Hurricane Relief Donations
As I’m sure you’re aware, Gulf Coast residents are currently suffering through one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit the United States, and they need our help. My wife and I just made a...
View ArticleSanta Dollars and Bunny Bucks
The other day I was at the grocery store when a small sign advertising ‘Santa Dollars’ caught my eye. What, you might ask, are Santa Dollars? According to their web site, Santa Dollars are one dollar...
View ArticleFinding the Right Charity
‘Tis the season to be charitable. So if you’re in the giving mood, but aren’t sure which charity is worthy of your donations, I suggest that you check out the Charity Navigator. This site provides...
View ArticleClear Out Your Stuff & Get a Tax Break
There’s just a few days left before the end of the year. That makes it a perfect time to take one last look around to see if there’s anything in your house that you’d like to clear out. If there is,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Buffett Makes Largest Donation Ever
In case you missed it, Warren Buffett (chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. and the second richest man in the world) has decided to donate nearly $31 billion to the Gates Foundation. In 2005, the Gates...
View ArticleAmerican Cancer Society Charity Drive
While there’s no such thing as a bad time to donate to charity, this time of year seems to bring out the best in people. Perhaps it’s the holidays, or maybe it’s the fact that the end of the year is...
View ArticleCharity Spotlight Series
While we’re on the subject of charitable giving… NoCreditNeeded has launched a Charity Spotlight series, and he just posted the first installment today. In it, he highlights a post about The Child...
View ArticleCharities of Choice 2006, Part I: Modest Needs
Over the next few days, I thought that I’d spend a little time writing about our charities of choice. During the past year, I’ve moved to a new job (complete with a 45% raise) and our self-employment...
View ArticleCharities of Choice 2006, Part II: The American Red Cross
The second charity that we are focusing on this year is the American Red Cross. I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for the Red Cross ever since our second son was born. Due to complications during her...
View ArticleCharities of Choice 2006, Part III: Our Local Food Bank
The third and final charity that we are focusing on this year is our local food bank. They’re actually part of America’s Second Harvest, which is the “National Food Bank Network.” You can go here and...
View ArticleCharities of Choice 2006, Part IV: The Conservation Fund
Okay, I lied. I wrote the other day about the fact that we had identified three core charities that we were going to focus on this year, but… After the dust settled, we picked one more: The...
View ArticleCitibank Refused to Process our Red Cross Donation
Wow. After several years of being a happy Citibank credit card customer, they’ve really managed to piss me off. Here’s the deal… On New Year’s Eve, I went to the Red Cross website to make a donation. I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Matching Donations to The Conservation Fund
In honor of Blog Action Day’s focus on the environment, I’ve decided to try and raise a bit of money for The Conservation Fund (details about the Fund are below). Here’s how it works… My family will...
View ArticleMatching Donations Update
Just a quick update on my offer to match contributions to The Conservation Fund. The following bloggers have taken me up on my offer: Steve T Rocket Dollar Blueprint for Financial Prosperity Remember…...
View ArticleMatching Donations, Update #2
Just a quick update on my offer to match contributions to The Conservation Fund. Three more bloggers have taken me up on my offer: rocketc MoneyNing Ask Dong Remember… This offer is good through Friday...
View ArticleMatching Donations, Update #3
Just a quick update on my offer to match contributions to The Conservation Fund. Two more people have taken me up on my offer: The Good Human A reader named Ben Without naming names and saying who gave...
View ArticleConservation Fund: Matching Donations Followup
Well, it’s Saturday and my offer to match donations to The Conservation Fund has now expired. There were a few last minute donations that brought the total up to $750 (not including the match). Thanks...
View ArticleYear End Money Moves
With the end of the year less than a month away, I thought I’d put together a list of five money moves to make in the next few weeks. If you have any suggestions of your own, please be sure to post...
View ArticleClearing Out Your House for Fun and Profit
Not quite two weeks ago, I put together an article on year end money moves. As a followup, I thought I’d spend a bit of time expanding on my favorite — clearing out your house and donating your extras...
View ArticleCharitable Donations are Down This Year
Here’s some not-so-happy Christmas news for you… Apparently a number of charities have experienced noticeable declines in donations this year. This isn’t terribly surprising given the economic...
View ArticleCharities of Choice 2007
Every December, we sit down and sort out (and then make) our charitable contributions for the year. Because 2007 was so good to us, we’ve decided to not only increase our donation levels, but also to...
View ArticleUncommon Charitable Tax Deductions
As Tax Day draws ever closer, I thought I’d write a bit more about tax deductions… I’ve written in the past about common income tax deductions, as well as commonly missed tax deductions. This time, I...
View ArticleThree Things You Should Know About Political Donations
Now that Presidential election season is in full swing, I thought I’d highlight a recent article from CNN/Money about political donations. In case you’re not aware, your political donations are subject...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Matching Donations to Your Local Food Bank
For those of you that don’t keep up with this sort of thing, today is Blog Action Day. If you’re not familiar with Blog Action Day, it’s a day when upwards of 10k bloggers (myself included) band...
