Category Archives: Charity

Get your FREE copy of 60 Days to Change

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Your financial successes are my lifeblood. Every success story that I hear from you makes me ridiculously excited. Your ability to take control of your financial life is incredibly powerful. I have had the great fortune to assist thousands of people over the last 12 years of my career, but today I want to change hundreds of lives at once…together.

You know about The Molly Project. It’s the yearlong web series in which I plan on helping one woman change her financial life forever. She is climbing out of a financial hole. It’s quite the story. But what’s your story? How can you change your life along with Molly?

Thanks to my friends at ELFCU, you can join the change with a FREE copy of my book, 60 Days to Change: A Daily How-To Guide With Actionable Tips To Change Your Financial Life. ELFCU is a credit union that is offering the 60 Days to Change curriculum to its members, starting today. As part of the partnership, I asked that they help you too. And they said yes! ELFCU’s ongoing commitment to help its members reach their financial goals is now extended to YOU. I encourage you to view this as a sign, a gentle nudge, and an opportunity for you to improve your financial life.

This program can take you from bad to good, and then good to great. You don’t have to be struggling badly to benefit from this 60 day program, but if you are, we can help you. The program will have some lovely structure to it. ELFCU will be buying your book (quantities limited), and I will give you your marching orders every week during the 60 days. This means exclusive emails, videos, and online chat sessions. And there’s one more thing. You can win $1000.

There are three $1000 prizes to be awarded at the end of the program. One award for most debt paid down, one award for most money saved, and one award for most expenses eliminated. Holy moly.

There are some guidelines that you need to follow. Go to ELFCU.org/60days to sign up. Follow the directions. I don’t want you to miss out on this because you don’t follow the directions.

This going to be great. I’m very excited, and I hope you take this opportunity to create some change.

 

What is a sussy?

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Today, we will digress slightly from the world of money. Coming off yesterday’s lesson on satire, I felt that we should exit the financial world yet again today.

We discussed giving gifts last week. Today, I want to discuss receiving gifts. Gifts can be given for many reasons, but we rarely think about how the receiver feels about the gift. We hope they are happy, loved, surprised, or even impressed. And our gift giving is often driven be these desired results. But what if you could step back, remove all the traditional practices of gift giving, and just study the emotion? That’s what a sussy is all about.

The idea of The Sussy Project started with my friend Meggie Dials. She’s a young professional who has an awesome running blog on the side (SeeMeggieRun.com). She came to me with the idea for The Sussy Project. Give random strangers that are going through some sort of challenging life moment, a thoughtful gift valued at less than $20. The purpose is to see if random thoughtfulness could create enough of a smile to get momentum headed back in the right direction. I signed on it to help, and the rest is history.

For the last six months we have been receiving “nominations” from the friends of people that are dealing with some challenges. The friends contact us, we analyze the situation, and then try to think of the best way to spend $20 to make the recipient feel love. The project started out as fun, but has quickly become addictive. We talk about charity all the time on this here money forum. The Sussy Project isn’t charity. It’s investing in other people’s smiles. Are we trying to gift happiness? Nope. You can’t do that. That’s too big. Happiness can’t be bought. We are simply trying to provide a spark.

Monday of this past week we held Sussy Day. It was far and away the best manifestation of The Sussy Project. We filled up a Starbucks giftcard, told the barista to tell the customers that someone paid for their coffee and that they should have a nice day. We then sat off in a corner and watched. It was that simple. The results started out great, but quickly transformed into amazing. I urge you to read about the day over at The Sussy Project blog.

I’m very thankful that Meggie got me involved with The Sussy Project. It helps me understand human nature a little better, and it hopefully has sparked smiles for those in need of one.

Misinterpreting generosity

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Who wants to get uncomfortable? Me too!

On Monday I had a chance to have lunch with a friend. While I was waiting for him to arrive, I noticed a group of ladies lunching at the table next to me. I, too, am dismayed by my use of ‘lunch’ as a verb. Just as I looked over towards the table, the 3rd member of their lunch party had arrived. She was carrying two small gift bags. She handed them to the ladies, and the ladies tore into them like 8 year olds on Christmas morning. They were candles. First off, as a guy, if you ever buy me a candle, I will promptly throw it at you and call you a derogatory name. But this isn’t about gender. This is about the comment that followed the exchange of gifts.

