Counting My Pennies » charity

Ow.

Megan — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:27:21 +0000

Week one of my new workout plan has gone well. It was a bit of a cost investment to buy the plan and some additional dumb bells, but my opinion is that if I’ll stick to it, the cost is well worth it. Yes, I know I could do it all on my own. But I won’t. I know myself. Some people need classes to stick to a workout plan, some people need trainers, I need a pre-designed plan. It’s what works for me.

But man, am I sore.

I’m also a little frustrated. A few months back, a friend was having some money troubles, and as she’s a big jewelry maker, I made a big order from her store to the tune of about $100. It was stuff she had pre-made, and I knew it would make good gifts. She was having some personal issues too, so I didn’t press her on the speed of the shipping. And when I asked, she said it was coming, that she was just doing something a little special for me. I was getting suspicious, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Then her pet got sick. Then he got better, thanks to the donations of others. Then her other pet got sick, just as people were starting to ask about their jewelry shipments.

I’m thinking I got scammed out of $100. I’ve bought from this girl before, so I know she has a valid business, and she’s got great etsy comments. But I waited too long to dispute the transaction, so I’m stuck. She’s not answering my emails. Part of me thinks “Well, if she needed the money that badly, I will consider it a Christmas gift and be done with it.” But this isn’t some stranger. And it really bothers me.

I’m still giving her the benefit of the doubt, as you can see. I won’t publish her name or any identifying details. But I’m really frustrated and hurt. And I’ve learned my lesson. The benefit of the doubt will only last so long.

What matters.

Megan — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:02:25 +0000

As of late (as you have likely noticed), I haven’t really been blogging about money very much. And I’m not sure why, but I think it has something to do with starting to wonder what really matters.

Now, I’m not saying money doesn’t matter to me. It does. I want the ability to live a comfortable life, to give my hypothetical children a great education, and to be able to enjoy my retirement. But money isn’t everything.

A friend of the family is in the hospital suffering from third degree burns over a large part of his body (due, in part, to his own stupidity). Another friend is in the ICU at Walter Reed. And friends of friends are battling divorces and dealing with ill children and all sorts of things.

So it starts to make my money goals seem like nothing at all.

Of course, with ignoring my money, I find that I’m spending more. And really, what I could be doing is trying to keep the budget tight and use that money to help these friends in small ways or donate to charities helping people like them.

I don’t know, things have just been put into perspective over the past few weeks.

Doing Good for Lent

Megan — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:43:09 +0000

Hope everyone enjoyed Fat Tuesday yesterday. I celebrated by running sprints at the gym. I don’t do anything the normal way, it seems.

Anyway, the end of Fat Tuesday means that today is officially the beginning of Lent. I was raised Catholic, so for me, the idea of giving something up (or doing something to better myself) during this 40 day period is not unusual, but I know a lot of non-religious people who choose to use this time period to also try to do something good. Maybe they give up coffee or try to not spend any money. Maybe they vow to hit the gym three times a week. The hope is that if you can do something for 40 days, you can keep it up after the 40 day period has ended.

I wasn’t going to do anything this year. And then something opened my eyes.

Last night, on my way home, I was stopped by a couple. The man told me his story of looking for money to get a hotel because the shelter was full. He told me that his girlfriend was pregnant and that he had just lost his job. He admitted it was embarassing, but any help I could provide would be great.

Was he telling me the truth? I don’t know. But either way, I gave him all the cash I had on me (a whopping $4).

Typically, I don’t give money to people on the street. But as I was walking home, I started to think about it. Maybe this guy was totally scamming me. But let’s say even 50% of the people panhandling for money are scamming. That means that 50% really do need that money. And I only gave the guy $4. How often do I waste $4 on something ridiculous>

So I’m thinking that for Lent, I’m always going to try to have a few dollars on me and give money to panhandlers as I pass. I don’t care if they need it for food or shelter or if they just want to get a drink. Either way, it brightens someone’s day and it reminds me just how lucky I really am.

Feeling Lucky

Megan — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:37:18 +0000

I don’t know about you, but watching and reading the media coverage of the earthquake in Haiti is making me feel very lucky right now. As of writing, there is no clear estimate of the number of people killed in this disaster, but CNN is reporting that it’s already more than 100,000 people. The images are horrifying.

One thing that was not destroyed was the airport – relief flights are still able to get in to help. So here’s where you can come in. You know I’m big on charitable donations. Give to those who need your help. And this is your chance. There are a lot of relief agencies already doing work in Haiti, and a quick search will give you an idea of where to donate. Two big ones are the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. If you check out Twitter, you’ll notice posts telling you that if you text a certain word to a specific number, you can make a $10 donation to that charity, which will be paid through your cell phone bill. While that method of donating isn’t my bag, if you’re interested, you should give it a shot.