View ArticleFood Bank Donation Update
This is just a quick not to update you on the matching donations for food bank contributions. So far, readers have contributed a total of $528.84 $628.84 to their local food banks. Including our...
View ArticleMatching Foodbank Donations Extended
This is just a quick note to let you know that my offer to match food bank donations last week resulted in $783.84 in contributions by readers to their local food banks. Now for some exciting news… A...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Matching Foodbank Donations Followup
This is just a quick note to let you know that FiveCentNickel readers donated a total of $2879.84 to their local foodbanks. Adding in my match ($1000) as well as that of a reader named Noam (another...
View ArticleFive Ideas for Charitable Giving in a Bad Economy
Tough economic times are a sort of double whammy for many charities — the need for services spikes, but donations shrink. Not a good combination. While we’re in the fortunate position to be able to...
View ArticleCharities of Choice (2008 Edition)
Every year around this time, my wife and I sit down to figure out our charitable giving. I’ve mentioned in the recent past that times like these can be tough for charities, as monetary giving often...
View ArticlePreventing Impulse Buys and Combatting Clutter
I’m guilty of buying small gadgets and/or books that I don’t really need. On the surface, many of these items look like they’ll save me time or money, but I either rarely use them or otherwise find...
View ArticleSetting a Savings Ceiling – How Much is Enough?
I’ve recently been thinking about the concept of setting a personal “savings ceiling.” In other words, figuring out how much I need to live a happy, fulfilling life, and then giving the rest away. Now,...
View ArticleWhat is a Donor-Advised Fund?
Last week, I gave myself a crash course in donor-advised funds. Unfortunately, it was too late, as I didn’t have time to act before the end of the year. I did, however, learn a lot, so I thought I’d...
View ArticleHow to Support Haitian Relief Efforts
As you’ve likely heard by now, Haiti recently suffered a devastating earthquake. If you’re interested in helping the relief efforts by donating money but don’t know where to start, please check out the...
View ArticleHaiti Donations to be Deductible in 2009 (If You Want)
If you’ve been on the fence about donating to Haitian earthquake relief efforts, Congress just gave you one more reason to open your pocketbook… The House and Senate have both approved legislation that...
View ArticleShould We Give Locally Before Giving Globally?
The need to give is everywhere. Giving is an important and integral part of personal and family budgets throughout the nation. As American’s we are blessed with an abundance, and with great abundance...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reset Your Investment Cost Basis With Charitable Donations
Today, I want to share a tip that will help you avoid future taxes on the taxable portion of your investment portfolio. As you’re no doubt aware, when an investment in a taxable account goes up in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Money, Happiness, and (Extreme) Giving
We’ve previously talked about the relationship between money and happiness (here and here), and we’ve also tackled the issue of “how much is enough.” With those discussions as a backdrop… I recently...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Help Nashville Flood Victims
If you’ve been wondering how you can help victims of the recent flooding in Nashville, I recently ran across a site with a great list of options. For many of you, the easiest way to help is with an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Finding a Charity to Support in 2011
One of our goals in 2011 is to increase our charitable contributions throughout the year. We’ve been getting a better handle of our finances and our monthly budget has enough room to accomodate...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Donating Appreciated Stock or Mutual Fund Shares
As a followup to my recent post about year-end tax moves, I decided over the weekend that we should start being more tax smart about our charitable contributions. As such, I’ve been exploring the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Value Your Charitable Donations
Over the weekend I spent some time scanning and shredding my backlog of financial paperwork. While doing this, I ran across a document from the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program explaining how to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Volunteering Pays Off
This is a guest post from Lucy Lazarony. Do you love the arts but can’t afford the cost of season tickets to your favorite museum, theatre, or performing arts center? Consider volunteering. I’ve...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Last Minute Donations: Should You Give?
As far as my email inbox goes, the week of Thanksgiving was pretty bad, as every online shop to which I have ever given my email address — and a few besides — sent me message after message about...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pay It Forward by Re-Gifting
The story’s unfolded countless times, with many variations. The recipient of a thoughtfully wrapped holiday gift tears off the shiny paper to find a lovely present, and as she’s casting the gift box...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Rule of Reciprocation: An Introduction
Give and you shall receive. This Biblical saying has been well-used and mis-used so many times that I’m sure no one could count. I grew up in a very conservative Baptist household and, while I don’t...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How can helping others help you?
This post is from staff writer Suba Iyer. In personal finance blogs, we explore a lot of ways to propel our career to the next level, develop new skills, have fun while being frugal, etc. One of the...
View ArticleHow to contribute to school fundraisers without breaking the bank
This post comes from Cathy at our partner site Quizzle.com. It’s Back to School season, and that means it’s also time for school fundraisers to start. Most schools have at least a few fundraisers. And...
View ArticleStuffing Coal Into Scammers’ Stockings
Was Charles Dickens particularly ingenious when he came up with the legendary character Ebenezer Scrooge? Was Dr. Seuss at his creative best when he unveiled the Grinch? Did director Frank Capra and...
View Article8 questions to ask before lending money to friends
It’s one of the most awkward questions a friend can ask you: “Will you lend me some money?” Awkward for your friend to have to ask, and awkward for you to have to answer. Saying “no” could adversely...
View Article
