervous, and then happy!, and then pissed, and then lucky!, and then totally embarrassed. Playing the lottery every now and then is one thing, but playing 100 times in a row is a TOTALLY different experience. You know the odds are greatly stacked against you, but it still doesn't make you feel any better when you lose 15 or 20 in a row. In fact, it seemed I only won in a row, or lost in a row (w/ the losing spurts being much longer). Truth be told, it was an emotional roller coaster.

Giving back is contagious. I was really happy knowing Project Hopeful would be getting all my winnings, but even more so after some of you decided to play along! While I wish I could have won a helluva lot more for them, it really does go to show what a wonderful community we have here. As soon as one person decided to match, 4 others hopped right on board and that really touched me quite a bit :) Before even scratching we had the opportunity to triple our winnings!

There really can be too much of a good thing. The first 30-40 tickets flew by like crazy and I enjoyed every last second of it. But the more I went along from that point, the less fun I started to have, and the more "chore-like" it became. Maybe it would have been better had I hit it big, but I think that's really the exception to the rule. That doesn't mean all the buzz and excitement leading up to it wasn't great (it was the best part!), but the act itself wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

In Summary

We didn't hit the jackpot friends, but I'd still call the $100 Scratch Off Project a success! We learned a little, struggled a little, were entertained a lot!, and all in all had a great time experimenting :) You won't see me doing it again anytime soon, but I'm really glad I can now check it off the list. And on top of it all we donated more than $200 to charity!!! Not too bad for a random post idea...

I hope you guys enjoyed this! And if you want even more of this lottery craziness, check out today's post over at My Next Buck - It turns out I wasn't the only one to do something like this ;) Although I do hate him for beating me like that....See you all tomorrow!

--------------
PS: For anyone interested in Project Hopeful, here's some contact info:

Project Hopeful, NFP
P.O. Box 350
Plainfield, IL 60544
Phone: +1 815-823-3297
Website: ProjectHopeful.org
DONATE: Click the purple "Donate" Button on the right
E-mail: projecthopeful (at) projecthopeful (dot) org

Labels: charity, lottery

Welcome to this weekend's $100 Lottery Project! I'm feeling feisty as ever right now, and thought I'd spice things up a bit by doing something ridiculously stupid. But also fun, exciting, silly, and rewarding all mixed into one.

As many of you know, I am a hardcore fan of scratch off lottery tickets. Not only do they pump me full of endorphins, but those lovely pieces of metallic paper allow me to escape into a dream-like world full of happiness & unicorns! Okay maybe not unicorns, but definitely ligors. For me, lotteries really are the best bang for a buck. (so long as you don't get addicted)

I've wanted to do this for years now, but having a captive audience was all I needed ;) And I'll have you know there were many behind the scenes here egging me on too (probably because it's not their money we're using! haha...). I shot out a feeler on Twitter and Facebook to gauge interest, and 25+ of you said to go for it! My favorite response: "You have the insanity of a manatee!" Yes. Yes I do.

The $100 Scratch Off Lottery Project:

1. I march my crazy a$$ down to the local liquor store.
2. I pick up 100 assorted $1 scratch-off lottery tickets. All random and spread out, No fun in hitting up the same kind 100 times over.
3. I scratch each and every one of them off this weekend. (Amounting to orgasmic euphoria)
4. I post up the results on Monday! The good, the bad, and the finger-hurtin' ugly.
5. I hand over all the winnings to charity :) In particularly, Project Hopeful - A charity that encourages, educates, and enables families to adopt children with HIV/Aids (and a charity that is near & dear to my friend Jessica, who I admire very much).

I've also started collecting guesses as to what people think we'll be winning. So far we have $76 and $87, and my guess is somewhere around $125 - but I'm hoping for $2.00. Care to add your own?