Disaster relief is expensive. If you can, give a few dollars to help. If we all did this, imagine the help it would provide the relief organizations.

Favorite Charity

Megan — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:30:17 +0000

So it’s almost the end of the year, which means that I’m sure you’re all receiving all sorts of e-mails and letters from various charities, hoping you will choose to give to them this holiday season and increase your tax deductions.

I’m big on giving to charity, and I know a lot of other PF bloggers are as well. I know how lucky I am to be where I am and have what I have, and I like to give back on some level.

It’s always hard to choose a charity. There are so many great ones out there. I use Charity Navigator to help me narrow down the field, but that doesn’t always help much. I give to both local groups and to major international groups, but I’m always interested to hear more about charitable works.

What are your favorite charities? I would like to put together a list to be posted sometime during Christmas week. Let’s hear who you support (or who you would support if you could). Why do you like that charity?

Thanks in advance for all your contributions. I can’t wait to see what we come up with!

Aggressive Charity Marketing

Megan — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:56 +0000

Those of you who have been reading for a while know that I’m big on charitable giving. One of my 2009 Financial Goals was to increase my charitable donations. I also take half of the advertising income from this site and use it to make Kiva loans.

I work in an area that is frequented by people canvassing for charity. By this, I mean people, usually young people, looking to get the passers-by to sign up for a membership to the non-profit they happen to be representing that day. I usually try to get past them, as I won’t sign up for anything without doing my research. They might be promoting a great charity, but I’m going to check them out on Charity Navigator before I sign anything.

Yesterday, I was targeted by a canvasser who I have seen around. This time, however, he was promoting a different charity, which tells me he’s probably part of a canvassing company hired by various non-profits. He cornered me and started marketing his charity. I kept telling him that I wouldn’t sign up without knowing more information. Initially, he was polite, but the polite turned to badgering and I just gave up and walked off, without a very good impression of this charity at all. Based on the way I was treated, I would not have been surprised to see it receive a very low score on Charity Navigator. I wondered if they were legit at all.

Turns out they are legit (three stars on CN), but as I read the comments, it turns out this charity has used aggressive marketers all over the country. They try to make you feel guilty and then get you to donate. And while I support their cause, I’m not sure I can bring myself to donate money through their organization.

In these economic times, charities often have to try new tricks to get people to donate money. They often appeal to our emotions. But trying to make me feel guilty just made me feel angry. And that’s not the way to get me to open my wallet.

Good Deed for the Day

Megan — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:00:49 +0000

Yesterday, I was waiting for a friend at Union Station and I stopped to get a bottle of water. As I was waiting in line, the guy in front of me was trying to pay for his sandwich with a credit card. His card kept getting declined and the cashier asked him if he had cash. He didn’t have enough. I asked him how short he was.

“Just under $2.”

I already had $2 in my hand to pay for my water, so I handed it to him so he could pay for his meal.

It was a very simple move, but it made me feel pretty good about myself. I’ve been really watching my spending, and sure, it was only $2, but I just gave it to a well dressed stranger.

(Of course, afterwards, he said “Thank you, ma’am.” He couldn’t have been that much younger than me. I’m not old enough to be ma’amed. But that’s another story.)

I’m not writing about this because I want people to be proud of my generosity. It wasn’t that generous. If I had decided to buy a sandwich for everyone in line, that would have been generous. I’m writing about it because for me, it was a reminder of how the little things do count. It’s nice to be able to help someone out, even if it is only with $2.

Kiva Loans

Megan — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:00:26 +0000

I just made my fourth loan at Kiva. Kiva is an organization dedicated to micro-lending, allowing people to lend money to those living in poverty to help them create a better life for themselves. Lenders can choose from borrowers from around the world in all sorts of professions. I have loaned to two people in animal sales, one woman running a retail store, and the newest loan is a woman in Uganda selling timber.

As with any lending site, there is some risk of default, and Kiva does provide some information on that end. They work with various microfinance institutions (otherwise known as field partners) all over the world, and Kiva provides the stats on defaults and delinquencies for each of those field partners.

Another big difference to other loans is that you don’t earn interest. That’s right. It’s a loan for the sake of helping someone else. The risk is that your loan doesn’t get repaid, but the reward is that you have helped someone else, and you may have changed their lives.

Because this is a lending site and not a donation site, the loans can’t be considered donations for tax purposes. But if all goes well, you do get your money back, which you can again withdraw from Kiva or lend again. So far, I have always re-lended my money, and that’s why I made $100 worth of loans with less than $60. Each month, you receive a partial loan payment from your borrower, and Kiva makes that money available to you on or around the fifteenth of the month so you can re-lend or withdraw.

