The 7 Personal Finance Articles We Loved This Week
It’s been a bit of a week and change, politically-speaking. For me, it can be easy to start feeling a little helpless about what’s to come due to the outcome of the election, but I have to keep moving forward. One thing I can do is give what little I have to organizations I care about, especially the ones that are more at risk of losing funding in the near future. (It was good to read about the recent outpour of donations to specific organizations.)
I also believe that many, many people are interested in charitable giving, no matter which way they lean politically. However, for so many of us, it’s hard to work the money for these things into our budget. I found that opting out of an excessive monthly luxury works for me. I gave up my Spotify premium subscription recently — something I don’t miss, honestly, especially now that I’ve discovered the Amazon Music portion of my Prime membership — to make room in my budget, and I decided to now give the $10-ish I was spending every month to Planned Parenthood. It’s not much, but it certainly helps me feel like I’m doing something to help in a specific, concrete way, however small it may be.
But I want to budget more for charitable giving, or giving to friends in need. That’s why I’m so glad one of J. Money‘s picks this week was for the article “How to Start a Giving Fund.” I’m still in the process of paying off some debt and building up my emergency fund, but I’d love to be able to work these kind of expenses into my budget, so that I have money set aside to give to someone in need or an organization without having to plan for it.
Here are the rest of the picks for this week — enjoy!
1. The Flowchart – Liberate.Life
“Most adults keep a copy of The Flowchart. I bet there’s a good chance you’ve got one in your bedside table underneath your glasses and that box of paracetamol. When I coach people, we usually perform a ritual burning of The Flowchart as an introductory exercise.”
2. 20 Things You Can Do With Your Money, Starting Today – The Frugal Farmer
“If you want something different, you’ve got to do something different.”
3. Advice From a 9-Time World Champion – Retire Before Dad
“Here was a champion in his prime, a master at riding treacherous waves over razor-sharp coral reefs, and doing it better than anyone else…telling me, a 16-year-old east coast kid to go out and make some shit happen with my life. It was a powerful message.”
4. A Tool For Creating a Killer Debt Repayment Plan – Mom And Dad Money
“If you have student loans, credit cards, a mortgage, or any other debt that you’re working to pay off, this tool will help you do it as quickly and effectively as possible.”
5. The 8 Requirements for Financial Stability – Adulting
“Being forced out of my living space with no notice on New Year’s Eve was the end of a particularly bad year. I lost a job, lost my car, and lost my girlfriend…I vowed to turn things around for myself.”
6. How to Start a Giving Fund – Montana Money Adventures
“One of the great things about having a Giving Fund is feeling empowered to make a difference…I can’t fix every problem, but I can do something. Sometimes that is all people need. Someone to show up and care.”
7. My #1 Money Tip: Be Gentle With Yourself – Half Banked
“No one is born knowing how to do this stuff. And as much as it can suck to feel like you’re not good at something, it’s the first step to getting good at that thing, whether it’s riding a bike or managing your money.”
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