So Stay tuned for Monday's results! And wish me luck too. You kinda sorta have to since it's all going to charity ;) The more we win, the better we/I/everyone feels! Oh, and I almost forgot - this $100 is coming straight out of my "entertainment budget." I can't be too irresponsible now can I?
-----------------------------
UPDATE: I couldn't help but to chime in and say THANK YOU to all who have decided to match our winnings! I am blown away by your generosity, and I'm sure Project Hopeful will be just as please to hear the good news :) A shout out to the matchers: JerryB, Sid, Forest, Michele, RainyDaySaver, and Brad.
UPDATE: The results are in!!! Check it out.

Labels: about j., charity, lottery, randomness 3000

Hello, hello my good friends! It's Friday and it's gonna be a helluva good day :) Some of you might have forgotten, but a few months ago I wrote about charity and giving back, and asked if you'd share some of your own favorite charities with us. Well, I'm happy to tell you that a new project is finally in the works!!! I can't give away all the details right now, but I'm INCREDIBLY excited about it and I really REALLY think you guys will like what it's about.

This last year and a half at Budgets Are Sexy has been amazing, and every day your comments, emails, tweets, posts, and life lessons inspire me that much more. I love what this community's about, and I can't thank you enough for allowing me into your life. Seriously, I'd give each and every one of you a hug right now if I could. Or even a beer, depending on your sex ;)

My hope with this next project is to give back as much as possible, and to inspire people to keep coming together and making a difference. This economy has taken a toll on a whole bunch of our lives, and we need all the love we can get!

So get excited friends. We're gonna make this world a better place, and I need each and every one of you to help me out with it. I'll keep ya posted...

Labels: blogging, charity, thank you, updates

Spoken by the brilliant Henry David Thoreau. That quote sums up exactly what's on my brain today - charity. The last time I wrote about this I decided to donate $25 to a new organization every month. Sadly, I continue to forget this every month until one pops along my radar or I specifically get asked to contribute to someone's latest cause.

Today I vow to make 2 changes. The first - to actively stay on top of this once and for all. Not only will I be upping this amount to $50, but I shall set up a google calendar item and have it alert me once a month to make sure my goldfish memory gets pinged on a regular basis. This should work swimmingly as I'm always connected to the internets!

The second is to create a list of great organizations and charities to pull from. If that list is always full and constantly being updated, I'll be more inspired to donate as I see an immediate impact when each charity is crossed off. Plus, I'll then have an easily accessible place to mark (and support) those favorites of mine whenever I come across any dry spells in the collection process.

This is where YOU guys come in :) I would like to create a solid list of those organizations nearest and dearest to your hearts - big or small. I know when I get passionate about something I want to tell the world about it, and I'm hoping we can do something about that here.

If there are any organizations you feel deeply passionate about, or want to spread the word on, please tell me about them. You can send details, brief bios, contact info, or simply a link where we can find it. If it's important to you, I want to hear about it :) At some point I'll be publishing this list in hopes to spread the word even more, so be sure to holler (you can email me, twitter-tweet me, or drop a comment on me, whatever's easiest.)

This is my attempt at spreading a little love, and making a difference in this crazy world of ours.

Labels: charity, goals, in the real world, investing, money quotes

They're asking us to help out. Apparently they've already gotten $30k from last week's requests, and they need another $100k within the next couple of weeks. I really don't know how to take this...in all honesty the first thing that comes to mind is: Wtf?

Not so much because we're being asked to help, that's expected, but moreso because I have no idea as to what caused this debt to begin with (I kinda sorta skipped church last week when they went over it). Is it mortgage related? Are parishioners not tithing enough? I can only assume it has something to do with this economy because it seems to have come out of nowhere.

Reasons aside though, does our community even HAVE the extra funds to help bail out our little churchy church? Cuz I gotta tell ya, the amount of cash people have access to these days are slowly drying up. And what we DO have, most of us are holding on to in case of something even crazier happening. At least that's what I'd assume is happening :)

So @ church yesterday we were all asked to "sacrifice" and contribute a little more this week, and the next, so that we can clear this debt and start Easter fresh. How wonderful it would be if this indeed happened! But I can't help but wonder if we might be in the same situation again 3 months from now? If that were the case, they (the church) would be hardpressed to get even *more* of these extra funds from us to help get on track again. Not only that, is it even our duty as followers of Christ to do whatever it takes to help out? And what if we don't? Will the church file bankruptcy and leave all it's members behind? (is that even possible?) My moral side says YES - it's your obligation to help clear out this debt. But my logical/frugal side says NO - we may very well be in this same situation again.