There are people on the site who have made thousands and thousands of dollars in loans. It’s very impressive. But I have to admit, it’s a great feeling to see that I’m helping all of these people.

Kiva did get some bad press recently for choosing to make loans available in the United States. I’m not going to provide my opinion on that, but if you don’t like a certain type of loan, don’t loan to that entrepreneur. Choose a different loan in a different country. There are many options available, and it’s hard to choose just one!

Giving Financial Gifts to Family

Megan — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:00:25 +0000

There was an interesting Question and Answer on Slate the other day about helping family members who perhaps aren’t as financially stable. The asker is doing well, financially speaking, but some of her siblings are not, and some really struggle. She wanted to know how she should best help them out – according to their needs or everyone getting an equal amount.

First off, the key here is that the asker wants to help her family, she doesn’t feel obligated. It’s an iffy situation as to whether or not there’s any sort of obligation to help family in dire financial straits. I think it really depends on the situation, but here, she feels no obligation.

I like the answer. If you want to give money to family but aren’t sure how best to distribute, freedom from want of necessities should be the priority. Make sure people have food and shelter. After that, it’s up to you.

Family and money are very hard. My parents have always been all about fairness. When I was moving to D.C., my brother was in the process of buying a house, and my parents were helping him out with loans (which he has already paid back) and a small gift. I thought this was great, and so nice of them, and never worried about the fact that he was getting something I wasn’t. When my move was complete, my parents handed me a check equal to what they had given him, because that made it fair, and they knew that I had some big expenses with the move. It was incredibly nice of them, but definitely unnecessary. They just didn’t want to create any animosity (plus I think they liked that they could help me out a bit too).

Loaning money to family is always questionable, just because of the difficulties it can cause, so if possible, it’s always best if those loans are treated as gifts, or at least thought of as gifts (and then you can be happily surprised when your family member pays you back). And gifts can cause animosity between those receiving gifts and those not receiving gifts. But I would like to think that when a family member is struggling to buy food and another family member very kindly gifts them some money for groceries, that a third family member wouldn’t sulk because they didn’t get anything. But you just never know.

A bit of different advice for graduates

Megan — Fri, 15 May 2009 10:00:40 +0000

It’s graduation season once again. I know a number of people graduating this year from both college and graduate school. Some have jobs, some don’t. Most are glad to be done with school, though the idea that graduation means that you have to think about being a grown-up is weighing heavily on their minds.

I was discussing this yesterday with a co-worker. When I graduated from college, I didn’t have a job, but I had a line on a job. I graduated on a Sunday, interviewed on Tuesday and got an offer that afternoon. I then went on a family vacation for a week, came back, took the LSAT, and started my job. I worked a little over a year, quit at the end of July, and started law school mid-August. I worked every summer (and during the school year as well), graduated from law school and had a whole weekend off before starting law review classes. Took the bar exam, came home, spent a week recovering, started packing, went to a friend’s wedding in Canada, came back, went to a college football game, and then moved to D.C., where I started my job not two weeks later.

As you can see, I never took any time off for myself. My sister’s roommate is planning a trip for this summer where she and a friend road-trip across the country. Another friend is planning to backpack through Europe for a month. I’m a little jealous of these people. I’m at a point in my life where unless I quit my job, there probably aren’t going to be any opportunities to take a month or two and just travel or enjoy life. At least not until retirement. Or until I win the lottery.

So I have some non-traditional advice for graduates. Take time off.

Now, I know that seems strange in a blog dedicated to personal finance. After all, graduates have debts to pay. They have to start work, or they have to work on finding a job. And all of this is true. By not taking time off, I had that much more money saved up when I started law school. And sure, it did make a difference. But I do regret never doing anything crazy and going off and just having fun before delving in to real life.

While a trip to Europe might be out of your price range, what about a road trip? Get a friend or two together and you can split the costs. Get a tent and stay at campsites. Have fun and be ridiculous.

Or better yet, take some time and do something good for others. Take a roadtrip and dedicate it to service. See if you can drive around the country and work at various Habitat for Humanity houses. Or other sorts of charities. In addition to having fun, that’s not a bad thing to put on your resume. I don’t think any potential employer would see that you spent a summer doing charity work and use that against you. Also, if you’re still looking for a job, maybe you can do phone interviews while you’re off in another state volunteering. Again, it might look good to an employer, and you would still get to experience some freedom.

All right, so maybe it’s not the best advice. Finding a job is important, and working to pay off your debts and start saving for the future is also important. But I think it’s important to also remember to live for today every so often and enjoy life. You can always be a grownup tomorrow. You’ve worked hard. Reward yourself, even if it’s just for a week or two.