“Margaret, you’re always so generous!” said one of the ladies.

Bullshit.

Margaret may be thoughtful, but that doesn’t make her generous. Upper-middle class ladies giving each other gifts during a $50 lunch doesn’t make them generous. Generous is when you are giving something to someone that needs something. Giving modest, or even extravagant, gifts to your friends is often misconstrued as generous. I know that it seems like I’m splitting hairs here, but I’m not.

When gifts exchanged amongst family members and friends are misconstrued for generosity, something REALLY bad happens. People who really need others’ generosity, miss out. And it’s especially bad if the giver deems their give to be generous. I believe that most people innately want to help others. This “want” is satisfied when you feel that you have helped others. When you do something generous, or what you perceive to be generous, then this desire is satisfied. An extravagant gift to your friend for her baby shower isn’t generous. It’s thoughtful. The diamond earrings that you give to your wife, girlfriend, and/or mistress isn’t generous. It’s thoughtful. Yet, if we perceive these gifts to be generous, then everyone loses.

This is a HUGE problem around the holidays. Several American families are about to exercise their generosity…in the wrong way. The exchange of gifts amongst the fortunate steals the satisfying act that comes with truly being generous. This makes me very sad.

Yes, I realize that people are allowed to give gifts to each other. Yes, I realize that there is nothing wrong with that. But when you have sifted through the thousands of household budgets that I have, and when you have seen that “gifts” account for a major amount of spending, while “charity” does not, you would feel as jaded as I do. We MUST listen to our instincts. Our instincts are telling us that generosity is very important. But something different is telling us to share that generosity amongst your friends, who happen to be in the exact same socio-economic situation as you.

Gift away. Give. Give. Give. Just realize that you aren’t helping ANYONE by giving your loved one a gift. Harsh? Absolutely. But, I’m in the same boat as you. If I give my daughter a motorized child’s size Barbie Cadillac Escalade (which there is no way in hell I would ever do), then I’m not being generous.

When you truly are generous, you will feel the difference. You will want to repeat the process over and over and over.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know.

Why being charitable is good for you financially

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I can draw a line down the financial world and separate everyone into just two categories: 1) people with the primary goal of only catering to their own (including immediate family) needs and wants 2) people who view their money as a resource to enrich the lives of others. Before we go to much further, I want you to know that I’m not going to demonize choice #1. However, I am going to try to make the case for choice #2

I don’t see anything wrong with “taking care of your own” when it comes to using your money as a resource. And for that matter, I don’t see anything wrong with “taking care of your own” when it comes to using your time as a resource. Securing a pleasant financial life can bring a great deal of peace to your life. You will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are relatively insulated from some of the financial risks that affect most people. In many ways, this is smart. But is it fulfilling?

What we are about to do is what I like to call “have an Oprah moment.” No, I’m not giving you a car or forcing you to have a strange fascination with John Travolta. I want to discuss satisfaction as measured by your heart and soul. Feel free to stop reading now if you are a heartless bastard.

People, especially Americans, tend to measure success by how much they have. Over the last several years I have tried to personally redefine success by measuring it based on how little I need. This is NOT settling for less. This is a purposeful attempt to gain a grounded perspective on life. It’s pretty simple. Whereas formerly I might have considered myself successful if I had $10 million, now I would consider myself successful if I could live on $30,000 per year. Do I make more than $30,000 per year? You sure as hell better hope so, or you have been taking your financial advice from a pretty sorry ass financial expert. It’s this restructuring of your definition of success that can help you gain better perspective on your financial resources: money and time. And it’s money and time that allow you to enrich the lives of others on a regular basis.

But how does this relate back to charity enriching your own life? Well, I have three cases to highlight the importance of making charity an important part of your life, no matter your current financial standing.