It's hard speculating without the facts. When it comes down to it, I'll do my best to contribute & sacrifice as much as possible w/out putting my family's livelihood in harm's way. How much that amounts to I couldn't tell ya. All I know is that things start looking a little rough when even your church is having a hard time getting through this mess...not a complaint, just an observation ;)

Labels: charity, crazy economy, in the real world

Time to make some deposits at your local thrift store! So put on those energy pants and start rummaging through the house. The more you can donate, the more you can write off!

Not sure what that means? Don't worry, i didn't either 2 years ago ;) It's basically another way to legally hold on to your hard earned money. According to thefreedictionary.com:

"tax write-off: a reduction in the gross amount on which a tax is calculated; reduces taxes by the percentage fixed for the taxpayer's income bracket"

So let's say you have to pay taxes on $10,000 this year. Well, if you donated $1,000 (say from a combo of cash and clothes, electronics, etc) to a charity or thriftstore this year, your "tax write-off" would be that $1,000 and NOW you only have to actually pay taxes on $9,000 instead of the original $10,000. So you basically just saved yourself $300-$400 depending on your tax bracket. Make sense?

There's a slue of rules and regulations with all this stuff (like being able to prove your donations w/ receipts and what not), but that's basically the gist of it all. Be sure to consult an actual accountant or IRS.gov for better information ;)

Hare are 5 Other Reasons Why you Should do it:

1. Your house feels cleaner and less cluttered! There's definitely something to that "less is more" saying here - especially if "less" pertains to less junk/unwanted items taking up dust.
2. You get some exercise - all that running around finding goodies in your home breaks a sweat! The key is to pick up a big box or trash bag, and then just start clearing things right off into it. When one fills up, just quickly get another and throw it all in your trunk 1-2-3! Just be sure to make a quick list of what you're donating so you can calculate the values later.
3. You easily help out your community! These thrift stores do A LOT for those less fortunate than we are, so you really are helping everyone out.
4. You don't have to sell anything. Unlike taking the time to list them on Craigslist, eBay, etc (although also highly recommended), all you have to do here is drop them off and voila - you save money! It all adds up too, esp. if you rarely ever do it. My first drop off back in August added up to a good $200 in items, and then my last one (3 weeks ago) included another $400.
5. You'll now be at bargain central! Stay an extra 15 mins and go shopping for yourself ;) He he...why not pick up a couple goodies for yourself? Just don't go overboard and cancel out the $ you just saved, that would suck.

Did i convince ya? If not, no worries...i give you permission to punch me in the face later. Interestingly enough, however, I just saw on the news that a store in Northern VA had over 1800 people stop by yesterday alone!!! Crazzzyyyy. They expect even more today too which makes total sense - everyone's trying to grab those tax benefits before '08 ends. So if you're one of them, go get 'em tiger! It's a Win-Win situation :)

Labels: charity, taxes

I got an email the other day from a Turbo Tax person (this is *not* a sponsored/paid article btw), and it had some pretty good tax tips up in thurrr. I figured i'd share them w/ you considering a) we only have a few weeks left in the year, and b) i'm too stuffed/tired to post anything original today ;) Plus i'm on Holiday, - woohoo!

So here are the 3 Tax Tips, interspersed w/ some personal commenting by yours truly:

1. Sell losing investments.
Taking a loss this year may help taxpayers offset tax from other gains or income, but that loss is limited to $3,000. Any amount in excess of that must be carried over to their 2009 tax return. I think this is a great idea, if this pertains to you of course - all my stocks/mutual funds/etc are either in my 401k, or Roth IRA so no luck for me in this department.

2. Donate to Charity.
Donating clothes, toys, household goods and other items to charity before Dec. 31 may help taxpayers who itemize claim bigger refunds while helping someone else. Using software like TurboTax helps taxpayers accurately value donations in accordance with IRS guidelines so there’s no need to guess at an item’s fair market value. Done, and done! Actually took my last batch over to The Salvation Army last Saturday :) Not only do you get the tax write off, but you clean up your place AND feel good at the same time! Not a bad deal my friends...

