Lesson 51: 'Tis the Season to Give
Hello Revolutionists,
Living the Cheapskates way doesn't allow you to be mean or penny-pinching. We choose to ditch the things we don't really care about, or spend less on them, so we have the money to enjoy the things that are important to us. Some of our spendthrift acquaintances may call us lucky - I can tell you luck has nothing to do with it.
As Cheapskates we can live life debt free because we have worked hard, planned hard and saved hard. We live by the 10-10-80 rule.
The 10-10-80 rule is simple:
Give 10% (to charity, church, school building fund etc.)
Save 10% (you can split this 50-50 to Savings and Emergency accounts until they are built up)
Live on the remaining 80% (this goes into your Peace of Mind account and should include debt repayment).
If you have more than enough to live on, why not share with those less fortunate? As well as being a reward in itself, philanthropy often comes with the benefit of a tax deduction, which can be a nice bonus for sharing your bounty.
Choosing a Charity
We have given to the Kmart Wishing Tree every year since AJ was born - we've just left our twenty-second lot of gifts under the tree. I started it because I was thankful that we had a healthy baby and that we could give him not only the things he needed, but the things we thought he should have. As Tom and then Hannah were born we kept the tradition up. The kids still choose a gift each to wrap and put under the tree and it's one of the things we all look forward to each Christmas. Choosing, wrapping and then placing the presents under the tree help teach our kids charity too.
Whether you give regularly or as spontaneously, having a plan for your giving is essential if you want to balance your Spending Plan. Include Charitable Giving as a category in your Spending Plan and allocate the appropriate amount.
Then you just need to choose the charity or charities you are going to support. When you choose a charity there are some things to keep in mind:
Your values - ask yourself what kind of charity you want to support. Then get a list of legitimate, registered charities. Get online and do your research. Look for charities of all kinds, and choose the ones that do the most good. You can also visit their websites and research what they do, how they do it, where they do it, how they are generally funded, what proportion of the money you donate will actually get to the work and what percentage will go to overheads. I personally don't like giving to charities whose overheads cost more than the work they are supposedly doing.
You don't need to hand over cash - you can donate goods and services or your time. How many times this year have you taken a bag of clothing to your local op shop? That's a donation to charity. Perhaps you've helped out at your local nursing home or pre-school, or even in your favourite op shop. That's a donation of your time to charity. Just remember that your time and efforts are not tax deductible (it's still good to give your time and energy though).
Know your limits - this is the biggy. Knowing just how much you can give, in cash, time or goods is important. Giving is good, but only if it doesn't create hardship for you.
Get a receipt. When you hand over more than $2 always get a receipt for the donation. It should have the name of the registered charity, the date, the amount, and your details on it. File it with your receipts in your tax folder so you'll have it when you need it.
The Law of Circulation
One day a wealthy woman was talking with her financial advisor.
"I have a ridiculous relationship with money" she said. "I can't stop it from coming to me. Do you know why?"
"I have no idea" the financial advisor said.
"It's because I'm always giving it away. You have to give to receive. It's the law of circulation" the wealthy woman replied.
The moral of the story: don't be afraid to be generous and your generosity will be rewarded.
Week 51 Challenge: 'Tis the season to give so why not give to a cause you support and help your tax liability at the same time? Choose your giving well, get a receipt and file it.
Living the Cheapskates way doesn't allow you to be mean or penny-pinching. We choose to ditch the things we don't really care about, or spend less on them, so we have the money to enjoy the things that are important to us. Some of our spendthrift acquaintances may call us lucky - I can tell you luck has nothing to do with it.
As Cheapskates we can live life debt free because we have worked hard, planned hard and saved hard. We live by the 10-10-80 rule.
The 10-10-80 rule is simple:
Give 10% (to charity, church, school building fund etc.)
Save 10% (you can split this 50-50 to Savings and Emergency accounts until they are built up)
Live on the remaining 80% (this goes into your Peace of Mind account and should include debt repayment).
If you have more than enough to live on, why not share with those less fortunate? As well as being a reward in itself, philanthropy often comes with the benefit of a tax deduction, which can be a nice bonus for sharing your bounty.
Choosing a Charity
We have given to the Kmart Wishing Tree every year since AJ was born - we've just left our twenty-second lot of gifts under the tree. I started it because I was thankful that we had a healthy baby and that we could give him not only the things he needed, but the things we thought he should have. As Tom and then Hannah were born we kept the tradition up. The kids still choose a gift each to wrap and put under the tree and it's one of the things we all look forward to each Christmas. Choosing, wrapping and then placing the presents under the tree help teach our kids charity too.
Whether you give regularly or as spontaneously, having a plan for your giving is essential if you want to balance your Spending Plan. Include Charitable Giving as a category in your Spending Plan and allocate the appropriate amount.
Then you just need to choose the charity or charities you are going to support. When you choose a charity there are some things to keep in mind:
Your values - ask yourself what kind of charity you want to support. Then get a list of legitimate, registered charities. Get online and do your research. Look for charities of all kinds, and choose the ones that do the most good. You can also visit their websites and research what they do, how they do it, where they do it, how they are generally funded, what proportion of the money you donate will actually get to the work and what percentage will go to overheads. I personally don't like giving to charities whose overheads cost more than the work they are supposedly doing.
You don't need to hand over cash - you can donate goods and services or your time. How many times this year have you taken a bag of clothing to your local op shop? That's a donation to charity. Perhaps you've helped out at your local nursing home or pre-school, or even in your favourite op shop. That's a donation of your time to charity. Just remember that your time and efforts are not tax deductible (it's still good to give your time and energy though).
Know your limits - this is the biggy. Knowing just how much you can give, in cash, time or goods is important. Giving is good, but only if it doesn't create hardship for you.
Get a receipt. When you hand over more than $2 always get a receipt for the donation. It should have the name of the registered charity, the date, the amount, and your details on it. File it with your receipts in your tax folder so you'll have it when you need it.
The Law of Circulation
One day a wealthy woman was talking with her financial advisor.
"I have a ridiculous relationship with money" she said. "I can't stop it from coming to me. Do you know why?"
"I have no idea" the financial advisor said.
"It's because I'm always giving it away. You have to give to receive. It's the law of circulation" the wealthy woman replied.
The moral of the story: don't be afraid to be generous and your generosity will be rewarded.
Week 51 Challenge: 'Tis the season to give so why not give to a cause you support and help your tax liability at the same time? Choose your giving well, get a receipt and file it.