Thrifty is Not Stingy

Thrifty is not stingy.  I can't say this enough.  It is good to be thrifty.  It is not good to be a selfish, miserly scrooge.  One of the blessings of a thrifty life is that you may have a little more to give others.  If you are spending all you have, you don't have any to share.

When you have the opportunity to help and support other people, you should (if you can). 
My kids participate in a lot of school activities that require a lot of fundraising and fees.  They go door to door begging our friends and neighbors to buy their cookie dough or support their car wash.  We often rely on the generosity of others to help fund the extra-curricular activities in our life.

There are thousands of worthy charities and needs in your neighborhood and throughout the world that you can help fill.  Humanitarian aid.  Medical research.  Animal shelters.  Youth programs.  The list is practically endless.

So if you are on a budget but still want to give, how do you know how much and to whom to donate?  You choose.  But you don't choose in the moment, you choose ahead of time and act accordingly.  No matter how generous you feel, you can't possibly support every worthy cause you see, so you'll have to choose.  It's just a fact of life.

Here are a few possible ideas of how you might want to set limits on your monetary giving:

• Set a monthly budget for giving.  Suppose you set aside $15 a month for random fundraisers.  Then any child who comes knocking on your door peddling cookies can be supported up until the money runs out.  Then you politely decline.
• Chose the charities you want to support.  For example, decide now that you will support only church charities, hunger elimination programs, or elementary school sales.
• Only support causes that have meaning to you personally, and when opportunities to support them arise, give them everything you can afford to spare.  Fund research for a disease that affects someone in your family.  Fundraise at your own child's school.

There will be times when a cause is near to your heart.  Give in to the urge to sacrifice some of your own personal comfort so that you can support another's needs.  But every team or organization that comes to your door peddling flowers shouldn't pull too hard at your heartstrings.  It's okay to say no.  But it's good to sometimes say yes too.


Marcia