3. Prepay some bills.
Taxpayers can prepay a few of their 2009 bills in 2008, and get to write them off on this year’s tax return. This includes mortgage payments and predictable medical expenses, like braces for the kids. I never thought of this one! Unfort. my budget is pretty packed in, so unless i get a mad bonus this Xmas (ya never know), I'll have to skip on this one.

All GOOD things to know, eh?! Now, if you'll excuse me, i'm off to eat some more leftovers....and/or continue shopping on this black Friday...but only for Xmas gifts -can't be slurging these days ;)

Labels: charity, one of my lists, saving, taxes

This is the third time i've found myself donating to other blogger's causes - And it feels freakin' awesome! It feels like the money goes much further this way, and it's like helping your family :)

So who IS this Ugly Shoe Pam? Well, i don't know her personally, but if my girl Leigh Ann over at Save Leigh Ann says she's a dear friend, then she's a friend of mine! Here's the gist of it all:

"Pam has been my best friend since we were 9 years old. She is one of the most unselfish, caring people I have ever known. And she is in turmoil right now...She is beyond broke right now. And she needs us."

You can read more about her situation here, but needless to say this $25 would be go MUCH further in her care than in mine, or any other charity i can think of right now. Plus, it just feels great helping someone "in the community", ya know? Here's to things turning around for you Ugly Shoe Pam!

Labels: charity

It's one of "those" days around here.

I'm groggy as hell, hyped up on Bux coffee, eating a banana (of course), and just all kinds of disheveled.

So, figured it would be best to just spew out my thoughts instead of formulating a coherent message today. Plus, as you will soon see, none of these deserve their own post anyway. I start with the most interesting ones first...

Topic #1. Auctioning off your Virginity
That's right, there's a young lady out there reportedly putting her virginity up for sale! And I already checked eBay and it's not on there ;) Apparantly they turned her down and the auction will be held at some brothel. There's been plenty of press about it lately, but since i'm a bit slow it's just now coming around to me. There's plenty of posts if you want more info or if you want to bid (hah!), all you have to do is google the following quote from her,

"I don't think auctioning my virginity will solve all my problems, but it will create some financial stability...We live in a capitalist society. Why shouldn't I be allowed to capitalize on my virginity?"

Topic #2. I was asked to buy doughnuts for $6 on my way to work.
They were a 6-pack of krispy kremes trying to be unloaded for some fund raiser or charity. Probably for a local college's sports team as the group was decked out in the usual freshmen gear - running shorts, hoodie, flip-flops, and lanyards. I came close to giving in, but in the end i threw out a "not today, thank you" just like my man PT mentioned on my earlier post about getting asked for money. Go me!

Topic #3. I'm flying American Airlines tomorrow, and wonder if i'll be forced to pay for having bags, eating, drinking, sleeping, and breathing.
If i have to, i have to. At least i got hooked up pretty cheaply through expedia! I'm gonna forecast an extra $25 somewhere in the mix just in case. It just sux that you get hit up for fees no matter where you go these days.

Topic #4. Bananas are selling for 90¢ at Starbucks.
That is all. I just found it interesting.

And there you have it - 4 random bits of goodness for you. I'm off to do some actual work now, and then St. Louis here i come! I won't have much access to email, so don't fret if you don't hear from me for a few days. OOH, but i DO have an update on our wedding pic situation!!! Get ready :)

I wonder if i'll come across Baily picking up pennies @ the airport? i'm gonna scatter some around for him! haha.... (OOOh, or better yet - hide some and then make him find 'em like a scavenger hunt!)

Labels: charity, cockamamy indeed, randomness 3000

Do i have a sign on me saying, "i hate money"? I know i just wrote about how i'll be donating $25 every month now, but it seems like people are coming out of the woodwork thinking i'm some sort of p.i.m.p. now. And to clarify, i'm not...yet ;)

But for the second morning in a row now, i have literally been stopped in my tracks and asked for money by two different homeless people. I've given crazy amounts in the past to them (like $10 even), but it really depends on my mood and the manner in which i get approached that determines the outcome. And these 2 possible phonies (i really don't think they were homeless) were pretty freakin' abrasive.