  1. Who said charity costs money? A charitable spirit starts in your mind, not your wallet. If you are waiting to have money before you give, then you will never give. Money is not the determining factor on whether you give or not. Your charitable spirit is. Volunteer, start a canned food drive, or give stuff you don’t use to Goodwill. Don’t just sit there and do nothing. Not giving two shits about others’ needs is really an unattractive quality. You may not like someone for some reason that you can’t exactly put your finger on. It’s quite possible that you are sensing their “me only” attitude. It’s just ugly.
  2. Charitable people simply seem more well-rounded. What came first: the chicken or the egg? What came first: the financially successful person that gives money or the person that gives money who became financially successful. There is a reason that I have charity as a part of Pete the Planner’s Ideal Household Budget. I have an unwavering belief that when people are able to budget for their favorite cause, then they will be better stewards of the rest of their money. I promise you that I practice what I preach. I’m not going to list my charitable acts, but I can tell you that the fulfillment I received from my giving this year far exceeds the satisfaction that I received from any meal, new outfit, or vacation that I purchased for myself.
  3. Kids will do as you do- What are your goals as a parent? I hope you don’t say “to give my kids the things that I never had”. That is unless by “things” you mean principles. Teaching your kids to be grounded charitable fully functioning members of society is a ton more important than giving them the material things that they desire. But the reality is that if you don’t understand this yourself, then what hope do those poor little bastards have?

Did I make my case, or am I full of it? You tell me.

The missatisfaction of a basic human need

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give_hand

Despite a few isolated incidents in my life, I believe that people are intrinsically good. I realize that I just made a pretty big statement, but I assure you it’s based on years of looking at peoples’ finances.  Since I certainly don’t want to turn this post into a debate about the basic motivations of life, please humor me for the next few hundred words.

Most of the people that I have served over the last 12 years do think of others on a regular basis. And by “think of others”, I mean they financially sacrifice for the benefit of another person and/or entity. And it’s in my previous sentence, that you found your first clue of my eventual point.

People generally feel the need to give to others. I think this is a pleasant assertion which has unfortunately been soiled over the course of the last few years, when I realized that this act hasn’t led to personal progress or enlightenment for most givers. You see, there is giving, and there is charity. The confusion between the two is so esoteric that you probably didn’t realize that there is a difference, or better yet that the difference between the two actually matters.

There is a new trend in financially destructive behavior. I call it over-gifting. I have noticed that people have been trying to satisfy their need for giving by ignoring those truly in need, and simply transferring wealth and materialism to loved ones. This very generous behavior is, in a way, selfless; however it often means that those truly in need are forgotten. In addition, it has been my experience that those that satisfy their need for giving by simply giving gifts to friends and family, often do so when their financial situation can’t support it. Therefore they are not only satisfying their need to give, but actually they are giving technically too much, (based on their financial situation) in order to appear as though they are actually in a better financial situation. Or in modern hip-hop parlance, (which I generally employ) they are frontin’.

In contrast, those that satisfy their need to give by giving to charity, rarely extend themselves financially beyond what they can afford. Beyond that, I have even observed that those who give consistently to charity actually have better financial habits in general. Which begs the question: which came first, the generosity towards charity or the good financial habits? Actually, I believe that neither came first. I believe that those who satisfy their need for giving by giving to charity psychologically are better adjusted.  Those that satisfy their need for giving to others by only giving to others that they know, tend to have ulterior motives for the act. Thus proving once again my career-long assertion: money has nothing to do with money. We are pawns to our own psychology. Want to be better with your money? Impossible. Want to do better things with your money? Work on your brain, the right side.

Do you agree? Or do you think that my observations of thousands of financial situations have led to a bogus assessment of giving? Leave me a comment.

The fastest way to feed 60 people

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feeding america

If you are at all like me, then you have randomly donated a nominal amount of money a time or two. I usually do this when someone randomly asks for a donation, and I feel satisfaction in helping their cause. But I never really consider what the money actually does for the organization that I donate it to. In fact, honestly, at times I don’t even care. It’s not that I’m loose with money. It’s just that I usually am donating the money to support a friend’s cause.

The other day I made a random donation to a charity, and didn’t really think twice about it. That was until I received a call from the charity’s director of development. She said that my donation fed 6 people for every $1 that I donated. The number of meals that I funded with that random donation was staggering. I hadn’t felt that good about “helping” an organization in a really long time. If I was able to constantly quantify my charitable contributions, then I am convinced I would give more.

So here is what I’m asking you to do. Quantify your help. Donate at least $10 to this charity (Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana), and know that for every dollar you give, you will feed 6 people. That way when you get home tonight, and your loved ones ask you how your day was you can say, “I fed 60 people today, and it felt great!”

