The Joys of Giving

         You are not seeing things. The title of today's entry has everything to do with building wealth and nothing to do with losing it. This is because, if you're too focused on what you want, you won't appreciate what you have in comparison to those less fortunate. Giving can help keep things in perspective. It is a way to keep yourself humble as well as motivated to keep moving toward your goals. Dave Ramsey says that no one has ever gone broke by giving. These words are so true when you really think about it. You see, when you give a portion of what you have, you're more likely to manage the things that you do have with more responsibility and frugality. At the same time, you'll feel good knowing that you're making a difference in someone else's life with that donation. The joy that you experience from giving to someone less fortunate is a better feeling than the joy of buying yourself more "stuff."
          Giving can come in many forms. Most people think of giving away their money when they hear about giving and donating. However, giving can also include your time as well. Offering to volunteer at a local food bank or organization that helps those in need is a good way to give without feeling the need to hand over cash and let someone else decide what to do. The feeling of physically helping someone else will make you feel empowered and ready to look for more ways to make a difference. Don't underestimate the power that this can have over the way you see the world either. Most Americans are focused on how to help themselves more and how to make more money. However, Zig Ziglar is famous for saying "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want." This is so true in the real world and still is today. How many times do you hear, "It's not about what you know, but who you know." That said, make sure that you're trying your best to help someone else be successful every day. Over time, others will start to make sure that you're given opportunities for success as well.
          Giving your money is usually thought of as just sending it off to a charity and letting them deal with it. To me, this is the lazy way to give. My wife and I like to stop and hand cash to homeless people. No judgment or preconceived notion about what they're going to do with it. The gift is for ourselves and not the person we're giving it to. We know that we've made a small difference by transferring a small amount of what we have over to someone who has less than we do. This concept my go against the "American Way," but it works for us and we enjoy helping someone. Rather than blow by him in our new car with our music blaring through the speakers from our bluetooth-enabled iPhone, we stop and acknowledge that someone is in need of a little grace and give of whatever we can at the moment. Now, I do draw the line sometimes. I've been asked to swipe my debit card at a gas pump for someone and refuse to do that. I just don't like giving access to my bank account to someone in any situation. I'll give what I can in cash or even consider walking inside to pay for a set amount, but I won't let them have full access to all of my funds to pump gas until I basically stop them. Okay. Sorry. I got a little carried away. Moving along. Another way to give of your money is to find a local charity organization that will disclose the places it is using the funds. This way you are able to see where your money is being used. I just feel that this will help make the process of giving to a charity much more enjoyable for you. Also, If you're involved in or a member of a church, this is another good way to give to an organization that typically uses the money for good things. Just make sure that they're not too focused on the giving. To me, church is not just about business.
         However you decide to give, just make sure that you're keeping up with your monetary donations as well as the time that you spend. Tracking your giving and your overall progress is always a good way to keep yourself motivated to give more, and it will just make you feel good about the things you're doing in your life. Not to mention, charitable donations are usually tax deductible.
        Self-improvement and building up your cash is always nice, but giving will make you feel even better about the things you're doing with your money. Why improve only one life when you can improve two? Something to think about. As always, thank you for taking time out of your day to read. I hope that this helps you see the importance of giving in your own personal life. Go ahead and start putting a small portion of your income aside for giving. This could be 10% if you're financially ready, or it could be $25 a month. Whatever you need to do to get going, start now. You'll never regret helping someone else in need.