Giving Archives - Women’s Money

14Nov 2021 by Elizabeth No Comments

A Giving November Reminder and Roundup

Giving

It’s November. This means that the holidays are nearly here. You are probably planning your Thanksgiving feast and pre-ordering Christmas presents out of fear of supply chain delays ruining your Christmas plans. But now is a great time to stop and think about those who don’t have everything they need to enjoy the holidays this year, whether it's money, food, shelter, or missing family members around the table. Now is a good time of year to pause, and not just to express gratitude, but to actually give back. So in lieu of the normal Sunday post from Sam, I wanted to take a minute to link to our series from last year about Giving November. Everything You Should Know About Giving November Here are all of the posts, with some…

30Nov 2020 by Elizabeth No Comments

What We Learned from Giving Away Money Every Day in November

Giving

We started out November with the idea that our family would give away $100 every day to a different nonprofit. We encouraged you, our community of readers, to also spend this month focusing on donating money, time, things, or even just your thanks. So what did we learn from this experience? There are opportunities everywhere to give. Early in the month, I wondered if we would spend a lot of time as a family researching different charities to support. I also questioned if we would need to brainstorm different types of organizations to involve our kids in the process. We learned that it doesn’t need to be that complicated since there are opportunities everywhere to give. But you don’t always see them. While opportunities to give are everywhere, sometimes they…

25Nov 2020 by Elizabeth No Comments

The Employer Match: How Charitable Giving is Like Your 401k

Giving

A common piece of personal finance advice is to “take free money. Even if you can’t do anything else, contribute to your 401k enough to get a company match.” Many employers will match up to a certain percentage of your salary (usually 3-5%) as an additional contribution to your 401k. For example, let's say you are earning $50,000/year and the match is 5%. When you contribute (tax-deductible) to your 401k of $2,500, your company will also put in $2,500. If you don’t contribute, you are missing out on free money. Surprisingly, the same holds true for donations to charity. A less common piece of financial advice, but more important than ever during years like 2020, is this: find out if your employer will match your charitable donations so you can…

18Nov 2020 by Elizabeth No Comments

5 Unexpected Benefits of Giving Away Stuff

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During Giving November, we aren’t just focused on giving away money. The month is also about giving away our time, our skills, and our stuff. Whether it’s gently used or toys, clothes, books, or even furniture, here are five unexpected benefits of donating things to charity. 1. You Will Feel Lighter Before we were all glued to Marie Kondo’s Netflix Special, “Tidying Up," Gretchen Rubin was writing about the benefits of having an empty shelf. When you give away your things, you feel lighter and less weighed down. 2. You Gain a Sense of Control Similar to the weight that is metaphorically lifted when you give away your things, decluttering provides a sense of control. Even doing just one small thing on your checklist will empower you to take…