Job Hunters workshop scheduled to help Indianapolis’ jobless stay informed


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Indianapolis- Green Candy, in association with INside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick and WISH-TV’s 24- Hour News 8, will be hosting a Job Hunters Workshop on April 22nd at the Gene B. Glick Junior Achievement Education Center. The event is part of series of community events that Green Candy has been putting on in Central Indiana. Green Candy, a locally based Personal Finance website, has also hosted a comedy benefit and a 5k running race to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 



“We are pleased that Green Candy is helping do great things for this community, all the while raising money and awareness for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society,” says Sara Glenn, manager of special events for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The two-hour event will feature several prominent speakers. Some of the experts scheduled to appear are: Gerry Dick, President of Grow Indiana Ventures, who will discuss the climate of business in central Indiana. He will also discuss what industries are hiring in central Indiana. Peter Dunn, radio talk show host, WISH-TV Money Analyst, and founder of Green Candy, will discuss preparing your finances for a job change. Chuck Gose, a local networking and social media enthusiast, will be highlighting the importance and dangers of social media during a job search.

“Searching for a new career can be a tedious process, and we are glad that we can help bring some encouragement and tips to those that are looking for work,” says Gerry Dick, host of INside Indiana Business.

Peter Dunn, founder of Green Candy notes, “With unemployment hovering around 10%, we must make sure that we support those that are looking to enter or re-enter the workforce, this includes recent college graduates that are starting their job search for the first time.”

WISH-TV plans on highlighting the event as part of their continuing coverage of the unemployment challenges in Indiana. “We have long believed that the entire community is uplifted when the unemployed feel the support of their fellow Hoosiers,” says Jeff White, president and general manager of WISH-TV’s 24- Hour News 8.

The Do. Be. More. Job Hunters Workshop will be held from 9-11am on April 22nd. Cost for attendees is $10. All money will go directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Central Indiana. Seats are limited. For tickets and information go to www.GreenCandy.com or call 317-576-8550.

Can Generosity Turn Us Around?

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My wife and I recently had our first child. She is a beautiful little girl named, Olive. I could go on for pages about how much I care for little Olive, but what is important for you to know is how much others have cared for us. Generosity can cure many ills. And when you are tired and overwhelmed, people’s generosity keeps you sane. Friends have made us meals, lent us clothes, and even ran our errands. This has made us feel very loved, and actually distorted our reality. Our reality is that we have no idea what we are doing, and if others hadn’t of helped out, then we would really be struggling mentally (and physically).

This got me thinking about our two things. First, single mothers are incredible. We can barely handle things in this first week between the two of us. Secondly, can acts of generosity help pull us out of a financial tailspin. I think so. We have discussed it before on this forum. Financial momentum is an important factor in your financial success. At one time or another we all need to catch a “break”. Does this mean forgive the rent payment that your tenant owes you? No. But it means being understanding and compassionate. Financial generosity can be as simple as taking your “old” stuff that you don’t use to Goodwill or a family in need.

Has your life been positively affected by generosity? Let us know. We want your feedback. Leave a comment on this blog.

And if you haven’t signed up for 60 Days to Change, then do it. 60 Days to Change is our program that can help you get your financial life together in just 60 days. Sign up at www.60DaysToChange.com

About Green Candyâ„¢

Green Candy™ (www.GreenCandy.com) is an online financial assessment tool that helps Gen Y-ers and Millennials get on the right financial track before the “debt hits the fan.” Introduced by radio personality, comedian and financial expert Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com), Green Candy’s ™ various “pods” allow users to assess their financial health and competency in common areas such as Debt, Budgeting, Investing, Charity, Risk Management and Major Purchases, as well as in areas unique to Gen Y. A subsequent series of targeted worksheets, podcasts, tip sheets, and action plans guides them to the financial promise land. Green Candy™: Get in control before the debt hits the fan.

About Pete the Planner

Pete the Planner (www.PeteThePlanner.com) is expert financial planner Peter Dunn’s super-saving alter ego. Peter is an award-winning comedian and rising star in the financial world. Named one of “Indy’s Best and Brightest” in finance in 2007 by KPMG, Peter was also declared one of NUVO magazine’s “30 under 30 to Watch in the Arts” for comedy. Peter is the author of What Your Dad Never Taught You About Budgeting (2006) and is the host of the popular radio show Skills Your Dad Never Taught You on News Talk 1430 (WXNT). He blogs regularly at www.petetheplanner.com/blog. Pete appears regularly on Fox News and Fox Business as well as various CBS stations. His newest book, 60 Days to Change, is due out in June.