And then we have the 3rd time at the grocery store - Safeway to be exact. Now this is totally different than people coming off the street asking you for change, but it's STILL someone asking for money. And even more important to remember, is that it has occured every single visit for the past 8-9 months now.

It usually goes something like this:

• Cashier: "Hello! Would you like to help out the Children blah blah blah Cause by donating a $1.00 to your total?" (Pleeeeeease! i act like i don't care, but i REALLY want you to say yes)
• Me: "Yeah, sure" (whew, there's like 5 people behind us listening to our answer! we HAVE to say yes, or God forbid we're looked down upon, right? i mean, i live around all these people.)
• Cashier: "Thanks, you're awesome!" (YES, one more dollar to help me beat out all the others and win that extra bonus/time off/small tv)
• Me: "I know." haha... nah, i actually just smile in agreeance.

This repeats each weekly visit. Do you ever think like this? Like you HAVE to say yes because of everyone around you? haha....i'd say i give in about 3 out of the 4 times a month we go - all depending on my mood, which usually is pretty good because i'm about to go home and eat some awesome food i just purchased and then watch some Prison Break, House, Fringe, Entourage, you get the point ;)

Well, in all honesty i'm 0 for 3 during all of this. I'd like to say that i gave in at least once and helped someone out, but sadly i just got more irked as the day progressed. Isn't that interesting though? Like, had they hit me up on wednesday or friday the odds would have been a good 80% better than i'd have given in to a majority of them!

Oh well, I'm still feeling pretty good about my new $25 donation budget, so it's all good. I guarantee i'll be asked at least 4 more times this week anways, so i could always make up for it if it really bothers me. Those f'ers ;)

Labels: charity, cockamamy indeed

I just can't freakin' remember! At least i hope it's that, and not that i just don't care....cuz that would be pretty horrible. But i'm an overall nice guy, so i'm gonna bet on the memory loss ;)

So in an effort to stop feeling like a bad person, i am officially adding a new line item to my budget - a $25 donation allowance.

I know it's not much, but i gotta start somewhere! As time goes on, or when i hit that mega millions, i plan on inching it up accordingly so it becomes a solid gesture. The last time i donated was back in April, and i think i over did it a bit because the idea of doing it again was blocked from my memory.

I had donated $25 a cple weeks before, and then $50 on the same day in a spirit of generousity. I think doing it all in one day though made me feel funny (is that weird?). Overall i was extremely pleased with though, and all 3 places were thankful for it - the Military Archdiocese, Idol Gives Back (don't laugh), and Showukare.com - so I definitely want to get into the habit of continuously giving back.

I mean, even selfishly doing it helps the world out ya know? There isn't one successful person out there i know that hasn't generously given back to society. I'm not saying they did it for selfish reasons, but just that it sure as hell didn't hurt. Good karma can go a long way.

So with all that in mind, I am spending my first planned $25 today on Tricia Belfonti's online fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network! I have always enjoyed donating to the causes of friends and families first (and now bloggers!), so i'm excited to help support her cause :) Here's a quick snippet from her sponsorship page:

"Almost 4 years ago two families had surgeries scheduled. They had the same cardiologist, the same surgeon. The surgery date was the same. One surgeon touched both of these little girl's hearts on the same day: one after the other.We were introduced the same day by Dr. Felice Heller. A beautiful friendship was formed; a bond that will never be broken."

So awesome!! This was an easy one to pick ;) I'm hoping that i'll come across some more "local" ones like this as the months pass, so if you know of any yourself, or even have your own favorites, leave them in the comments so we can all have a chance to learn more about them - and hopefully make some contributions!

ps: my current budget doesn't reflect this new addition to it just yet, but it'll be revised pretty soon along with some other new stuff ;)

Labels: charity

How insane is that? I can't even fathom $1 million, nevermind $14, and it's apparently the most expensive celebrity pictures ever sold. W-O-W, I guess that's pop culture for you - it's not like i'd turn it down ;) What's pretty bad a$$, though, is that they're donating the $ to a foundation they created that focuses on helping children around the world. I tip my hat to you good sir and madam.

