by Pam on December 27, 2010
As a parent, you have a lot of influence on your children’s future behavior. Whether you like it or not, your children are more than likely going to follow in your footsteps, at least partially, so it’s important that you teach your kids about giving starting at a young age.
Whether you are rich or poor, you need to instill a sense of generosity in your children. One way would be to have a family meeting every year and take a vote on which charity or organization your family is going to support that year. By involving your kids and encouraging them to use some of their own money as well, they will feel that they are making a difference in the world. Feel free to change the charity every year based on the decisions of the family as a whole.
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by Pam on December 23, 2010
Christmas is a time of giving, and it is intriguing to read the various articles that have been written about the famous billionaires who are giving so much of their wealth to charities. Examples include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as well as George Lucas. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet started a Giving Pledge and many billionaires have joined in and the result is extreme generosity.
It just goes to show that if the wealthy are willing to share their wealth with others, the world can definitely be a better place. After all, they won’t be able to take their money with them so they might as well brighten someone else’s day with it while they can.
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by Pam on November 15, 2010
Do you have anyone on your Christmas list that is really tough to shop for because they already have everything? If you do, don’t worry, consider treating them to an “experience” instead of buying them more stuff.
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by Pam on October 26, 2010
I received a great money-saving tip from one of my readers that I wanted to pass along to you. The email went as follows:
“Two years ago my husband and I had a bunch of Air Miles built up, but we knew we wouldn’t be using them in the near future so we used them up to buy gift cards which we then used for gifts for our brothers, grandparents, etc. I’m not sure if we got the biggest return for the miles (not sure of the rate) but what’s the point in holding onto points for a flight you may never take? Better to use them up I say.”
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by Pam on October 20, 2010
After reading Under the Overpass
I will never look at a homeless person the same way again. Although in the past I had volunteered in a place where I rubbed shoulders with homeless people, I could never really fully imagine what it might be like to be homeless. But once I read this book, I was able to get a secondhand glimpse of what it is like to be homeless. Their life is far from easy, and it’s good to know that there are ways we can help them out.
Under The Overpass is about two young men in the United States who decided to live as homeless people for 5 months in 6 different cities across the U.S. They came from upper middle class families and decided to discover for themselves what it truly is like to be homeless. As a result of their experience, they developed a new appreciation for the hardships these folks experience. You will too, if you read this book.
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by Pam on October 10, 2010
In case you haven’t noticed, Christmas is just around the corner. Rather than getting all stressed out about your gift shopping and leaving it until the very last minute, why not do your shopping all year round? By doing so you will have a lot of time to find just the right gift for each family member and you will often find great deals and ideas when you’re not even looking for them!
Although I usually end up still doing some shopping in the overcrowded malls in December, I am happy to say that almost every year I have shopped for at least half the people on my list before the big rush, so it makes shopping much easier.
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by Pam on September 12, 2010
When someone gives you a gift of money for your birthday, Christmas, or just because, what do you do with it? Do you treat it as earned income or do you just blow it because you did not have to work for it?
Most of us are likely to treat our gifts of money differently from our earned income. Rather than just popping it into our savings accounts, we are tempted to spend it, perhaps even on things that we don’t really need. Why? Because it’s not as if we are using our own money, or so we think.
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