Giving Something Back

If you can checkoff the following items you are.

Do you have savings to cover at least six months of living expenses?
If you are under forty are you saving at least 5% of your gross income in a retirement plan? (7% if you are over forty.)
Are you carrying more than 2% of your gross annual income in credit card debt?
Is your FICO score 680 or higher?
Are you spending less than you make?

If you answered yes to all of these you are ready to take the next steps and begin to maximize your assets. If not, you still have some work left to do.

Note: This is being written on April 9th, 2009, during a period of great economic crisis. For many of us this is a time for great profit, particularly if you are in this for the long haul. Further, what I advocate here I would still be advocating had the economic bubble we were in not burst.

#1 in Personal Finance 201

Charitable Giving

You have gotten your financial house in order now it is time to give something back. I am not going to attempt to tell you what that "something" should be in terms of an actual amount. What you need to do is make sure whatever you give back is not a burden to you. If you are burdened by giving at all then your heart is just not in it and you would be best not to give at all.

If the number is $100 dollars a month or $1000, what is most important is that you feel okay with the amount. Do not give because of guilt. Do not give because you feel you have to. Give because yoiu want to. Give what you want to.

Charitable giving is tax deducable if you file the long form. So each $1 you give will get you 28 cents off your taxes (if you are in the 28% tax bracket).

Also, spend some time researching who you want to give to. It can be your local house of worship, or a number of other charities, local or global. Did you know that 20% of the world lives in abject poverty? One billion people.

Charity Navigator

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