Labels: celebrity finance, charity, cockamamy indeed

Man, thank goodness I didn't shell out those 10G's I was planning on sending to Obama! Haha...j/k, of course.

But seriously, i had no idea you couldn't write them off. I bet you used to be able to, but someone (or a bunch of someones) ruined it.

It's surely not the end of the world, and def. shouldn't be one of the top reasons to donate to a cause, but it did get me thinking. Esp. considering i was just about to donate for the first time ever to a campaign! (can you guess whose?) I would have just slapped it right into my "contributions" folder at home, an added it to next year's tax #'s.

I guess it's good that I subscribe to Money Magazine then ;) Their brief, and to the point, write up on this caught my eager eyes on my daily commute in this morning. It was titled, "Funding Your Candidate" (June, pg23) and shared 3 things to keep in mind:

1. You can give only so much
There are actually caps on how much you can donate - imagine that! Here are the limits each person can donate for 2008 (they are adjusted every 2 years for inflation):

• $2,300 per candidate, per primary
• $2,300 per candidate, per general election
• $28,500 to a national party
• $10,000 per state or local party
• $5,000 per political action committee (PAC)
• UNLIMITED donations to a 527 - some sort of candidate lobby group...maybe this is why i hear of people donating $100,000 here, $200,000 there?

2. Your info will go public
W-O-W, never saw that one coming! (i'm being serious there...although to some of you it will probably come across sarcastic. haha) Apparently there were some reforms after Watergate, and every time you make a contribution, you ALSO have to provide the following:

• your name
• your job
• your employer
• your address

Now, if your total donations are UNDER $200, then your info will just stay w/ the campaign. BUT, and a very interesting one indeed, if your contributions go OVER $200, your info then gets forwarded to the FEC, who then posts it on their website - FEC.gov !!! And then there is ANOTHER then, where it THEN gets picked up by sites like OpenSecrets.org, and FundRace.org who put them in searchable databases! Please excuse another one - W-O-W!

3. No Federal tax deductions for any contrib.
We already covered this one, but Money does a good job of pointing another option out for those deductible-hungry citizens. And that is to donate the said money to a charity that your candidate supports. This way, you help them out, the charity out, and yourself out ;)

So, what will i be doing with this new found information? I'm gonna donate directly to my man Obama. As I've mentioned, I've never once done so in my lifetime, and since my budget only allows for amounts UNDER $200, I won't have to get freaked out about my info all over the net

Labels: barack obama, charity, politics, taxes

I didn't even really mean to! haha...I literally get asked at LEAST twice per work day (we're in downtown D.C.), and I find that I react depending on my mood. Somedays I get pissed that they're out there pan handling, and then others (like today) I get wrapped up in their stories and feel soooooo bad that I end up giving in.

Most times I'll donate, $1.00, if that. It just so happend that i didn't have one, and what was i supposed to do, ask for change?! oh man....so, he got a crisp $10'er. it felt really good afterwards, so I think i made the right choice on this one. I just hope he really DOES use it for the good!

How do you guys handle this? I've heard people say they only donate to "reputable charities" that then help out the homeless, while I've heard others say they just give whatever change is in their pocket at the time.

Labels: charity

One thing i learned from the Automatic Millionaire is to make donations. Soooo, with that, i decided to start today while it's still fresh in my mind:

$20.00 --> Military Archdiocese. I remembered they had a place to donate on their site yesterday, so figured a better start than any.
$25.00 --> Idol Gives Back. They are freakin' awesome, best fund raiser E-V-E-R.
$15.00 --> Showukare.com. A friend forwarded this to me this morning. You even get a shirt!

Wow, i just flew through $60...is it bad that i'm starting to have buyers remorse? haha... i'm not used to doing this :) One day i'll be pimp enough to give every month.

Labels: charity